Watch for frostbite and trench foot

The hazard

Cold weather can pull heat out of your body faster than you can make it, especially when you are wet or out in the wind. As you cool down, your hands get clumsy and your thinking slows. That makes every other task more dangerous, from climbing a ladder to running a saw. Hypothermia and frostbite can creep up on you, so we watch for them in ourselves and in each other.

The action

Frostbite is frozen skin and tissue, most often on fingers, toes, ears, nose and cheeks. Watch for numbness, tingling, aching, or skin that looks pale, gray or waxy. Do not rub the area; get to a warm place and get medical help. Feet that stay wet in the cold can get trench foot even when it is not freezing, so change wet socks fast.