TIP OF THE WEEK

November 30, 2007

Did you know...?        

Winter is approaching and as the temperature starts to tumble it's time to start thinking about how to protect employees who work outdoors.

About 700 deaths a year are attributed to hypothermia, which results when the body’s core temperature drops below 95 degrees Fahrenheit.  Employees who work outside should be aware of the physical hazards caused by cold working environments.  Employees should also be familiar with treatment methods for cold-related disorders and understand how to protect against cold-weather hazards.

When body temperature drops even a few degrees below its normal temperature of 98.6° F, the body uses its defense mechanisms to help maintain its core temperature.  Continuous exposure to cold will cause a person to shiver, which generates heat by speeding up the body's metabolic rate.  The body will also begin to divert blood flow away from the extremities (hands, feet, arms and legs) and outer skin to the core (chest and abdomen). This allows exposed skin and extremities to cool rapidly and increases the risk of frostbite and hypothermia

Frostbite is an irreversible condition in which the skin freezes, causing ice crystals to form between cells. The capillary walls of the frostbitten area are damaged, increasing cell wall permeability.  Fluid is then released into the tissues and is accompanied by local inflammation.  The toes, fingers, nose, ears, and cheeks are the most common sites of injury.  Frostbite can be superficial or deep.  If there is superficial frostbite, the individual experiences a loss of sensation and the skin turns gray-white.  Deep frostbite affects the skin and the subcutaneous tissues, as well as the muscle and bone.  Deep frostbite will cause numbness. The affected area will be cold, hard and white. 

Hypothermia results when the body is unable to produce enough heat to replace the heat lost to the environment.  It may occur at air temperatures up to 65° F or at water temperatures up to 72° F.  Symptoms normally begin when the body temperature drops below 95° F.  The first symptoms are shivering and foot stomping, which helps generate body heat.  With continued exposure to cold or frigid weather conditions, hypothermia becomes more severe.  The individual can fall into a state of dazed consciousness, failing to complete even simple motor functions.  The individual’s speech may become slurred and his or her behavior may become irrational.  When the body temperature drops below 90° F, shivering is diminished and the individual may be unable to walk or stand.  Below 77° F, the body may experience a failure of all heat regulatory and heat conservation mechanisms.  The individual may become very sleepy or lose consciousness and death may occur.

Signs and symptoms of cold weather exposure may include:

• Uncontrollable shivering
• Vague, slow, slurred speech
• Memory lapses; incoherence
• Immobile, fumbling hands
• Frequent stumbling; lurching gait
• Drowsiness

The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration has listed the following as major risk factors for cold-related stresses:

• Wearing inadequate or wet clothing increases the effects of cold on the body.
• Taking certain drugs or medications, such as alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, and other medication, can inhibit the body's response to the cold or impair judgment.
• Having a cold or certain diseases, such as diabetes, heart, vascular, and thyroid problems, may make a person more susceptible to the winter elements.
• Men experience far greater death rates due to cold exposure than women, perhaps due to inherent risk-taking activities, body-fat composition or other physiological differences.
• Becoming exhausted or immobilized, especially due to injury or entrapment, may speed up the effects of cold weather.
• Aging - the elderly are more vulnerable to the effects of harsh winter weather.

Employers with cold work environments should use the following guidelines as a defense against cold- induced injuries/illnesses:

• Use heat sources, such as air jets, radiant heaters and contact warm plates, which provide effective spot heating.
• Warming shelters, such as heated tents, cabins and break rooms should be provided to employees who experience prolonged exposure to equivalent wind-chill temperatures of 20° F or less.
• Provide wind shields to reduce drafts or windy conditions.
• When the temperature falls below 30° F, use thermal insulating material on equipment handles.

Employees who work in cold environments should follow guidelines to reduce their risk of injury or illness:

• Provisions should be made to allow new employees to adjust to cold weather working conditions.
• Employees should be educated on proper re-warming techniques, first-aid treatment, appropriate clothing practices, eating and drinking requirements and recognition of cold-related injuries/illnesses.
• Employees should work in a buddy system when temperatures are at or below 10.4° F as a protective observation measure.
• The workload should not be so intense that it causes heavy sweating.
• When possible, employers should schedule work during the warmest hours of the day and allow employees to set their own work pace and take breaks as needed.
• Eye protection should be provided to employees who may be exposed to blowing snow and ice crystals.
• Employees should wear personal protective clothing to prevent cold-related disorders. This is the most significant precaution an employee can take to reduce cold stress. Wearing appropriate clothes for cold weather requires using three layers of clothing.

If a person shows any signs of overexposure to cold or wet and windy weather, take the following measures:

• Get the person into dry clothing and into a warm environment bed or sleeping bag with
• Concentrate heat on the trunk of the body first - the shoulders, chest and stomach.  Use warm towels, a heating pad, or some other such heat source to re-warm the individual.
• Keep the head low and the feet up to get warm blood circulating to the head.
• Give the individual warm drinks.
• Never give the individual alcohol, sedatives, tranquilizers or pain relievers. They only slow down body processes even more.
• Keep the individual quiet. Do not jostle, massage or rub.
• If symptoms are extreme, call for professional medical assistance immediately!

Working outside in the cold is a safety issue because the cold can lead to accidents due to hypothermia-triggered disorientation, and it can also lead to lost workdays due to frostbite and cold-related illnesses, such as colds and the flu.

For more tips on how to protect workers who have to work out if the cold, visit OSHA’s website at: http://www.osha.gov/as/opa/cold_weather_prep.html.

To learn more about services OHS-COMPCARE has to offer, contact our Client Services Team at (816) 559-6306 or by e-mail at customerservice@ohscompcare.com.  You can also visit us at www.ohscompcare.com.

*Please feel free to forward this information to any member of management in your company who would benefit from it.*

OHS-COMPCARE has eight (8) area clinical facilities:

Blue Springs Clinical Facility	Independence Clinical Facility	Johnson County Clinical Facility	St. Joseph Clinical Facility
801 NW St. Mary’s Drive	19000 E. Eastland Center Crt, St. 200	10415 Lackman Road	904 Edmond Street
Blue Springs, MO 64104	Independence, MO 64055	Lenexa, KS 66219	St. Joseph, MO 64501
816-224-9121	816-478-9299	913-495-9905	816-233-7702
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KCMO/Broadway Clinical Facility	KCMO/Front Street Clinical Facility	Wyandotte County Clinical Facility	Grandview Clinical Facility
1650 Broadway	6501 East Commerce, Suite 110	1333 Meadowlark Lane, Suite 200	13830 S Us Highway 71
Kansas City, MO 64108	Kansas City, MO 64120	Kansas City, KS  66102	Grandview, MO 64030
816-842-2020	816-483-5550	913-596-2774	816-761-4664