Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Reminds Families To Be Safe During the Cold Winter Months

News Releases

For Immediate Release

Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Reminds Families To Be Safe During the Cold Winter Months

Pittsburgh, Pa. - January 22, 2003 -

Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh offers preventive medicine in the form of safety tips for families during the cold winter months when injuries can easily occur. Although the winter season can be a fun time of year, there are many things parents of young children should be cautious of including how to prevent frostbite and sled riding, snowboarding and skiing injuries.

Experts urge families to take extra precautions this winter to ensure the safety of everyone in the family. Children’s Hospital’s Injury Prevention Web site, www.chp.edu, offers a wide variety of seasonal safety tips for children, parents, teachers and guardians. Safety tips are available for different reading levels and age groups.

Here are a few tips:

Frostbite:

Children are at greater risk than adults because they lose heat from their skin faster.
Dress children in layers.
Bring children in at regular intervals and inspect fingers and noses for signs of frostnip or frostbite.
Do not go outside in very cold weather after receiving a bath or shower.

Sledding:

Always supervise children when they sled ride.
Teach children to roll off a sled that won’t stop. Tell them not to worry about the sled.
Make sure children wear a helmet when sled riding.
Change wet clothing or come in to dry off periodically.

Frostnip:

An earlier form of frostbite; frostnip can affect a child’s ears, nose, cheeks, fingers and toes. Affected areas will be white and numb.
To treat frostnip – submerge affected areas in warm water (between 101 to 104 degrees F). Do not permit the child to control the temperature of the water.
Keep affected areas in water until they turn red.

Contact:
Marc Lukasiak or Melanie Finnigan, 412-692-5016,
Marc.Lukasiak@chp.edu or Melanie.Finnigan@chp.edu

Last Update
June 17, 2008

top