Cold Weather and Winter Sport Safety
Kids love winter. Whether it’s skiing, skating, sledding or just having fun in the snow, they embrace winter wholeheartedly. In fact, they are often having so much fun they fail to recognize some of the dangers of winter.
Frostbite and Hypothermia
Frostbite most frequently ocurs on fingers, toes, ears, noses and cheeks. The affected area is very cold, tingle or numb and the skin is white or yellowish grey. The condition is usually made worse if the skin is wet. To learn more about frostbite, how to treat it and how best to prevent it take a look at this article on Frostbite.
Hypothermia is a condition where your entire body temperature reaches a dangerously low level. This can occur when you spend a long period of time in cold weather especially if your clothing is wet or you are not well dressed. You can find out more about hypothermia and get some excellent prevention tips by reading this article on Understanding the symptoms, treatment and prevention of Hypothermia.
The Center for Disease Control has also put together a Guide to Dealing With Extreme Cold which covers planning for winter, outdoor winter safety and dealing with cold weather health emergencies.
Winter Sunscreen
One final point to remember is the need for sunscreen when playing outside in winter. It may seem counter-intuitive to be concerned about sunburns but the danger from UV exposure is still an issue. Snow can reflect over 80 percent of the suns UV rays. On sunny days remember to apply sunscreen on your child’s face if they will be playing outside.
Enjoying Winter
By taking a few of these simple steps you can make sure that your children have a safe and enjoyable time playing outside this winter.
