When Californians Confront Winter : Cover key areas such as neck, hands and head, and never linger in wet clothes.

Rushing to catch her flight to New York, the Los Angeles businesswoman squeezed in one last errand: a stop at Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills, where she purchased a $1,000 cashmere coat. If she had to go to New York in the winter, she would go in style and comfort, she told the sales clerk.

Spending a thousand bucks on a coat isn’t an option for many Southern Californians who have booked holiday trips back East or are planning winter ski trips in the snow. Luckily, there are other ways to brave the cold weather.

Adapting--or readapting--to freezing temperatures, bone-chilling wind and blinding snowstorms is partly physiological, experts say, and partly psychological. Not surprisingly, the longer you’ve stayed away from what Easterners arrogantly call “real winters,” the more difficult it will be to stop those shivers. Body type will also play a role: In general, people with higher body fat content have an easier time dealing with cold than leaner types, some experts say. Further, what we eat and drink, along with what we wear, will also play a role in keeping us warm.

Temperature differences between Southern California and points East can be dramatic. In December, the average temperature range in Chicago is 20 to 35 degrees; in Boston, 27 to 40 and in Los Angeles, 48 to 68. Colder climates can be a shock to the body, said Dr. James A. Wilkerson III, a Merced pathologist and wilderness medicine expert. “The reason people are uncomfortable when they go back East is not just the cold temperatures but also the humidity and the wind.”

People who have lived in Los Angeles for many years talk about their blood thinning, making them intolerant of cold weather. But blood doesn’t really get thicker or thinner, said Dr. John Glaspy, UCLA assistant professor of medicine. “People who are exposed to cold every day simply tolerate it better,” he said, much as people with chronic low back pain often learn to live with it.

“If I had an identical twin brother in Chicago whom I went to visit and we got locked out of the house, we’d both freeze to death at the same rate,” Glaspy said. “But he might be more comfortable, initially.”

Men usually have a harder time adapting to cold than women, Glaspy said, because their body fat percentage is generally lower. “But a thin woman will have more trouble adjusting to the cold than a fat man,” he added.

The best defense against cold weather is proper dress, said Wilkerson, co-author of “Hypothermia, Frostbite, and Other Cold Injuries” (The Mountaineers, 1986). Dress as if you are going skiing, he advised, even when you’re not. Be sure to cover up hands, head and neck. A snugly fitting ski cap is better, he said, than a dress hat or a parka hood. Down filled jackets are better for warmth than wool dress coats, Wilkerson said. “Polyester garments work about as well as down-filled. Mittens are warmer than gloves, even for adults.”

The age-old advice to get out of wet clothes fast is wise, Glaspy added. “When you are wet, you lose heat incredibly fast,” he said. Choose leather gloves over cloth, he advised, and waterproof outerwear.

Eating and drinking for the cold can help, too, although the effect is probably more psychological than anything else, experts said. Hot drinks and soup do seem to warm you up, said Jody Lander Spector, a registered dietitian at St. Vincent Medical Center, Los Angeles. But your body temperature rises only slightly after eating or drinking hot fare. And in the cases of oatmeal and hot cocoa and other foods that evoke pleasant childhood memories, nostalgia might be playing a role, too, Spector said.

What about belting down a shot or two of whiskey or other alcoholic beverages to stay warm? A stop-gap measure, at best, according to some experts. “Alcohol brings about dilation of your peripheral blood vessels,” said Dr. Ernest P. Noble, director of the UCLA Alcohol Research Center. “That brings more blood to the surface of the skin, so you feel warmer. But if you continue to drink, the vessels remain dilated and you will dissipate a lot of heat.”

The more psychologically stressful a trip to cold climates, the colder you might feel, said Frederick Frankel, a UCLA associate professor of medical psychology. “Personally, if I am sick during cold weather, I feel worse than when I am ill in warm weather.” Cold weather may make you feel more miserable, he said, if you are visiting difficult family members or if you have flight delays.

Just living in cold climates presents more difficulties, even temporarily, Frankel said. “You have to be more flexible. You have the stress of dealing with clothing constantly. You take it off. You put it on.” To ease the transition, Frankel advises staying indoors the first day, if possible.

But Wilkerson recommended the opposite: “The only way to acclimatize to the cold is to be in the cold.”

Children need special attention to minimize the effects of cold temperatures because they feel the effects of cold more quickly but are slower to complain. “Bundle up kids more than you think is necessary,” said Dr. Kenneth Saul, a Thousand Oaks pediatrician. “Pay special attention to ears and hands. Use ski caps and mittens. Remember thick socks, too.”

Frostbite--damage to tissues caused by low temperatures--is a remote possibility, Wilkerson and others said. Most susceptible to frostbite are the nose, ears, fingers and toes or any other part not properly covered. The first symptom is often pain, followed by numbness. Frostbite should be treated promptly. Immerse affected parts in lukewarm water. “Use water about shower temperature, 110 degrees,” Wilkerson said. Don’t massage the parts and seek medical help immediately.

There is at least one comforting thought in dealing with cold temperatures. You burn more calories in cold climates, just from the energy required to wear extra clothes.