Keeping Warm in Emergency Situations

You may have your food storage taken care of, your seventy-two hour kit packed and ready to go, and your evacuation plan memorized like the back of your hand. However, there are many factors that you may have not considered in times of emergency, things that you may have forgotten to prepare for.

Such factors include weather conditions over long periods of time including preparing for very dry and arid conditions and most especially cold and wet climates. Cold in particular is an important factor to prepare for.

Many problems can arise from loss of body heat, or hypothermia, including loss of body parts and even death. Cold and wet conditions can result in increased loss of body heat.

Luckily there are many options available for keeping warm in such times. Many of these items and tips for keeping warm and finding heat sources are relatively inexpensive and easy to take advantage of.

It is essential to, if possible, change into dry clothing (preferably wool) when you get wet in emergency situations. Wet clothing becomes a big problem in times where you need to keep warm as it loses its insulation value and extracts body heat two hundred and forty times faster than dry clothing.

Cotton clothing such as denim, retains water. Clothing made of wool is insulating, water resistant, and helps keep your body warm even if it is wet.

Make sure to not forget the value of items such as hats, gloves, and mittens. It is very important to cover your head as you can lose up to eighty percent of your body heat through your head. A knitted wool stocking hat will work particularly well.

Try as well insulate boots or shoes and layered clothing. Feet can be kept warm by wearing wool socks and wearing two pairs if your shoes are big enough. Several thin layers of loose-fitting clothing will help as well to retain body heat.

Another warm and toasty, but potentially awkward, ways to keep warm is by using a sleeping bag. Two or more people huddled together in two sleeping bags will be warmer than just one person in one sleeping bag and a smaller sleeping bag placed in a larger sleeping will be very warm as well.

As with food storage, being prepared to stay warm is a very important part of making through those emergency situations. So make sure to consider keeping warm, especially if you know where you live or will be going is going to be cold.