Cold Air Puts Rabun County at Risk

With the lowest temperatures of the winter taking over the area the past few days, local Doctor, Timothy Scott Beck warns of the health risk that exposure to the cold can cause…

“The deal with exposure, the thing you got to worry about is hypothermia, which is when your body temperature starts dropping. Now our normal body temperature is 98.7, I think official classification of hypothermia is when your body temperature reaches 92.”

Dr. Beck offers some tips to prevent hypothermia and frostbite…

“First of all, you burn calories to keep warm, so it’s always good to have food if your going to go out. Number two, dress in layers, and to over compensate for whats going on, and then if you get hot you can always take things off. The key things that you got to keep warm are gonna be your head, your hands, and your feet. You hands and feet are the first ones that are gonna get frostbit.”

He also adds that you should drink plenty of fluids during cold weather to help your body stay warm.