# Outside in Winter



## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

Several yrs ago I fell on the ice. My wife went out and bought 'boot chains' I don't know where she got them. Instead of actual chains it's more bungee cords with little spikes. They strap on your boots and do give you decent traction on ice. They're kind of a pain to take on/off so it helps if you have a dedicated pair to install them on.


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## Bud9051 (Nov 11, 2015)

Ditto: My fall resulted in 6 stitches as I hit the edge of the last step. Blood went everywhere and I was out fr a minute or two.
Wife bought me a set of grippers unknown brand but similar to Marks. I installed them onto an older pair of sneakers that i can slip on when going out. Saves stretching them on and removing them each time. I just carry my regular sneakers so easy to change when I get to my car.

Bottom line is, you will probably never see it coming so you have to plan on it. Several friends have been seriously hurt. last friend of a friend broke his hip.

Bud


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## Davejss (May 14, 2012)

Yak Tracks. Been wearing them for years.


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

_Yak Tracks_ that rings a bell and is probably what it said on the package when she gave them to me.


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## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

mark sr said:


> Several yrs ago I fell on the ice. My wife went out and bought 'boot chains' I don't know where she got them. Instead of actual chains it's more bungee cords with little spikes. They strap on your boots and do give you decent traction on ice. They're kind of a pain to take on/off so it helps if you have a dedicated pair to install them on.



There are different types. The wife and I have the type that are rubber slip-on with studs embedded in them - don't recall the make. Our neighbour has the type that look like little slip-on coil springs. Still another neighbour has them integral to their boots and you can deploy or retract them.


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## CaptTom (Dec 31, 2017)

Slips and falls at work give employers all kinds of problems. They are highly motivated to prevent them (the cost of injuries, not to mention the bad press.) Nobody wants to look "uncool" walking in from the parking lot with ice grippers on, just because there may be a few frozen puddles around. So that's where a lot of accidents happen.

My last employer fought this battle every winter. It got really silly. At one point, ice grippers were mandatory any time you were outdoors below like 40 degrees. In theory, even if the air is above freezing, there could be frozen puddles left over from the night before. They had managers and even executives out in the parking lots and entry doorways enforcing it.

They were giving away ice grippers (rubber pull-overs with the coils or spikes - your choice) and actually encouraging people to take a bunch of them. Some for home, some for the car, some for your family, whatever you want. They do work.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

Sorry, to add this, but it's important. Another big risk, is shoveling snow. Apparently, it takes more upper body strength than most have. The "Huhh" breathing pattern is dangerous. There are over 100 heart attacks from this a year, on average.


Docs suggest that people over 55 not do it!


https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/can-shoveling-snow-put-your-heart-at-risk-2017120612887


This part was a little funny - "The authors suggest the lack of a connection for women observed in this study may have been due to fewer women shoveling snow.'


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## RockyMtBeerMan (Dec 12, 2018)

I take thinner scoops/slices and take frequent breaks now and that really helps.


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

Foot wear is everything for the conditions. If some of you believe I fell and hit my head causing permanent damage, I really didn't. While wearing leather moccasins I hit my butt when they slipped on a wet grassy slope. But it doesn't stop there because it can happen on dry dormant grass too.


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

Nik333 said:


> Sorry, to add this, but it's important. Another big risk, is shoveling snow. Apparently, it takes more upper body strength than most have. The "Huhh" breathing pattern is dangerous. There are over 100 heart attacks from this a year, on average.
> 
> 
> Docs suggest that people over 55 not do it!
> ...



I grew up in Michigan and I remember an elderly man that got featured in the paper every winter because he shoveled snow without a shirt on. Finally his daughter got him to wear a Tee shirt when he shoveled snow - that was the year he died .... probably not related to his death but makes you wonder.


I think the key to shoveling snow or similar type activities when you get older is not over do it and take breaks as needed. Maybe it break it up into smaller jobs rather than one big one. I joke that I can still do a good long hard days work - it just takes me all week :sad:


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## DexterII (Jul 14, 2010)

To RMBM's original point, I fully agree with communicating things like "going outside" on a cold day, "going up on the roof to check the gutters", "going to crawl under the tractor", or whatever like that, and that's exactly how we've done it for a good number of years now. Every so often it seems there's something about a spouse going outside and discovering that their significant other has been trapped under a car, laying where they slipped on the ice, or whatever for a couple of hours. That's downright neglect, in my simple mind.


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## spitz1234 (Jan 1, 2019)

Seen it a few times. Was on the local fire dept. For about 8 years. 

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