LANSING, Mich. — The cold in the week ahead has been compared to the polar vortex of 2014.
With temperatures as low as expected this week, it's important to know how to keep yourself warm. Otherwise, you might find yourself in urgent care.
"You don't have to be outside for a long period of time before you start to see injures to your extremities, nose, earlobes, so on and so forth," said Sparrow Urgent Care Physician Song Yu.
In extreme cases, it can take as little as 15 minutes.
"You are going to start to see the early stages of frostbite," said Yu.
Symptoms of frostbite include loss of color in your fingers or toes, to go along with some pain. It's important to be able to see the signs of frostbite, not just feel them.
"Most of us get numb when it gets cold, and we don't feel that pain. It can go on for about 30-40 minutes, and by then you're in the second or third stages of frostbite, which can damage your skin, and in certain cases it can lead to amputation," said Yu.
When you think you might have frostbite, get to a warm place immediately.
If possible, gently submerge your extremities in warm water. Don't rub hands together. It might damage the skin.
But of course, the best way to prevent frostbite is to stay bundled up.
