Preventing Frostbite

Scranton, Lackawanna County- With below zero temperatures in the morning and barely double digits in the afternoon, Wednesday's weather is the coldest we've seen in four years. "It's freezing. It's cold, it's very cold. We're waiting on the bus to get to where we're going to go, our destinations, school and work and stuff like that, and it's freezing!" says Wilhelmina Braswell of Scranton. Denzell White is keeping warm by wearing layers and layers of clothing. "My mom told me it's like five degrees out. It's probably less than that. I don't feel nothing. I'm just nice and warm." says, White. Extreme temperatures can be dangerous. Dr. Gregory Thomas of Geisinger Medical Center in Scranton, says when temps. dip under 14 degrees, your body temperature can drop too."When the body temp. is lowered, the body responds by decreasing blood flow to the finger tips, the face, the toes. That places the patient at an increase risk for frostbite" says, Thomas. Debbie Clark is a Trauma Education Outreach Coordinator. She sees first hand what the cold weather can do. Frostbite can last several months, depending on how severe it is. Getting frostbite on the other hand can take minutes. "Minutes. It can be minutes. Depending on how cold it is, whether your wet, if your clothing is wet it happens faster. says Clark. Tobacco use decreases blood flow to the finger tips and toes in normal weather, let alone freezing temps. like were seeing this week. Dr. Thomas says, we need to be aware of all personal risk factors. "Alcohol use outside is not a good thing in cold weather. You loose your sensation, you loose your conception of time and that again can affect your body temp. Diabetics are at an increased risk." says Thomas.