Is it safe to let children play outside in the coming frigid weather, or even walk to a nearby school,
sports event or lesson?
Bowling Green pediatrician Mike Lemon offered a list of considerations that parents need to keep in mind.

First, are a couple of pre-suppositions:
“We’re
presuming the child has no significant medical issues such as a chest
issue” like bronchitis, pneumonia or “a lung disease or heart disease.”
For those children, exposure to the elements should be avoided entirely.
For healthy children:
“We’re
assuming they’re going to be appropriately dressed in multiple layers,”
which keep the body much warmer than a single heavy layer of clothing.
Don’t forget the sunscreen, since sun on snow actually causes sunburn.
“Use
sunscreen on exposed areas if you’re going to be outside for a
significant amount of time, although probably nobody will be in this
weather.”
Don’t forget the Chapstick for exposed lips.
Children
going outside to play in the snow should be sure to be reasonably well
hydrated, Lemon added. “The cold air sucks the water right out of us.
Humidity is a lot lower in cold temperatures” so drink plenty of water.
Length of time outside is the critical factor.
“They just can’t be out very long when it’s minus-10, minus-15 or minus-god-knows-what kind of
temperatures we’re expecting.
“I
would suggest you think in 15-minute increments” and that a parent
maintain a vigilant eye on the clock so they don’t get distracted.
Actually,
Lemon advises parents, “you should be outside with your children. That
way it will be obvious” if they are getting too cold or at all wet,
which is never safe and can happen to exposed skin as well as covered
skin when the child sweats and then gets chilled.
Becoming over-tired
is another danger of extreme cold. “It’s a lot more effort running
around in the snow when it’s cold, and the child is more likely to get
tired, which means they’re more likely to get hurt.”
Just down the
street from Wood County Hospital is the Conneaut sledding hill, which
has been doing a landmark business since Friday when the sun came out
and wind died down a bit.
“If they’re sledding and it’s too crowded,
don’t go down,” Lemon warned, adding that anyone sledding really should
be wearing a bike helmet.
But sledding, too, becomes increasingly dangerous as the thermometer drops, causing scary wind-chill
issues.
Much of the advice for children can also be applied to older individuals, and also most adults in
general.
With
record-breaking low temperatures possible, most any exposure to the
elements should be limited, said Amy Oberhaus, nursing director at Wood
County Hospital.
“When it’s this cold, we try to stay inside at all times.”
Still,
“everybody’s different,” Oberhaus said. “As long as they can tolerate
the exposure,” healthy adults can go outdoors while being mindful of
conditions.
Anyone with a heart condition is likely to have more
difficulty and should proceed with caution. Once outside, things to
watch for are hypothermia, frostbite and pneumonia, evidenced by signs
like pain in the extremities, numbness and tingling.
If symptoms present themselves, the next step should be seeing a medical provider, Oberhaus said.
When
going outside, people should dress in layers and minimized exposed
skin, with special protection for extremities with insulated gloves and
boots and thermal socks, said Dr. Michael McCrea, medical director of
Wood County Hospital.
Shoveling snow can become a threatening
activity during such extreme weather, McCrea said. Anyone doing so
should dress warmly, take regular breaks and use proper form — lifting
with the legs rather than the back.
(Sentinel staff writer Alex Aspacher contributed to this report.)