Stay safe in cold weather

If you are like most older people, you feel cold every now and then during the winter. What you may not know is that just being really cold can make you very sick.

Older adults can lose body heat fast—faster than when they were young. A big chill can turn into a dangerous problem before an older person even knows what’s happening. Doctors call this serious problem hypothermia.


Being outside in the cold, or even being in a very cold house, can lead to hypothermia. Hypothermia is what happens when your body temperature gets very low.