Get the person into a warm room or shelter. Remove any wet clothing the person is wearing. You can also use skin-to-skin contact under loose, dry layers of blankets, clothing, towels, or sheets. Warm drinks can help increase body temperature, but do not give alcoholic drinks. Do not try to give beverages to an unconscious person.
After body temperature has increased, keep the person dry and wrap their body, including their head and neck, in a warm blanket.
Get the person proper medical attention as soon as possible. Perform CPR, even if the person appears dead. CPR should continue until the person responds or medical aid becomes available. Keep warming the person while performing CPR. In some cases, hypothermia victims who appear to be dead can be successfully resuscitated.
Top of Page. You may have a greater chance of developing frostbite if you have poor blood circulation are not properly dressed for extremely cold temperatures. If 1 a person shows signs of frostbite, but no signs of hypothermia and 2 immediate medical care is not available, do the following: Get the person into a warm room as soon as possible. Unless absolutely necessary, do not walk on feet or toes that show signs of frostbite—this increases the damage.
Do not rub the frostbitten area with snow or massage it at all. This can cause more damage. Put the areas affected by frostbite in warm—not hot—water the temperature should be comfortable to the touch for unaffected parts of the body.
If warm water is not available, warm the affected area using body heat. For example, you can use the heat of an armpit to warm frostbitten fingers. Do not use a heating pad, heat lamp, or the heat of a stove, fireplace, or radiator for warming. If you are in an urgent situation, please visit our Emergency page to view a list of 24 hour support services and hotlines. All About Alice! Go Ask Alice! In Your Box. Alice, What are the symptoms of hypothermia or is it hyperthermia?
The following symptoms of hypothermia include: Shivering Stumbling, mumbling, grumbling yes, really Slurred speech Extremely slow breathing rate Skin that is cold and pale Feeling fatigued or lethargic List adapted from Hypothermia from the Mayo Clinic. In addition: Wear a hat or other protective clothing to prevent body heat from escaping your head, neck, and face. Wear mittens, instead of gloves. Wear layers preferably the loose-fitting, lightweight kind.
Wear outer layers made of tightly-woven, water-repellant material to protect against the wind. Inner layers made of wool, silk, or polypropylene hold more body heat. Stay as dry as you possibly can. This means avoiding activities that would cause you to sweat a lot and being aware of snow entering mittens or boots.
It is vital not to use direct heat, such as heat lamps or hot water, as this can damage the skin. It can also trigger irregular heartbeats and, potentially, lead to cardiac arrest. Do not rub or massage the person either, as these potentially jarring movements could also cause cardiac arrest.
It involves removing their cold, wet clothing, ideally replacing it with adequately insulated, dry clothing, and moving them to a warm environment.
Active external rewarming : This involves applying warming devices, such as hot-water bottles or warmed forced air, externally to truncal areas of the body. For example, the individual could hold a hot-water bottle under each arm. Active core rewarming : This uses warmed, intravenous fluids to irrigate body cavities, including the thorax, peritoneum, stomach, and bladder. Other options include getting the individual to inhale warm, humidified air, or applying extracorporeal rewarming by using a heart-lung machine.
Do not give a person alcohol if they have signs of hypothermia, and avoid giving any drinks to an unconscious person. A person with severe hypothermia may not seem to have a pulse or be breathing. If they appear to be dead, the CDC advise bystanders to give CPR while keeping the person warm and waiting for emergency help. It is possible that this may resuscitate them. According to the AAFP , the signs and symptoms of these stages are as follows:.
When a person has severe hypothermia, they may no longer know what they are doing, due to a change in mental consciousness. Back in , researchers described a phenomenon known as paradoxical undressing. In paradoxical undressing, people remove their clothes despite the cold.
As a result of doing this, they lose more body heat, which can be fatal. This can happen during the later stages of hypothermia as the person becomes disoriented, confused, and possibly combative. Although there is a lack of research on this situation, anecdotal evidence suggests that 20—50 percent of deaths from hypothermia are due to paradoxical undressing. Infants should not sleep in a cold room. Using extra blankets is not a solution as there is a risk that these can smother the infant.
The CDC suggest making alternative arrangements if it is not possible to maintain a warm space where an infant can sleep. Anyone who becomes stranded in a motor vehicle should move everything they need from the trunk into the vehicle.
They should run the car for 10 minutes every hour, making sure that snow is not covering the exhaust pipe and keeping the window open a crack to prevent a buildup of fumes. People should also consider creating a winter survival kit to keep in the car. The kit should contain nonperishable food, blankets, a first aid kit, water, and necessary medications. Overexertion will not help, as this can lead to exhaustion and result in sweat-drenched clothing, both of which contribute to heat loss.
A person who begins to experience or show signs of mild hypothermia should retreat to a warmer place immediately to prevent progression to a life-threatening condition. Hypothermia can happen in summer too. Excessively cool air-conditioning or water-based activities pose a risk, especially for infants and older people who may not be able to express how they are feeling. An oral thermometer may not show a temperature this low. In either case, it is vital to seek urgent medical attention.
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