Safety advocates want to remind employers and employees about the dangers of cold stress and how to prevent it among the workforces.

When workers are cold, blood vessels in the skin, arms and legs constrict, decreasing the blood flow to the extremities. This helps critical organs stay warm, but increases the risk frostbite. Frostbitten skin looks waxy and feels numb. Once tissue becomes hard, it’s a medical emergency. Treatment includes getting medical aid and warming the area with body heat and immersing in warm, not hot water.

Wind chill poses another danger as the wind accelerates heat loss. For example, when the air temperature is –30 C with 16 km/h wind, the skin can freeze in about one minute.

Hypothermia is another risk. Hypothermia means your core body temperature is dropping to dangerous levels. Symptoms range from shivering and blue lips and fingers to unconsciousness. Treatment includes getting the person to immediate medical aid while rendering first aid by monitoring the ABC’s, getting them to shelter, removing wet clothing, drying them and covering the head/neck and slowly re-warming areas such as the chest, abdomen, arm pits, and groin. Canadian Red Cross suggests the use of hot water bottles, heating pads can be an assist to body-to-body heat transfer. If the person is alert offer warm, sweet drinks (no caffeine).

Tips for controlling cold stress include:

• Wear several layers of clothing rather than one thick layer to capture air as an insulator.
• Wear synthetic fabrics next to the skin to “wick” away sweat.
• If conditions require, wear a waterproof or wind-resistant outer layer. Wear warm gloves. Wear hats and hoods. You may need a balaclava.
• Tight-fitting footwear restricts blood flow. You should be able to wear either one thick or two thin pairs of socks.
• If your clothing gets wet at 2°C or less, change into dry clothes immediately and get checked for hypothermia.