Northwest Iowa — It’s winter here in northwest Iowa, and more brutally cold temperatures, like those of last weekend, are almost certainly in our future before winter gives way to spring. But one emergency room doctor says frostbite and hypothermia are not nearly as common as other types of winter injuries.
Doctor Kathryn Dierks says shoveling snow can be extremely dangerous for some people.
Dierks says another major wintertime hazard is icy sidewalks and driveways, conditions which we are also seeing this winter.
Dierks says some of her patients are poisoned by faulty furnaces sending carbon monoxide into their homes. Others are injured in car accidents caused by winter conditions. In fact, at least three people died statewide last weekend in crashes where icy conditions were a factor.
