Frosty the Prosthesis
Last night my husband left his sneakers in the car by mistake. So this morning when he put his shoes on, his feet were freezing. "You want to talk about freezing?" Am I the only one who dreads putting on a prosthesis on cold winter mornings? This thing retains and conducts cold like nobody's business! Actually, there are a lot of ways cold weather can affect prosthetic users. If a part of the body is subject to cold temperatures, blood vessels can shrink and blood flow reduced. That can translate into a volume reduction in a residual limb. On the flip side, cold weather eliminates the problem of perspiration (hooray). Because cold weather can dry out skin, it's wise to keep a residual limb well moisturized with a sensitive, fragrance free lotion. Lastly, cold weather can also change the properties of plastics, particularly plastics that bend and flex when exposed to body heat. Just like a bio-elastic flexible inner socket melting and warping when left in the car on a hot summer day (a big no-no), that same material can become more stiff when exposed to the cold.
I must say, though, that on those chilly nights I love the fact that I only need to keep one foot warm.