What are the health effects of exposure to cold? Cooling of body parts may result in various cold injuries non-freezing injuries, freezing injuries - – and hypothermia which is the most serious. Non-freezing cold injuries include chilblain, immersion foot and trenchfoot. Frostnip and frostbite are freezing injuries. Toes, fingers, ears and nose are at greatest risk because areas do not have major muscles to produce heat. In addition, the body will preserve heat by favouring the internal organs and thus reducing the flow of blood to the extremities under cold conditions. Hands and feet tend to get cold more quickly than the torso because: they lose heat more rapidly since they have a higher surface area-to-volume ratio, and they are more likely to be in contact with colder surfaces than other parts of the body. If the eyes are not protected with goggles in high wind chill conditions, the corneas of the eyes may freeze. The most severe cold injury is hypothermia occurs from excessive loss of body heat and the consequent lowering of the inner core temperature (internal temperature of the body). Hypothermia can be fatal. For more information on the general effects of working in the cold as well as how the body adapts to cold, please see . For information on exposure limits and prevention of injury while working in the cold, please see . What are examples of 'nonfreezing' cold injuries? Chilblains are a mild cold injury caused by prolonged and repeated exposure for several to air temperatures from above freezing (0°C or 32°F) to as high as 16°C (or about 60°F). In the affected skin area there will be redness, swelling, tingling, and pain. Immersion foot occurs in individuals whose feet have been wet, but not freezing cold, for days or weeks. It can occur at temperatures up to 10°C (50°F). The primary injury is to nerve and muscle tissue. Symptoms include tingling and numbness; itching, pain, swelling of the legs, feet, or hands; or blisters may develop. The skin may be red initially and turn to blue or purple as the injury progresses. In severe cases, gangrene may develop.
What are the health effects of exposure to cold? Cooling of body parts may result in various cold injuries – non-freezing injuries, freezing injuries - and hypothermia which is the most serious. Non-freezing cold injuries include chilblain, immersion foot and trenchfoot. Frostnip and frostbite are freezing injuries. Toes, fingers, ears and nose are at greatest risk because areas do not have major muscles to produce heat. In addition, the body will preserve heat by favouring the internal organs and thus reducing the flow of blood to the extremities under cold conditions. Hands and feet tend to get cold more quickly than the torso because: they lose heat more rapidly since they have a higher surface area-to-volume ratio, and they are more likely to be in contact with colder surfaces than other parts of the body. If the eyes are not protected with goggles in high wind chill conditions, the corneas of the eyes may freeze. The most severe cold injury is hypothermia occurs from excessive loss of body heat and the consequent lowering of the inner core temperature (internal temperature of the body). Hypothermia can be fatal. For more information on the general effects of working in the cold as well as how the body adapts to cold, please see . For information on exposure limits and prevention of injury while working in the cold, please see . What are examples of 'nonfreezing' cold injuries? Chilblains are a mild cold injury caused by prolonged and repeated exposure for several to air temperatures from above freezing (0°C or 32°F) to as high as 16°C (or about 60°F). In the affected skin area there will be redness, swelling, tingling, and pain. Immersion foot occurs in individuals whose feet have been wet, but not freezing cold, for days or weeks. It can occur at temperatures up to 10°C (50°F). The primary injury is to nerve and muscle tissue. Symptoms include tingling and numbness; itching, pain, swelling of the legs, feet, or hands; or blisters may develop. The skin may be red initially and turn to blue or purple as the injury progresses. In severe cases, gangrene may develop.
CCOHS-Cold-Environments-Health-Affects-First-Aid.docx