Extreme cold can be health threat

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Tuesday morning, much of central Indiana hovered around 5 degrees with a wind chill making it feel like minus 10 or minus 11 degrees.

24-Hour News 8 spoke with medical officials about what they are doing in preparations or reaction to the cold. Registered nurses said they are not doing anything out of the ordinary and haven’t seen an increase in any cases of frost bite or hypothermia. That could change if we string together a number of days with temperatures as cold as they were Tuesday morning.

“With it being as cold as it is today, within a short amount of time, I’d say 10 to 15 minutes, can be extremely dangerous depending on how well you dress. If you’re not appropriately dressed in multiple layers, very quickly frost bite can start to develop and hypothermia especially with the elderly people and the very young people,” Jennifer Davis, a registered nurse with IU Health, told 24-Hour News 8.

One of the biggest warning signs to keep in mind according to the folks at IU Health is when the body stops shivering. That means that the body has stopped trying to warm itself. Also, when extremities are numb or tingly, it could mean the onset of frost bite.

IU Health professional say hot tea or coffee are good choices for warming up. Also, hot water should not be used to warm up extremities. IU Health professionals say to warm fingers and toes with lukewarm water as opposed to hot water. Going from one extreme to the other could cause nerve damage.