Keeping safe and warm on New Year’s
[projekktor id=’17088′]
Because the combination of cold and alcohol can be lethal, it’s important to learn about keeping safe and warm this New Year’s Eve.
A lot of people will be celebrating outside at the big Niagara Falls concert. but even if you’re partying indoors, plan for the trip to and from your destination to avoid a collision or hypothermia.
Before you down even one drink, you should decide how you’re getting home. Because as Hamilton Police constable Claus Wagner explains, “If you haven’t made that decision before you even leave the house, you’re not going to make the right decision after a few drinks.”
Wagner says many drivers he pulls over underestimate how much they’ve consumed, so you’re best to have nothing if you’re getting behind the wheel.
Calling a cab or taking public transit are great alternatives – but dress warmly because you could be waiting in the cold. That also goes for anyone celebrating outside: cold and alcohol can be a deadly combination.
On New Year’s Eve, the ER sees an influx of patients who have had too much to drink. But sometimes those symptoms can look very similar to hypothermia, so they test everyone’s core temperature before making a diagnosis.
Alcohol is one of the biggest factors in causing hypothermia, because it impairs the body’s ability to feel cold. “You lose the ability to really sense how cold you are, just like you’d lose the sense of your whereabouts and your ability to perceive what’s happening about you.”
According to ER doctor Bill Krizmanich, your body doesn’t react to cold the way it normally would. “Once you lose the ability to shiver, that’s when you start to drop your core body temperature and you get into a hypothermic state.”
Whether or not you’re drinking:
- dress in layers;
- choose fabrics that wick away sweat;
- wear gloves, a hat and warm footwear;
- and eat well and stay hydrated.
If you get too cold, go inside. And even if you’re sleeping over, make sure you get home safely the next day.
“Just because you’ve slept a couple hours, doesn’t mean your body’s flushed that alcohol out of your system. so give yourself a good half a day before you get ready to drive a car again.”
Krizmanich suggests a buddy system: have a sober friend keep an eye out for signs of cold that you may not notice if you’re drinking. And believe it or not, cold can worsen your hangover. Both cold and alcohol dehydrate you, so drink plenty of water.
