Keith McIntosh, a registered nurse at Bigelow Fowler Medical Clinics, says not a single person has been treated for a serious slip and fall this winter at any of the three Lethbridge clinics.
He says at this time last year, he saw at least three serious falls due to icy walkways. McIntosh believes the consistent cold weather this year is keeping ice frozen longer which is keeping people constantly cautious.
McIntosh says last year “it was a warmer winter but the temps were kind of up and down. When it would freeze people were just not aware of it being icy and we were having a lot more injuries.”
However, he says this winter is still far from problem-free in terms of other reasons for visiting the clinics. He says mental health-related visits have spiked since the cold weather hit.
“Things that are based on the amount of light we get in a day.”
The condition McIntosh is referring to is called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). He says SAD is not unusual this time of year but the harsh temperatures have backed up mental health-related visits by a month.
“We just try and encourage people to be more active in the daylight hours,” McIntosh says. “Try to make sure they are getting vitamin D because lots of the vitamin D that we do get comes from the sun and in these winter hours, there’s so much less sun that we deal with so we can hope that people are at least getting the light they need.”
McIntosh also recommends investing in a sun lamp.