LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- With the expected temperature drop over the next two days, doctors are issuing a warning that spending too much time outside in freezing temperatures can get dangerous quickly.
According to doctors with UofL Health, frostbite is a numbness you feel in places furthest from your heart, such as hands, feet, nose and toes. Blood rushes to the center of your body to keep you warm.
It's possible to lose a frostbitten finger or toe if you don't use caution.
Hypothermia is when your whole body drops in temperature. You'll experience excessive shivering, confusion and slurred speech.
Doctors say both can be very dangerous, but hypothermia can become life-threatening. They're asking people to stay in a warm place.
"If you fall asleep outside or get caught outside at 40 degrees, you might live. If you spend a whole night at zero degrees, you will probably not live. It's so much more life-threatening," Dr. Martin Huecker, with UofL Health, said. "And even short times outside, if you go outside without proper protection, even just for a couple of hours or a few minutes when it gets that cold and windy, then you can, again, get frostbite or hypothermia."
The best way to protect yourself is to limit your time spent outside in the cold. If you do go outside, layer up. Make sure you have a warm coat, gloves, a hat and boots, and to cover any exposed skin the best you can.
If you think you need medical care for frostbite, or have symptoms of hypothermia, you should go to the emergency room.
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