Use Extreme Caution when Shoveling Snow or Engaging in Winter Sports

Old man winter is right around the corner, and that means snow and ice are on the way. Pretty soon your driveway will be covered with the white stuff and it will be time to clear it away.

Maybe you shoveled snow in the winter and cut grass in the summer to make a few bucks when you were a kid. But you have to be a lot more careful now that you are older. Not only may you put your back out, but you may also have a heart attack from the extra strain on that out-of-shape body.

Shoveling snow is a hard job physically and if you have spent the summer sitting behind a desk and sitting on the couch munching potato chips, then you may not be ready for intense physical action.

You may think you can still do it like you have many years before, but snow shoveling can be very dangerous if you are out of shape or have cardiovascular disease. You may have heart disease and not even be aware of it it until you overexert. According to Medical News Today:

"If you are outdoors in cold weather, you should avoid sudden exertion, like lifting a heavy shovel full of snow, say the AHA, who warn that even walking through snow, especially heavy snow and snow drifts, can strain the heart."

You can also strain your heart by walking through heavy amounts of snow. If you don't watch out for yourself, you can even risk hypothermia, a condition where the body's internal temperature falls below 85 degrees Fahrenheit.

This can rapidly turn into a fatal condition. You can freeze to death in as little as 40 degree temperate if you overexert and begin sweating profusely. Make sure to layer your clothing.

Some of the symptoms of hypothermia include: feeling irritable, shivering that suddenly stops, confusion, skin that is cold to the touch, and finally seizure and stupor. After that you are unaware that you are freezing to death. You may just lay down in the snow and die.

Being outside in cold weather may show you that you have coronary artery disease if you begin experiencing angina (pain in the chest) with moderate to severe activity. But if you feel pain while exerting, then stop. If you try to test it, you may have a heart attack.

As we get older, our bodies lose the ability to hold our core temperature. We may be freezing to death and not even be aware of it. That's what happens to a lot of senior citizens who turn their heat down in their apartments in the winter.

If you're up there in years, or even middle-aged, then invest in a snow blower or have that neighborhood kid shovel the snow for you. He probably needs the mone for Christmas presents anyway.

Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/210402.php