Antarctica Research Paper

We all love to spend our summers outside soaking in the sun and splashing in the waves, or winters zooming down powered covered slopes on our skis. However, we do not always take into consideration the damage that can come along with our seasonal activities. Antarctica is a unique place to go because the sun can harm our bodies just as well as the obvious cold can. I’m sure we have all heard our parents say, “Put on your scarves and mittens, or hats and sunscreen!” Though we do not realize they are not just so we don’t face that discomfort from cold or heat, but are actually protecting us from possible afflictions. Putting in extra effort can sometimes be a pain, but will surely prevent harm in the future!

One of the most common medical conditions …show more content…
Frostbite is the freezing of your skin's tissues, which is unlikely but can be permanent if not treated fast enough. Occurring in extremely cold conditions, this happens in several stages. Depending on the temperature,humidity and wind speed, frostbite usually can take up to 30 minutes to start taking place. In a continent like Antarctica, the cold and dry conditions make this happen faster than in a place with high humidity levels and wind speeds. Frostbite mostly attacks the nose, fingers, toes, cheeks and chin, starting with a color change to red, along with a stinging or throbbing feeling. If you start to feel this, it is best to go indoors, change into dry clothing and try to warm yourself up. You never want to apply heat because that may lead to burning yourself, but instead use your natural body heat with a blanket to warm yourself up. After this stage, if not treated the skin will start to turn white. This means that your body is losing heat faster than it can be produced and is a sign to get medical help before it becomes any worse. Throughout these two stages you will start to have little muscle control and find it difficult to move or grab things. This muscle control will regain once it starts to warm …show more content…
Snow blindness is the burning of your cornea. this does not just occur from staring directly into the sun, but is more commonly gotten from the UV rays reflected off of things like snow. In other words a sunburn on your eyes. In Antarctica your chances of getting this are really high because you are surrounded by snow. This can cause temporary decrease in vision, making your colors unidentifiable and cause everything to turn a reddish color. If you are exposed to sunlight for too long and too often, this vision loss can be permanent but is very rare. Usually the most common cases of snow blindness are from backpackers or people who are spending lots of their time in high altitudes of snow. Snow blindness is not usually noticeable until you have been out of exposure for a period of time. Your eyes will appear red and swell up, feeling like there is tough, gritty sand scratching them beneath your eyelids. When you look at any light they will be very sensitive and the intense eye pain will make them watery and blur your vision. There is no cure for snow blindness, but should eventually go away with about 12-48 hours. Drinking a lot of water will help the healing process speed up so the blood vessels can recover faster. If you start to feel dizzy, take a nap so that you are not straining your eyes and they can recover faster. While you have snow blindness, never should you rub your eyes,