Tips to Stay Warm in the Cold Weather

Winter is upon the New York metropolitan area and from bundling up to watching what you eat and drink, there are ways you can keep a little warmer out in the cold.

One myth about staying warm in cold weather is that drinking alcohol will help warm you up. Robert Korn, MD, medical director of GoHealth, says when a person drinks alcoholic beverages, they dilate the blood vessels in their arms and legs, so the heat is being lost quicker in their extremities.

Dr. Korn also stresses that while people place great importance on keeping their heads warm thinking that a lot of heat is lost from that area, it is equally important to wear gloves and have other parts of your body sheltered from the cold.

Some of the most vulnerable people when it’s cold outside include the elderly as well as those with breathing issues and cardiovascular problems.

“Elderly people, people with cardiovascular problems can get hurt in the cold simply because cold is another stress to the heart. And if you do have underlying cardiac disease, you definitely don’t want to be outside if it’s extremely cold. Once we start having snow, our most common problem is when people who have underlying heart disease begin to do exertion activities like shoveling heavy snow that they haven’t done in a long time.”

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