Winter Storm | Safety Tips and Cold Protection | Bemable

credit: iStock

Introduction

Winter storms can be a dangerous time for people with heart problems and diabetes as well as older adults. If you are at risk for cold-related medical conditions, it is important to take steps to protect yourself this winter. Here are some tips on how to stay safe:

Have a Plan

• Have a plan.
• How to keep warm?
• What if you lose power?

Stock up on Supplies

A well-stocked emergency kit is a necessity in any disaster scenario. The most important items to pack are food, water, and medications. Make sure you have enough of each of those three things to last for at least 72 hours (2 weeks). You should also prepare for the possibility that power may be out for an extended period; as such, include flashlights with batteries, a hand-crank radio, or other portable devices that can provide news updates and weather information.

When it comes to blankets and warm clothing, these two items shouldn’t be overlooked during winter months because they come in handy when temperatures dip below freezing! Also, consider stocking up on tools like shovels/pry bars/ladders so you can clear snow from your roof if needed while keeping yourself safe from falling ice chunks off house roofs into yards below.

credit: iStock

Eat Healthy Foods

• Both the food you eat and the way you live can affect your body's ability to fight off colds, so it's important to make sure that your diet is as nutritious as possible. Eating high-fiber foods will help keep your bowels regular and give them a smoother ride through the day if they tend to be on the loose side (which they probably are).
• Get plenty of vitamin C in your diet. Vitamin C helps boost immunity, strengthen bones, and prevent scurvy and other diseases caused by vitamin deficiencies or excessive amounts of stressors like pollution or tobacco smoke exposure during pregnancy; it also plays an important role in maintaining normal blood pressure levels so that there is less risk for heart disease later down the road when faced with intense physical activity outside during winter weather conditions such as shoveling snow into piles instead of playing football with friends at recess time.

credit: iStock

Stay Hydrated and Drink Lots of Water

Stay hydrated and drink lots of water, especially if you take diuretics for high blood pressure or heart failure.

In addition to staying warm, you can also help prevent hypothermia by drinking plenty of water. Drinking water before you get thirsty will help keep your body temperature up. If it's cold outside and you're exercising or doing other activities in the snow, drink even more water, the colder air holds less moisture than warmer air, so being well hydrated will help keep the blood flowing freely into your core body heaters during exercise.

If you have high blood pressure or heart failure because of diabetes (diabetes-related hypertension), taking diuretics may increase urination and make dehydration worse by causing more frequent trips to the bathroom (and therefore more liquid loss). To minimize this problem during winter weather:

• Drink enough fluids throughout the day so that if one of those times comes along when there isn't much time for meals or snacks between work sessions which could lead to dehydration problems down the road then having extra nutrients stored up beforehand might not hurt anything either way as long as they weren't consumed earlier than usual without any extra effort put forth towards getting them into our bodies right away due  to lack thereof being made available elsewhere first before us needing accesses anymore."

Check on your neighbors, particularly seniors and those with special needs or who live alone, also check on pets!

Check on your neighbors, particularly seniors and those with special needs or who live alone. You never know what could happen to them during a storm.

Check on pets too! If you have any animals, make sure they are safe in their cages or crates before heading out into the storm. Make sure they have food and water as well.

credit: iStock

Keep Indoor Air Moist to Help with Breathing

You can keep your indoor air moist to help with breathing. Here are some ways to do this:

Use a Humidifier

If you need to add moisture to the air, use either a warm or cool mist evaporative humidifier (or both), which will release steam into small amounts of water vapor that fills the room with moisture without producing too much heat. This is an effective way to prevent respiratory issues such as catarrh and sinusitis while still allowing people who have trouble breathing at home because of allergies or asthma reactions such as post-nasal drip due in part to dust mites present within buildings where there is no ventilation system installed within them; however, if these individuals have been exposed long enough then those symptoms might become permanent after several years have passed since their initial exposure occurred even though they did not experience any adverse effects from those particular conditions until now.

Do not use Outdoor Grills Indoors

There are many ways to make your grill more efficient, but one of the most important is to use an outdoor grill indoors.

• You can easily put off using the grill while you're indoors and instead use a large pan or skillet on your stovetop. This reduces the amount of fuel needed for cooking and will save money in terms of buying gas grills (which typically cost several hundred dollars).
• You can also avoid carbon monoxide poisoning by not using an open flame when cooking. If you have an electric range/oven instead of charcoal or wood pellets as your primary source of heat, this won't be an issue for you!

Avoid Drafts and Dampness

Avoid drafts and dampness by making sure your home is well-insulated and weather-stripped—caulk and weather-strip doors and windowsills to keep cold air out.

• Make sure your home is well-insulated and weather-stripped, caulk and weather-strip doors and windowsills to keep cold air out.
• Use insulation in the attic or basement, or install a thick layer of blankets on top of that if you have a basement that’s not being used for sleeping quarters (the heat generated by bodies will help keep it warm).
• Seal any holes in your roof with caulk made specifically for this purpose; some homeowners also use felt pads under their gutters to keep water from running down onto their roofs during heavy rains.

credit: iStock

Stay Warm

• Use fireplaces, wood stoves, or other combustion heaters only if they are properly vented to the outside and do not leak flue gasses into the indoor air space. Have heating equipment and chimneys cleaned and inspected every year by a qualified professional.
• Do not use a fireplace that is built into your home as a primary source of heat because it can cause carbon monoxide poisoning when used close to an open flame.
• Be careful when using space heaters in enclosed rooms such as basements or garages; doing so may result in carbon monoxide exposure because these appliances do not ventilate their exhaust fumes outdoors through openings that are large enough for proper ventilation (e.g., a chimney).

Conclusion

So there you have it, our guide to winter storm safety. We hope that these tips and tricks help you stay safe from the cold this winter season. It’s important to remember that storms can be unpredictable and Mother Nature doesn’t always follow the same plan every year. So, make sure your family is prepared for any weather conditions with a plan in place and feel confident during these times by knowing what to do before an emergency happens.