Julie Vieth, M.B.C.H.B., associate professor of emergency medicine at the Larner College of Medicine and emergency medicine department director at the UVM Medical Center, said people need to bundle up when temperatures dip down and cover as much skin as possible, especially fingers, toes, ears, and nose.
Frostbite isn’t the only risk. Hypothermia is when your internal body temperature gets dangerously low—and those symptoms aren’t always physical.
“Confusion or things don’t seem right; someone is not acting like themselves. We need to see those people,” Dr. Vieth said.
It’s not just freezing temperatures outside that could send you to the emergency room. Vieth said people often get sick trying to heat their homes in unsafe ways, like using kitchen appliances.
“We’re going to see some carbon-monoxide exposure, depending on how those heat sources are being used,” Vieth said.
This topic was also covered by NBC5