Frostbite and Hypothermia

[480sparky]

I'm no expert on the subject, but since winter has settled in for a while, I thought the following might be a good refresher:

Frostbite and hypothermia
Winter Attire
Wear loose fitting, lightweight, warm clothing in several layers (the trapped air between the layers insulates). Layers can be removed to avoid perspiration and subsequent chill.
Wear outer garments that are tightly woven, water repellent, and hooded.
Wear a hat (half of body heat is lost through the top of the head).
Wear mittens that are snug at the wrist. Mittens offer better protection.
Gloves allow your fingers to cool much fast than mittens do.
Cover the mouth and nose with scarves to help protect lungs from cold air.
Keep your feet as dry as possible. Wear wool socks.​

​

Frostbite
Frostbite is a severe reaction to cold exposure of the skin that can permanently damage fingers, toes, the nose, and ear lobes.
Symptoms are: numbness and a white or pale appearance to the skin.
Seek medical help immediately. Until help arrives warm the body slowly.
Warm the body core before the extremities.
Rubbing ice or snow on frostbite is an urban myth and should not be done
.
Hypothermia
Hypothermia is brought on when the body temperature drops to less than 95 degrees.
Symptoms are: slow or slurred speech, incoherence, memory loss, disorientation, shivering, drowsiness, repeated stumbling, and exhaustion.
Seek medical help immediately. Until help arrives begin warming the body very slowly. Warm the body core first. Get the victim into warm, dry clothing, covering the head and the neck. As a last resort use your own body to warm the victim.
Do not give alcohol, drugs, coffee or any hot beverage. Warm broth is better.
Do not warm the arms and legs first. This drives the cold blood toward the heart and can lead to heart failure.​

 

[celtic]

Let's also not forget DEHYDRATION

Wear mittens that are snug at the wrist. Mittens offer better protection.
Gloves allow your fingers to cool much fast than mittens do.
​

You wear mittens???

 

[480sparky]

Let's also not forget DEHYDRATION



You wear mittens???

As much as possible.

Snowmobile mittens, to be exact.

 

[Rockyd]

It's amazing how much fluid you need to take in when it is cold out!

Stay hydrated, and dont forget how cold comes in -

Head, hands, feet. Any one of the three gets cold, it's all over but the freeze.

Always have a couple of "bust open chemical warmers" too.

 

[Rockyd]

Hypothermia is a silent, deadly killer. Lost a dear friend, right in the middle of town to hypothermia last year. If your friend starts acting goofy, for no apparent reason, all the more reason for concern -

Woman dies of exposure after failing to catch cab Alaska
A Fairbanks woman froze to death Saturday night outside the home of a friend she was visiting in Hamilton Acres after failing to take a ride from a taxi that had come to pick her up.

Judy Geraghty, 44, was not breathing when friends found her outside the Craig Avenue home at 10 a.m. Sunday.

While family members speculate Geraghty may have fallen down the steps and been knocked out, the manager of a cab company that was called to pick up Geraghty said she was sitting on the steps outside the house when a cab driver arrived around 9:10 p.m. Saturday

"She was sitting on the front step, playing with her cell phone and didn?t know where she wanted to go,? said Bill Northrup, manager for Yellow Cab,, speaking by cell phone Monday. ?We left her sitting on the front steps. If she can?t get up and walk back in the door, that?s not our problem".

The residents of the house discovered Geraghty the next morning.



?She was sitting on the front step, playing with her cell phone and didn?t know where she wanted to go,? said Bill Northrup, manager for Yellow Cab,, speaking by cell phone Monday. ?We left her sitting on the front steps. If she can?t get up and walk back in the door, that?s not our problem.?

Don't be a dumbass like Bill, ACT! It may save someone's life!

 

[ultramegabob]

?She was sitting on the front step, playing with her cell phone and didn?t know where she wanted to go,? said Bill Northrup, manager for Yellow Cab,, speaking by cell phone Monday. ?We left her sitting on the front steps. If she can?t get up and walk back in the door, that?s not our problem.?

that type of attitude is what is wrong with society, people these days have no concern about the welfare of others. I wouldnt be able to live with myself if I knowingly dropped off someone that was confused, and they froze to death outside or walked into traffic and was killed....

 

[electricalperson]

As much as possible.

Snowmobile mittens, to be exact.

my gloves have a piece that slides over your fingers and when you need to use your fingers you just pull it off. they look like mittens when its inplace and look like fingerless gloves when you fold the mitten part back

 

[480sparky]

my gloves have a piece that slides over your fingers and when you need to use your fingers you just pull it off. they look like mittens when its inplace and look like fingerless gloves when you fold the mitten part back

Hunting mittens.

 

[peter d]

The solution to frostbite and hypothermia is to be in a climate that does not get cold.

 

[Rockyd]

The solution to frostbite and hypothermia is to be in a climate that does not get cold.

The problem with hypothermia is that it coomonly happens in temperatures of 30 to 50 degrees. It's a silent killer because most people don't recognize when they have it. Hypothermia affects the thought process when a person needs to be aware the most. Not uncommon for people to sit down and die.

Good website to overview

It's critical to work in pairs to help avoid getting to an ugly state when the weather is not co-operating.

 

[480sparky]

The solution to frostbite and hypothermia is to be in a climate that does not get cold.

Then I'll post something about hyperthermia and heat-realted illnesses.

 

[brian john]

The solution to frostbite and hypothermia is to be in a climate that does not get cold.

Not always true get wet hunting or kayaking and you can suffer hypothermia in most of the the USA.

On a 60 degree day i almost lost it all kayaking, it was such as nice day I left my wet suit at home, through a series of occurrences I ended up in the river and durn near did not make it.