Unexpected Ways Extremely Cold Weather Affects Your Health
- Frostbite
Have you ever wondered why your fingers and toes, when the weather is cold, are the first areas of your body to get cold? It’s all part of the strategy of the body to safeguard its inner organs. Some severe damage to the skin and tissues of the extremities, otherwise known as frostbite, can result from that task.
During severe cold, the BBC notes, “the body retains its warm blood close to the centre, constraining blood supply in outer regions such as the end of our limbs. In extreme cold, particularly when bare skin is exposed to the elements, this effect can end in frostbite. Blood flow is limited, and the lack of warm blood can lead to tissue freezing and rupture.”
- Increased Pressure on the heart
When you’re exposed to freezing temperatures, whether outside or indoors, the heart needs to do more work. “The risk of a … Read more