Fans waiting for Chiefs parade in frigid cold are at risk. Here’s how to stay safe
The regulars at Arrowhead Stadium should know the drill by now for cheering on the Chiefs in frigid weather. But Wednesday’s Super Bowl victory parade is expected to draw thousands more fans who normally watch from the warmth and comfort of home.
Those are the folks who may be caught unaware and risk hypothermia and frostbite.
As fans arrive hours early to nab a spot on the parade route, they’ll be standing in temperatures in the mid- to upper 20s. Brisk winds and snow are expected.
Which is why local health professionals suggest this parade game plan: Limit the alcohol (but not the water), leave the babies at home, dress in layers and cover those ears, typically the first to succumb to frostbite.
About 25 ambulances will be at the ready, from Kansas City and surrounding communities, officials said. However, there won’t be any warming stations.
Children are more susceptible
“I cannot recommend anyone taking an infant out for hours standing in the cold and the snow,” said Brad Winfrey, manager for the Center for Childhood Safety at Children’s Mercy Hospital.
“It’s different if you take them out for five minutes or 10 minutes, versus you’re standing there for hours. That’s a huge difference.”
Children and toddlers, who can’t regulate their body temperatures as well as adults, will be at a high risk for hypothermia, Winfrey said.
The youngest ones won’t be able to tell you if they’re cold or stressed, he said.
“If you see your child shivering, if they start to become confused or lethargic, those are the signs that the child is getting cold and time to move to a warming environment,” he said.
“If you start to see their skin and fingertips start to blanch, or their nose start to blanch or their skin turn pale, those are signs of hypothermia.”
What frostbite looks like
Be on the lookout for frostbite in both children and adults.
Telltale signs of trouble: The skin will look white, or grayish. It might feel rigid or firm.
“The big thing is the numbness. The damage will temporarily damage the nerves at the surface, and so you get numb and you feel like, ‘Oh good, I’m feeling better.’ Not necessarily. It may be that you’ve had enough exposure that you just aren’t feeling anymore,” said Galen Seymour, a family care physician with Providence Medical Group in Leavenworth.
Kids might start to complain that their fingers and toes are getting numb, or are burning, said Winfrey. “Those are signs that frostbite could be setting in.”
Make sure your face, hands, ears and nose are covered, and don’t run frozen fingers under water when you go inside, said Seymour.
Winfrey cautioned parents not to rub their children’s fingers, either, if they suspect frostbite.
“When they come inside they want to put their hands under hot water and warm them up instantly, and actually any damage you have done, that probably makes it worse,” Seymour said.
“So in the event that someone has that type of issue, they should find a warm place and let themselves warm up slowly, and then the blood flow returns at the right pace and we minimize any injury to our extremities.”
The same cold-weather rule applies to both children and adults: Dress in layers. With snow in the forecast, make sure the outer layer is waterproof or can wick the moisture away, “because you don’t want to absorb it because that’s just going to cause you to get cold,” Winfrey said.
Parents tend to dress their children in too many layers, he said, “and then you have to worry about overheating.” One rule of thumb, he said: Put them in just two layers more than what the parent wears.
He recommended that parents learn the parade route so they know if there is a warm indoor place to go, just in case.
Drink water, not beer
Kansas City police reminded fans at a press conference on Tuesday that drinking in public is illegal. History tells us people will ignore that warning.
But limiting your alcohol intake is the first advice Seymour offers parade-goers who are about to spend hours in the cold.
“I know there will be some of that … probably should be. But we just stop paying attention to those things we should pay attention to,” when we drink, Seymour said.
“We have a mechanism that says ‘get out of the cold, you’re getting into trouble,’ and that gets blunted when you’re drinking, like most things. But with some moderation … just be smart with it.”
Instead of alcohol, Seymour suggests drinking water while you’re watching the Super Bowl champs.
“What we need to drink are the things that help our body to perform necessary functions. Water, water, water,” said Seymour. “Electrolytes, to some degree. But what we need is tons of water because our body is going to work to overcome those problems (with the cold) and it’s going to require more water.”
Parade organizers have promised a record 700 portable toilets along the route, so no need to limit the water intake.
Car seats in the cold
Safety for the youngest parade-goers begins the minute you put them in their car seat, Winfrey said. Do not strap them in while they’re wearing a bulky winter coat.
“A lot of parents put their kids in their car seats with their heavy coats on. You don’t want to do that,” he said. “You want to put them in their car seat in their regular clothing. The coat causes the car seat to not fit correctly. It creates a barrier between the harness and the child’s body.
“Once they’re in their car seat, you can put the coat on them backward or around them. But they shouldn’t be wearing it” when you strap them in.
In a crash, “fluffy padding immediately flattens out from the force, leaving extra space under the harness. This leaves the straps too loose to properly restrain the child, increasing the risk of injury,” says the hospital’s website. “The same is true for adult passengers in a vehicle.”
This story was originally published February 4, 2020 at 4:41 PM.
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