The Postal Service wants employees to dress to protect themselves during cold weather.
The organization recommends employees wear insulated, water-resistant socks and gloves and multiple layers of loose-fitting clothing. This includes:
• An inner layer of wool, silk or synthetic material to keep moisture away from the body;
• A middle layer of wool, fleece or synthetic material to provide insulation when wet; and
• An outer layer that provides wind and rain protection and allows some ventilation to prevent overheating.
USPS also wants employees to know the difference between two wintertime medical conditions — frostnip and frostbite — and how to treat them.
Frostnip symptoms include tingling skin irritation or a burning sensation, skin that feels soft if touched and skin that is yellowish or white.
Treatments include covering the affected area with warm water or body heat and avoiding direct heat sources, such as heating pads or hot water.
Signs of frostbite include feelings of pins and needles or numbness; skin that is cold, hard and pale; and either an aching throbbing or a lack of feeling in the affected area.
Treatments include getting out of the cold, gradually warming frostbitten areas and not walking on frostbitten toes or feet.
USPS recently mailed a postcard with these tips and more to employees’ homes.
