Extreme Heat

As the temperature and humidity increase so does a person's chance of suffering from a heat related injury. A person's body cools itself through the process of sweating. Sometimes though sweating isn't enough and the body temperature rises rapidly. Without proper cooling, damage can be done to the brain and other vital internal organs. Some of the factors that can affect a persons' ability to cool themselves include old age, obesity, heart disease, poor circulation, sunburn or drug and alcohol use. The groups that are at highest risk of heat related injuries are infants and children up to age 4, adults over 65, overweight individuals, people who overexert themselves during work or exercise and anyone who is ill or on certain medications.

For more in depth information about extreme temperatures download the pdf on the right.

Extreme Cold

When winter temperatures drop significantly, staying warm and safe can become a challenge. Exposure to cold temperatures, whether indoors or outside, can cause other serious or life-threatening health problems. Infants and the elderly are particularly at risk, but anyone can be affected. To keep yourself and your family safe, you should know how to prevent cold-related health problems and what to do if a cold-weather health emergency arises.

The most important aspect for cold weather safety is proper clothing. Appropriate clothing should include a water resistant coat with sleeves that are snug at the wrist, several layers of loose fitting clothing, water resistant footwear, a scarf, a hat and mittens (as they are warmer than gloves). Be sure the outer layer of your clothing is tightly woven, preferably wind resistant, to reduce body-heat loss caused by wind. Wool, silk, or polypropylene inner layers of clothing will hold more body heat than cotton. Stay dry. Wet clothing chills the body rapidly. Excess perspiration will increase heat loss, so remove extra layers of clothing whenever you feel too warm.

When there are high winds, serious weather-related health problems are more likely to occur even when temperatures are only cool. This is because the wind actually draws off your body heat. This is known as the wind chill factor and it is why it feels colder on windy days than the actual temperature says it is.

For more in depth information about extreme temperatures download the pdf on the right.