While it may not feel like it currently, winter is upon us, meaning that when temperatures drop, people can be affected in a few ways by the cold.

Adair and Guthrie County Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Kempf says that one such adverse effect is frostbite. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio that frostbite is where the water molecules in skin cells freezes, and how to try and recover from it.

“One of the best things to do is to put your hands, if you’re talking about your fingers or feet or something like that, extremities. You can put them under warm running water. You don’t want to use real hot water, you want to kind of do a slow, get rid of that, instead of right away. You don’t want to rub it or anything like that.”

Kempf mentions that signs of frostbite include a loss of feeling and a waxy appearance of the skin, and that ear lobes, noses, fingers and toes are the parts of the body that will most likely be affected.