When we think about winter and the cold months ahead, we often overlook the risks the cold imposes on many of our nation’s workers. However, cold stress and the precautions that should be taken are so important in ensuring the safety of our employees. Before discussing how to prevent cold stress and taking actionable steps toward prevention, it is important to make the symptoms recognizable.
Cold stress symptoms often vary depending on the injury or illness. While there are some common symptoms across the various cold stress-related injuries and illnesses, each one can affect the body differently. The most common injuries that cold stress can cause include: Hypothermia, Frostbite, Trench Foot, and Chilblains. While each of these cold-related injuries and illnesses have different manifestations they all usually require hospitalization and can all be prevented in a similar way.
Hypothermia is often lethal as it can affect brain function and makes a person unable to think clearly or move well enough to help themselves out of their hypothermic situation. With hypothermia, there are varying levels of severity: mild, moderate, and severe. Mild hypothermia occurs when a person’s body temperature is between 90 degrees and 98 degrees. Symptoms often include shivering, lack of coordination, stumbling, slurred speech and pale skin. Moderate hypothermia occurs when body temperature is between 86 degrees and 90 degrees. At this stage, shivering usually stops but there is reduced breathing and a slower heart rate. A person may be unable to stand or walk and can appear confused or irrational. Severe hypothermia occurs when body temperature is really low, between 78 degrees and 86 degrees. A person with severe hypothermia usually experiences muscle stiffness and an irregular pulse. They can be very sleepy and have extremely cold skin. For reference, a normal human body temperature ranges from 97.9 to 99 degrees fahrenheit, so the conditions for hypothermia are very extreme.
Frostbite is dangerous because it damages deeper tissue and can often lead to tissue death. When a person has frostbite, they lose feeling and color in the impacted area. Frostbite commonly affects a person’s: nose, ears, cheeks, chin, fingers, or toes. These are usually areas left exposed to harsh conditions or that get less blood flow. Symptoms of frostbite include reduced blood flow to the hands, feet, fingers, or toes which often causes numbness, tingling or aching.
Trench foot, also known as immersion foot, is a cold-stress injury to the foot that can result from prolonged exposure to the wet and cold. It doesn’t technically need to be super cold outside for someone to suffer from trench foot and people can face this injury at temperatures as high as 60 degrees if the feet are wet. Symptoms of trench foot often include: skin reddening, numbness, leg cramps, swelling, blisters or ulcers, bleeding under the skin, or Gangrene.
Chilblains is another cold-stress condition, and it is the inflammation of the small blood vessels in the skin due to repeated cold exposure. This means that if someone is repeatedly exposed to cold temperatures, it can damage the capillaries in their skin, causing permanent damage and redness or itchiness. Symptoms of chilblains often include: redness, itching, blistering, inflammation, or ulceration.
To keep yourself and those around you safe in the cold and to learn more about how to keep your workers safe and what cold stress prevention measures to put in place, visit: https://www.thehartford.com/insights/home-workplace-safety/cold-stress?cmp=EMC-ML-Construction2211-35358156.
DII is your partner in cold safety this holiday season. Our team of experts can work with you to understand how to protect your friends, family, and coworkers from the cold during these harsh winter months. Please contact your DII representative for more information. #HolidaySeason #ColdStress #Prevention
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