
Photo: Minnesota Department of Transportation/flickr
Storrs, CT — Body-cooling garments are an effective, low-cost tool that can help prevent heat-related injuries and illnesses, according to researchers from the University of Connecticut’s Korey Stringer Institute.
Cecilia Kaufman, director of occupational safety at KSI, led the study, which examined 14 participants in separate, randomized trials. During these trials, the participants lifted boxes and walked on a treadmill in warm and humid conditions. One group wore cooling garments – including a hat, sleeves and a neck gaiter – during rest breaks and used large cooling towels. The other group didn’t.
Findings revealed that the participants who wore cooling garments and used cooling towels showed increased productivity. Additionally, their body temperatures were 1 degree cooler, on average, than those in the control group.
In a press release, Kaufman explains that “in order to cool the body as quickly as possible, the main focus is to cover as much of the body’s surface area as we can.”
She added: “Evaporative cooling, as opposed to conductive cooling, can be a great resource in some settings where there might not necessarily be power. As long as you have water or a way to activate these garments with the cooling technology that they hold, then they’re a great resource to use, especially in more isolated settings.”
The study was published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine.
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Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication