Hello everyone:

In honor of the snow that we are having in Maryland right now, here are some tips on shoveling snow:

If you live in Florida or some other southern state, this will not be a problem. If you live in an area where there is snowfall, you may be required by local ordinances to remove snowfall from your sidewalk within 24 hours of the end of the storm, so you better learn how to do it. If a large amount of snow is predicted, you may find it helpful to go out several times and shovel a few inches of snow, rather than waiting for it to stop.

One caveat: if the wind is blowing around, you might as well wait. Drifting snow would make your early efforts somewhat useless. If you have young people in the neighborhood that would enjoy earning a little extra pocket money, you may find it worthwhile to hire one or two of them to do this task. If that is not in your budget, let’s go outside and get to work, after making sure that you are dressed properly.

Make sure that you are dressed warmly enough. Dress in layers, with loose clothing on the top. Wear a hat (this is not a fashion show here, so don’t worry what your hair looks like), gloves, thick socks, boots, and a jacket over your long-sleeves and long pants.  Although it will be mentioned it again at the end of this section, you will be taking a shower when you are done and changing every bit of clothing you have on, so don’t worry about what your hair or what your outfit looks like during this task.

It is more important to keep your head covered than that you not muss your hair. A lot of heat will escape from an uncovered head, which could lead to illness, so cover up!

Take something to drink outside with you, such as orange juice (which will keep your blood-sugar level from going nuts as you expend all this energy). Also, make sure that you have the physical ability to do this job; if you have chronic health problems or are out of shape, shoveling can literally kill you. Everyone should do some stretchy moves before starting; this will get your muscles ready for the job facing you.

do you have any helpful tips on shoveling snow?

Best,

Dr. Sheri