What are the signs of frostbite?
Frostbite usually affects the fingers, toes, heels, hands, nose and feet. It happens only in subfreezing temperatures. Numb, red and slightly swollen skin characterize superficial frostbite. It may look gray or yellowish, but becomes red and flaky after thawing.
Blisters appear with deep frostbite, and skin may become cold waxy, pale and hard. Pain may lessen and disappear.

What are the signs of hypothermia?
Stumbling, mumbling and fumbling can be signs that motor skills, speech and decision-making abilities are impaired. As hypothermia progresses, victims may seem confused or deny that they are cold. Unconsciousness and death can follow.

Are these conditions life-threatening?
Frostbite is limb threatening; hypothermia is life threatening. When the core body temperature is threatened, blood is redirected to the internal vital organs. This can put a person’s limbs at greater risk of frostbite, but it can be life-saving.

Who has a higher risk of developing frostbite and hypothermia?
Children and the elderly as well as people with injuries, chronic illnesses and those who have taken medication.

How do you treat frostbite?
Don’t rub your hands together. Rubbing will cause more tissue damage. Instead, submerge frostbitten parts in water that is not quite hot to the touch (104 to 108 F). A person might want to take aspirin – thawing will be painful and aspiring helps prevent blood clotting. Seek Medical attention.

How do you treat hypothermia?
Remove wet clothing. Add insulation beneath and around the victim. Cover the person’s head. Don’t place a victim close to a heat source. Adding heat stops shivering (the body’s mechanism to create heat) in the mild hypothermic victim. Seek medical attention for those with severe hypothermia. These victims need to be re-warmed in a medical facility.

• Always go to the park with an adult or friends. This could be your Mom or Dad or an older brother or sister.



• Never talk or take anything from a stranger at the park, even if a stranger has candy that you might like, don’t take it!



• Sometimes while at the park you will need to go to the restroom, and when you do it is always best to go there with an adult.



• While at the park, remember to always wear your shoes. You never know what someone else might have thrown on the ground, such as glass or something else sharp.



• You might want to bring your bicycle or roller blades to the park and when you do you should always wear your protective equipment, such as: helmets, kneepads, and wrist protection.



• Remember that we can go to the grocery store to get food, but animals cannot. So please don’t pick or remove anything from the park because animals might need the berries or flowers that you were thinking of taking home, for food. Also, you don’t know if a flower or berry is poisonous, so please don’t touch.



• There are lots of cute baby animals in the park, but you don’t ever want to touch them. Just stand back and watch them from a distance because their Mom is sure to be close by watching so nothing happens to her children. Just like your Mom would never let anything happen to you.



• Picnics are a lot of fun at the park but you need to remember some safety tips for a picnic also. When you are drinking out of a can you should pour your drink into a cup so then you can see if there is a bee in your drink before you drink it, because you don’t want to get stung. When you are all finished with your picnic, you should always clean up after yourself and put all aluminum cans in a recycle container what we have in all of our parks.



• When you bring your dog to the park for a walk you should always keep him or her on a leash at all times. If they are not on a leash, they might run away and become lost. Never pet a dog that walks up to you, even if you think he is friendly, because he may be afraid of you and might try to bite you.



• You should always stay on the main trail when you are at the park, but if you should become lost, then just sit down and wait for your Mom or Dad and the Rangers to find you. So just sit down and maybe sing a song and keep an eye open for someone looking for you, and remember, your Mom and Dad would never leave you at the park, they will find you.



• Remember that the Rangers are your friends, and they are there to help you and answer any questions that you have. You can tell a Ranger from other park visitors because of their uniform and badge. All Rangers wear green pants and a tan shirt with Lorain County Metro Parks patches on both sleeves. They look just like Police Officers, but have different colored uniforms. Park Rangers are Police Officers in the park, so just look for their gold star badge and don’t be afraid to talk to them, they are your friends.