Cold Injury Flashcards
What are the symptoms of mild hypothermia?
Severe hypothermia?
Mild: shivering, numb skin with goosebumps, mild impairment of muscular performance (stiff and clumsy); poor decisions; confused; sluggish thinking
Severe: shivering may stop; incoherent; irrational behavior; body heat, respiratory rate, blood pressure fall; muscle rigidity; pulse may be undetectable
What should you pay particular attention to in a hypothermic victim?
mental state to establish a baseline for what normal behavior looks like for them
Why should you check the pulse over a long period of time?
because decreased metabolic rate allows the victim to survive a long time without a detectable pulse (slow the heart rate down to an undetectable rate, but the victim is still alive)
How do you treat hypothermia?
remove wet clothes, redress in dry clothing; cover head and neck to reduce heat loss from body; give carb rich foods and beverages; hypothermia wrap; and persistence
What is after-drop?
Why should you never submerge even mildly hypothermic people in warm water?
Decrease in the core temperature if the extremities are rapidly rewarmed
Cooled blood returns to the core decreasing overall body temperature
How does cold water actually kill people, in most cases?
cold water shock/immersion syndrome
What is the most important consideration to make when deciding whether to treat
frostbite in the field?
if refreezing can be prevented
How can frostbitten tissue be rewarmed?
place in warm water; do not allow refreezing; do not place near a fire; do not rub
What causes trench foot?
Is it painful?
prolonged exposure to water or sweat
it is not always painful
How can you prevent trench foot?
wear dry socks - keep one pair in a bag or dry place
sleep with warm dry feet
stop before nightfall
leave time to care for feet and create a fire
travel on hard snow pack when it because wet and soft
