New Year’s holiday safety reminders; alcohol and cold weather don’t mix

Drinking alcohol during New Year’s is a holiday tradition for some, but there are some safety tips to remember when drinking alcohol during cold weather.

This holiday weekend, mid-Missouri will see temperatures in single digits, and lows below zero, with wind chill values approaching -20 for some.

Drinking a lot of alcohol in extremely cold weather can be dangerous. While liquor can help you “feel warmer” as blood vessels on the skin’s surface open, that feeling isn’t actually helping your body temperature. You will still just as likely be susceptible to frostbite or hypothermia.

If you have any of these symptoms uncontrollable shivering, memory loss, drowsiness, exhaustion or loss of feeling in fingers, toes or face you might have frostbite or hypothermia.

Officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advise people to abstain from caffeinated and alcoholic beverages while in the cold since “they cause your body to lose heat more rapidly.”