Staying Safe in the Cold!

28 Feb Staying Safe in the Cold!

Keep warm and keep on your feet!

As the UK braces itself for one of it’s coldest weeks courtesy of the cold snap coming from Siberia affectionately known as ‘Beast from the East’ we can expect temperatures to fall below -5 C bringing a lot of snow and ice. The plus side may mean that we get a few days off school and work whilst getting the chance to play in a winter wonderland. Unfortunately where there are pluses there are negatives and the temperature along with snow and ice present very real dangers which we will discuss.

Stay warm

In general our bodies work better when warm, and as mentioned in previous previous posts we know that the cold weather can affect our joints causing them to stiffen up. So if we have to venture out into the cold we will want to wear extra layers and Thermals for hands, feet and our head. We can also apply a heat rub such as vix to our joints before we go out.

Keeping our houses well insulated with draft excluders will not only keep us warm but also save our money on the heating.

If using a water bottle then placing it between our thighs rather than on stomach allows the heat to be better distributed through the body. To take the chill out of our bed sheets we can briefly blow a hair dryer over them before we go to bed.

Avoiding Falls

With Cold weather there is usually snow, whilst people can get carried away playing in it, we should look to avoid frostbite by making sure we use gloves. Apart from that, the snow itself doesn’t present too much of a threat but it becomes more dangerous as it turns to slush and ice especially for the young, elderly and drivers.

Just because you may not see ice it doesn’t mean it is not there, always be wary of black ice especially if you are changing surface levels, you want to have footwear with good grip.

When walking keep your hands free that way if you have to fall you can brace yourself hence the importance of wearing gloves.

Walking aids are exactly that so use them if you have them.

An important thing to remember is vehicles can slip and slide too so when crossing the road only cross when it is clear to do so.

If you do take a fall remember where here to help otherwise stay safe and keep warm.