VOA慢速英語:How to Stay Warm and Safe in Freezing Weather

[00:00.00]From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report in Special English. [00:05.99]Freezing weather can mean frostbite and hypothermia unless a person is prepared. [00:13.92]Today we talk about how to stay warm, dry and safe. [00:19.64]Frostbite is damage that happens [00:24.12]when skin is exposed to extreme cold for too long. [00:29.35]It mainly happens on the hands, feet, nose and ears. [00:35.68]People with minor cases of frostbite [00:39.56]that affect only the skin may not suffer any permanent damage. [00:44.83]But if deeper tissue is affected, [00:48.54]a person is likely to feel pain every time the area gets cold. [00:54.16]If blood vessels are damaged, people can suffer a gangrene infection. [01:01.14]Sometimes the only way doctors can treat an injury like this [01:07.22]is to remove frostbitten areas like fingers and toes. [01:12.81]Hypothermia is a condition that develops when the body [01:18.67]cannot produce as much heat as it releases. [01:22.69]Signs of hypothermia include uncontrollable shaking, [01:28.07]very slow breathing and difficulty thinking clearly. [01:33.23]Hypothermia can lead to death if the person does not receive help. [01:39.54]To avoid cold-related injuries, [01:43.06]here is a simple way to remember four basic steps to staying warm. [01:49.89]Think of COLD -- C.O.L.D. [01:54.98]The C stands for cover. [01:58.64]Wear a hat and scarf to keep heat from escaping through the head, neck and ears. [02:06.08]And wear mittens instead of gloves. [02:09.70]In gloves, the fingers are separated, [02:13.26]so the hands might not stay as warm as they would in mittens. [02:18.34]The O stands for overexertion. Avoid activities that will make you sweaty. [02:26.48]Wet clothes and cold weather are a dangerous combination. [02:31.66]L is for layers. Wearing loose, lightweight clothes, one layer on top of another, [02:40.89]is better than wearing a single heavy layer of clothing. [02:45.87]Make sure outerwear is made of material that is water-resistant and tightly knit. [02:52.87]D is for dry. In other words, stay as dry as possible. [02:59.64]Pay attention to the places where snow can enter clothing. [03:04.71]These include the tops of boots, [03:08.02]the necks of coats and the wrist areas of mittens or gloves. [03:13.65]And here are two other things to keep in mind -- [03:17.82]one for children and the other for adults. [03:21.53]Eating snow might be fun but it lowers the body's temperature. [03:28.15]And drinking alcohol might make a person feel warm. [03:32.92]But what it really does is weaken the body's ability to hold heat. [03:38.70]Next week on the Health Report: [03:46.04]advice from experts about what to do, and not to do, [03:49.90]to help someone who is injured by cold weather.

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