Hello my name is Kris and I am a program coordinator at Global Gathering Place
And today, we are going to discuss winter preparation.
The winters in Saskatchewan are very long and they're very cold so we need to know how to prepare for them.
The best way to prepare for the winter in Saskatchewan is to know how to dress.
So today we'll be talking about hazards such as frostbite and how to avoid frostbite by knowing how to dress in order to prevent it.
Frostbite happens when exposed skin freezes and the damage could be mild to severe.
The most affected areas of frostbite would be your fingers, your nose, your cheeks, your ears, and your toes.
So today what we want to talk about is how to best cover up those areas so you avoid getting frostbite.
One of the symptoms of frostbite would be tingling. Another symptom of frostbite would be numbness
or when your skin turns a yellowish or whiteish colour.
Blistering can also occur.
It's very important to know how to dress for different weather situations in Saskatoon.
Just because the weather in Saskatoon changes so much. So it can be nice and sunny in the morning, and in the afternoon it can change and be very cold and be even stormy.
So today, we'll be talking about clothing: the importance of every article, and how to wear the articles of clothing.
Hello! My name is Carlie and I'm going to show you what you can wear and how to dress to stay safe and to stay warm in the winter months.
Wearing a toque is an important way to stay warm and to prevent frostbite in your ears.
You do need to be careful of the tops of your ears when you are going outside and a toque can make sure that they are covered and stay warm.
On a cold day, a toque may not be enough to prevent frostbite. We still have all of our skin exposed.
So, you may want to wear a neck warmer or a scarf. Either a neck warmer or a scarf can be used to cover the rest of your ears, your chin, your cheeks, and your nose.
This is the best way to keep your face warm and to prevent frostbite in the winter.
Whenever you're going outside in the winter months, you always need to cover your hands. Wearing gloves or mittens is the way best way to make sure that you do not get frostbite on your hands.
On a normal winter day, a pair of knitted or cloth mittens are enough to keep your hands warm.
But on a very cold day or a windy day you may want to have a thicker pair of gloves that are wind or water resistant.
Another option is to layer your gloves. If you have a pair of small gloves you can always put those on and layer with another mitten.
This will help to make sure that your fingers do not get frostbite in the winter months.
Of course, on a very cold day if your fingers start to tingle and you start to feel that maybe you are getting frostbite, always try to take a break indoors and warm up.
The last area we have to protect against frostbite is our feet and our toes. There are two parts to keeping our feet warm: our socks and our boots.
You will want to wear a warm sock on a cold winter day. Many people like to wear thick socks, and wool socks are the warmest socks that you can wear.
The other option is to layer your socks, to wear two pairs of warm socks. This will help keep your feet warm, as well as taller socks so that they can go up to your ankle as well.
It is important to have a warm winter boot. When choosing a winter boot there's a couple of things to consider.
First, your winter boot must have a good sole, it must have good grip so that you don't slip and fall in the winter on the ice.
It also should have a thicker sole. Not thin, but thicker so that your feet will stay warmer.
As well, it is good to choose a fabric that is waterproof so that when it's snowing or the snow is melting that your boots do not get wet.
And when we're talk about staying warm in the winter months, we need to talk about our winter coat and our winter pants.
It's important to have a warm winter coat and also to have a coat that you can have layers under.
Many times, wearing just a t-shirt with a winter coat will not keep you warm enough on a cold winter day.
So, when you are buying a winter coat make sure you have enough space to wear a couple of layers underneath.
You should wear, on a very cold day, what is called a base layer or a thinner layer, a long-sleeved shirt, next to your skin. Then you can put a sweater over top, and then a coat over top.
And this will keep you warmer in the winter, to wear sometimes two or three layers.
In addition to a winter coat, it's a good idea to also have a pair of winter pants or snow pants.
Snow pants are an outer layer that you can wear outside if you are going for a long walk, if you're doing a winter activity, or if you're playing in the snow.
Snow pants are water resistant, so they will keep you dry. They are wind-proof, so they will keep you warm.
A good idea if you're wearing snow pants — or even under a pair of jeans in the winter to stay warmer — is a pair of long underwear or long johns.
These are a thin layer that you can wear underneath your regular pants and they will keep you extra warm in the winter.
These winter items can be purchased at places like Walmart or Costco. Or, if you're comfortable with gently used items, at second-hand stores like Value Village.
So the best way to ensure that you stay warm during this winter and to prevent getting frostbite is to cover up.
As Carlie discussed in our clothing segment, it's very important to protect your head, your ears, your nose, your cheeks, and your torso. As well as your feet.
Your ears, like we said, your nose, your cheeks, your toes, and your hands are the most affected areas to frostbite. So the best way to prevent, is to ensure that you cover up.