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Dressing for the cold
Not dressing warm enough will
give you a cold
Even a small decrease in temperature can inhibit your immune system
from protecting you against sickness. This is why it's important
to dress warm in cold weather. If you don't you are vulnerable to
sickness.
Wear a Hat
A proportionately large amount of heat escapes from the head. That
is why it is most important when dressing warm to wear a hat.
Stay Dry
Water is a very good conductor of heat. Heat passes easily from
the skin into the water. This is why you cool down when you sweat.
This is also why people who become submerged in water are so prone
to hypothermia. In order to stay warm, you must stay dry. When
exposing your body to the elements, like when you're camping
or boating, always bring water proof rain gear,
and dry clothes sealed in a watertight plastic bag.
Sweat can leave you wet and cold
If you dress too warm or if you physically exert yourself in the
cold, like when you're snowboarding, skiing, shoveling snow, etc.,
you will sweat. Your sweat will make your clothes wet, and your
heat will drain out of your body. A good way to prevent this is
by wearing long underwear made of a material that wicks away moisture,
such as polypropylene. Make sure to wear this material against your
skin, to keep the moisture off your body, and your heat inside.
If your extremities, fingers and
toes, become numb or you notice they've stopped hurting after being
uncomfortable from the cold, get inside and warm them up.
As long as your fingers and tootsies are still hurting from the
cold, you are ok. But when they stop hurting you are in danger of
getting frost bite.
Dressing for the heat
If your body gets to warm, you can become dehydrated
due to excess sweating. If your temperature rises high enough you
can experience heat stroke, when your body's mechanisms for temperature
control switch off.
To stay cool drink lots and lots
of water
Sweating keeps you cool. You need water to sweat. Case closed.
When you spend time in the sun,
always use sunblock to avoid sunburn which can lead to heat
stroke.
If you feel dizzy, let someone know, get out of the
sun, into a cool place and drink lots of water.
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