BURLINGTON, Vt. -
With the extreme cold, these are days to stay inside as much as possible.
When you do have to go outside, experts suggest bundling up.
"The main danger is if you're out for a short period of time is frostbite, " says Dr. Stephen Leffler, Fletcher Allen Health Care.
Leffler says it can take as little as five minutes for frostbite to happen. He says a warning sign is if your skin starts to hurt and that's when you should head inside.
"If you wait just a couple more minutes, as it begins to freeze it will become painless and then you have rely on your friends to notice you have a white patch or a patch of skin that doesn't look quite the same. At that point you already have frostbite and it's getting worse literally by the minute so you have to get in and warm that skin up," says Leffler.
Leffler says the best advice is to cover expose skin, including with gloves and a hat.
He says thankfully only up to a couple dozen people head to the ER for frostbite because he says Vermonters know what to do.
Experts say don't forget about your pets on cold days.
The staff at Burlington Emergency & Veterinary Specialists says bring pets inside.
If you can't, they say make sure your pet has a warm shelter and fresh water. They say if pets are allowed outside, they shouldn't be there for more than a half hour.
"It's definitely good to check on them if you can. The ears and the nose are the biggest parts that will get frostbitten. So yes, it's definitely good to watch out for that," says Whitney Bierschenk, hospital manager.
Staff says if your pet starts shivering it's a good sign they should be brought inside.
Also consider bundling up dogs with short hair.
