With frigid temperatures in the area, and cold weather here to stay for the rest of winter, one condition could be seen more often.

Guthrie County Health Services Director Jotham Arber says that thermal shock is something that people can see in both hot and cold weather, but that in cold weather it comes from individuals trying to stay warm while doing something outside. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio that the condition occurs when people go back and forth from being in the cold outside and the warm inside too quickly and too often. Arber shares some symptoms that individuals may experience with thermal shock.

“If you’re starting to feel confused, you’re nervous all of a sudden, you’re shivering, you’re very tired, even some nausea, those type of things, that’s telling you that your body is not handling the in and out from that cold and it’s time to get yourself indoors and to give yourself time to recoup before going back out. You want to make sure that you’ve cleared all of those symptoms before going out because the worst thing that could happen is you could become unconscious while in that state.”

Arber mentions that people who do lose consciousness outside because of thermal shock may then face more severe conditions, such as hypoxia from a lack of oxygen, and hypothermia and frostbite from being outside in the cold too long.