Doctors recommend staying inside – if possible – as wind-chills across the Chicago area dip well below zero for the next few days. NBC Chicago’s Courtney Sisk reports.
Doctors recommend staying inside - if possible - as wind-chills across the Chicago area dip well below zero for the next few days.
The extreme cold can cause a multitude of health problems from frostbite to dehydration.
Here's what doctors say about the risks and how to protect yourself.
Frostbite
"We are more likely to get frostbite in the areas that are furthest from our heart, furthest from our core," said Northwestern Medicine's Dr. Santina Wheat. "Those are the ones that will get cold the fastest."
Wheat said it's important to protect areas like your ears, fingers, nose and toes.
"Those are the areas we have to pay attention to the quickest," she said. "If you're worried that you have frostbite... please reach out to your physician, please go to urgent care or emergency rooms if you think you have frostbite."
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Dehydration
Dehydration in extreme cold temperatures might take people by surprise, the doctor said.
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"We usually associate dehydration with hot weather, but cold weather we are often able to get it too because you feel less thirsty and we tend to drink less fluids during that time," she stated. "Additionally, when it’s cold outside, we are inside with indoor heating hopefully. That dry air can also increase the water loss that we have through evaporation."
Wheat recommends drinking fluids throughout the day and keeping a clean humidifier near by. If you don't have a humidifier, she suggests putting a bowl of water near your heat source in your home.
Signs of dehydration in the intense cold can be dry mouth and skin, dizziness, headaches and nose bleeds.
Heart risks
"The cold weather acts as a vasoconstrictor, so that means your blood isn’t moving in the same way as it usually does," Wheat said. "It’s not just shoveling snow, it’s really any activity for someone who has heart concerns."
Cold temperatures can narrow blood vessels, slowing down blood flow.
"It can increase the risks of heart attacks, and so really be careful in times when it's so cold," she said. "Stay as warm as possible if you are outside and doing any activities."
Asthma and lung risks
"Our lungs are our most sensitive organ, and they hate these huge extremes of temperature," said Dr. Juanita Mora, the national medical spokesperson for the American Lung Association.
“Any extreme cold weather like we’re having in Chicago is going to have a huge effect on anyone with underlying pulmonary diseases like asthma or chronic bronchitis, emphysema or COPD,” she said. "People already have underlying inflammation of the lungs."
Mora said the cold can make people more susceptible to wheezing, coughing and developing acute bronchitis.
"The most import thing for people with underlying pulmonary diseases or any chronic conditions is making sure that if you don't have to go outside you stay home," she said.
Mora recommends staying on top of any medications, inhalers or layering up properly if you do need to go outside.
