{"id":1086,"date":"2014-11-20T10:15:19","date_gmt":"2014-11-20T16:15:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/touchingheartsathome.wordpress.com\/?p=133"},"modified":"2014-11-20T10:15:19","modified_gmt":"2014-11-20T16:15:19","slug":"colder-weather","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/touchinghearts.com\/bellevue\/blog\/colder-weather\/","title":{"rendered":"Colder weather"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"block block--freeform\">\n<div class=\"container\">Cold weather, like hot weather, can often catch people unprepared.\u00a0 This is a good time to be reminded of what can happen when things cool down.<\/p>\n<p>Did you know that temperatures do <em>not<\/em> have to be below freezing for hypothermia to develop?\u00a0 In cold weather, millions of older people risk developing hypothermia.\u00a0 That means low body temperature.\u00a0 Normal body temperature needs to be about 98.6 degrees F.\u00a0 If cold causes it to drop below 95 degrees F, dangerous things start to happen.\u00a0 The heart begins to slow down; the body becomes weak; and the mind becomes confused.<\/p>\n<p>One of the most dangerous things about hypothermia is that it causes the mind to become confused.\u00a0 When a person is confused it\u2019s very hard to make good decisions. Confusion can keep a person from recognizing danger and seeking help.\u00a0 This is why many older adults die from hypothermia in their own homes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Danger Signs<\/strong> If an older adult has any of these signs, suspect hypothermia:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Confusion<\/li>\n<li>Difficulty in speaking<\/li>\n<li>Shivering<\/li>\n<li>Slow breathing<\/li>\n<li>Sleeping and hard to wake up<\/li>\n<li>Cold, stiff muscles<\/li>\n<li>Puffy face<\/li>\n<li>Stomach cold to touch<\/li>\n<li>Forgetfulness<\/li>\n<li>Trembling of one side of the body or in one arm or leg<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Risks<\/strong> The following things can increase the risk of developing hypothermia:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Living in a cold house<\/li>\n<li>Not dressing warmly enough<\/li>\n<li>Drinking alcoholic beverages<\/li>\n<li>Taking certain prescription drugs. Check with a doctor or pharmacist.<\/li>\n<li>Poor diet<\/li>\n<li>Stroke or diabetes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Prevention<\/strong> Stay warm.\u00a0 If temperatures are cool or cold, the best thing to do is to dress warmly.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Wear layers of clothes. Loose clothes will trap more warm air around the body.\u00a0 Mittens are warmer than gloves.<\/li>\n<li>Keep clothes dray and change long underwear or socks if they become damp or wet.<\/li>\n<li>Wear a windproof outer layer when outdoors.<\/li>\n<li>Wool keeps a person warmer than cotton when damp or wet.<\/li>\n<li>Most synthetics are warmer than cotton when damp or wet.<\/li>\n<li>Down or quilted synthetic clothes also provide good protection form the cold.<\/li>\n<li>Good nutrition is especially important in winter.\u00a0 Food provides the fuel which the body needs to keep warm.\u00a0 Hot, nourishing meals and warm drinks add heat to the body.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you are concerned about an older adult who may be living at high risk for severe cold, check in on them often.\u00a0 If you believe someone is not safe from cold conditions, contact your state or area agency on aging.\u00a0 They can direct you to services that are available in your community.<\/p>\n<p>Ramona K. Hunt M.S. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Director of Leadership and Development\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Touching Hearts, Inc.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>The above information on <strong>danger signs, risks, and prevention<\/strong> was developed in conjunction with the Center for Environmental Physiology, 1511 K Street, NW, Suite 732, Washington DC 20005, and the American Gas Association.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cold weather, like hot weather, can often catch people unprepared.\u00a0 This is a good time to be reminded of what can happen when things cool down. Did you know that temperatures do not have to be below freezing for hypothermia to develop?\u00a0 In cold weather, millions of older people risk developing hypothermia.\u00a0 That means low [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Colder weather - Touching Hearts at Home of Bellevue, WA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/touchinghearts.com\/bellevue\/blog\/colder-weather\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Colder weather - Touching Hearts at Home of Bellevue, WA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cold weather, like hot weather, can often catch people unprepared.\u00a0 This is a good time to be reminded of what can happen when things cool down. Did you know that temperatures do not have to be below freezing for hypothermia to develop?\u00a0 In cold weather, millions of older people risk developing hypothermia.\u00a0 That means low [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/touchinghearts.com\/bellevue\/blog\/colder-weather\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Touching Hearts at Home of Bellevue, WA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-11-20T16:15:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"touchingheartsblog\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"touchingheartsblog\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/touchinghearts.com\/bellevue\/blog\/colder-weather\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/touchinghearts.com\/bellevue\/blog\/colder-weather\/\",\"name\":\"Colder weather - Touching Hearts at Home of Bellevue, WA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/touchinghearts.com\/bellevue\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-11-20T16:15:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/touchinghearts.com\/bellevue\/#\/schema\/person\/9c1df797dfe182e145e388023ce6a867\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/touchinghearts.com\/bellevue\/blog\/colder-weather\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/touchinghearts.com\/bellevue\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/touchinghearts.com\/bellevue\/\",\"name\":\"Touching Hearts at Home of Bellevue, WA\",\"description\":\"We value the people we serve, and those who serve them.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/touchinghearts.com\/bellevue\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/touchinghearts.com\/bellevue\/#\/schema\/person\/9c1df797dfe182e145e388023ce6a867\",\"name\":\"touchingheartsblog\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/touchinghearts.com\/bellevue\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"touchingheartsblog\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/touchinghearts.com\/bellevue\/blog\/author\/touchingheartsblog\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Colder weather - Touching Hearts at Home of Bellevue, WA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/touchinghearts.com\/bellevue\/blog\/colder-weather\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Colder weather - Touching Hearts at Home of Bellevue, WA","og_description":"Cold weather, like hot weather, can often catch people unprepared.\u00a0 This is a good time to be reminded of what can happen when things cool down. 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