A new, easy-to-read booklet ? Stay Safe in Cold Weather! ? offers older adults tips on avoiding a dangerous condition called hypothermia. This free 12-page publication is now available from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
“Older adults can lose body heat faster than when they were young, and some health problems and medicines can make it harder for them to stay warm,” says NIA Director Richard J. Hodes, M.D.”;This booklet describes hypothermia and offers simple steps seniors can take to lower their risk of this sometimes life-threatening health concern.”
Hypothermia (hi-po-ther-mee-uh) occurs when a person’s body temperature drops below 95 degrees Fahrenheit because of exposure to cold, either indoors or outside. Low body temperature can cause heart attack, kidney problems, liver damage and sometimes death. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 600 people in the United States, half of them age 65 or older, die from hypothermia each year.
Stay Safe in Cold Weather! is written in plain language and incorporates colorful graphic elements and other features to help readers understand the content. In creating the new booklet, the NIA publications team talked with older adults and considered the needs of people with limited reading skills.
Stay Safe in Cold Weather! discusses topics such as:
What hypothermia is
How to prevent hypothermia, both in the home and outdoors
Health problems that can increase an older person’s risk of hypothermia
Warning signs