First Aid - Cold Emergencies
Languages: English
Media Editing: The video module(s) in this subject are editable under our Content Studio offering unless otherwise indicated. For more information about Content Studio, contact your CSM.
Description: Often, someone who is experiencing a cold emergency doesn’t realize they are until it’s too late. Like heat emergencies, cold emergencies can have serious health risks and in severe cases could result in death. In this subject, users will be taught what causes cold emergencies, how to prepare for them, different types of cold emergencies like hypothermia, windburn, frostbite, frostnip, and trench foot, and what they must do immediately to aid themselves or someone else who is experiencing a cold emergency.
Languages: English
Media Editing: The video module(s) in this subject are editable under our Content Studio offering unless otherwise indicated. For more information about Content Studio, contact your CSM.
Description: Often, someone who is experiencing a cold emergency doesn’t realize they are until it’s too late. Like heat emergencies, cold emergencies can have serious health risks and in severe cases could result in death. In this subject, users will be taught what causes cold emergencies, how to prepare for them, different types of cold emergencies like hypothermia, windburn, frostbite, frostnip, and trench foot, and what they must do immediately to aid themselves or someone else who is experiencing a cold emergency.
Languages: English
Media Editing: The video module(s) in this subject are editable under our Content Studio offering unless otherwise indicated. For more information about Content Studio, contact your CSM.
Description: Often, someone who is experiencing a cold emergency doesn’t realize they are until it’s too late. Like heat emergencies, cold emergencies can have serious health risks and in severe cases could result in death. In this subject, users will be taught what causes cold emergencies, how to prepare for them, different types of cold emergencies like hypothermia, windburn, frostbite, frostnip, and trench foot, and what they must do immediately to aid themselves or someone else who is experiencing a cold emergency.
Topics
How to Prevent Cold Emergencies
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Cold emergencies can develop into serious medical issues if they’re not identified and treated right away. This topic examines what a cold emergency is, who’s at a higher risk of experiencing one, and what you should do to prepare yourself to work in cold environments safely.
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Questions (level 1, 2, 3)
Video module
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This topic is currently available in English.
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Cold emergencies occur when your body reaches a temperature low enough to cause medical trauma, like hypothermia, windburn, or frostbite. They are dangerous because the victim often isn’t aware of how much their body is being affected by the cold.
Certain demographics of people are at higher risk of experiencing cold emergencies and should take extra precautions. These demographics include children, elderly people, people who are tired or dehydrated, and people who have recently consumed blood-thinning products like alcohol or certain drugs.
When working in cold environments, wear proper dry clothing such as hats, gloves, and warm socks in relevant slip-resistant footwear. This helps protect your body’s extremities from the cold.
Wear multiple layers of clothing if you know you’re going to be working in a cold environment. If you get too warm you can remove a layer, but it’s better to be prepared than being cold.
Make sure your body’s extremities are properly covered when you’re in a cold environment since your head, arms, hands, legs, and feet are at a higher risk of being affected by the cold, as less blood travels to those areas.
Bring an extra set of clothes to work in case the clothes you’re wearing get wet while you’re working. If they’re wet, the cold temperatures will increase your risk of being injured.
Eat full meals and make sure you’re hydrated before and during your shift. This helps your body to guard itself against the cold temperatures since it will be able to convert the food into energy.
Cold Emergencies - Hypothermia and Windburn
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It’s very important that you understand and can identify different types of cold emergencies before they become too serious. In this topic, you’ll learn specifically about hypothermia and windburn, and what you should do if you experience either.
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Questions (level 1, 2, 3)
PDF module
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This topic is currently available in English.
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Hypothermia is a cold emergency that occurs when someone’s body temperature drops quicker than their body can adjust to it, losing heat quicker than it can produce it. It can cause serious bodily harm and sometimes be fatal.
There are mild, moderate, and severe instances of hypothermia, ranging from some shivering to slowed breathing and stiffening of the body. If your body stops shivering, don’t assume you’re warm enough; the hypothermia might have progressed and you’re now too numb to shiver.
Mild hypothermia can often be treated with basic first aid. This includes getting out of the cold environment or insulating your body, drinking warm liquid, and removing any wet clothing.
Moderate and severe hypothermia both require immediate medical attention. Be very gentle with someone who is experiencing moderate or severe hypothermia, as their heart and body are very delicate in this state.
If someone is experiencing moderate or severe hypothermia, carefully apply heating pads or warm clothing to their armpits, chest, groin, and upper back areas. Call emergency services and follow their protocols.
If someone is experiencing moderate or severe hypothermia, do not rub the affected areas, let the person stand and move around, consume alcohol, or use radiant heaters or very hot water to warm them. This could cause the body to reheat too quickly and overwork their heart.
Wind chill refers to how your body temperature lowers due to the flow of low-temperature air in your environment. For example, the wind chill temperature is often colder than the area’s base temperature.
Windburn is the reaction of when cold wind removes the protective layer of someone’s skin and results in dryness, redness, itchiness, and peeling of the skin, often in their face.
Preview of PDF module for "Cold Emergencies - Hypothermia and Windburn”.
Cold Emergencies - Frostbite, Frostnip, and Trench Foot
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It’s very important that you understand and are able to identify different types of cold emergencies before they become too serious. In this topic, you’ll learn about frostbite, frostnip, and trench foot, and what you should do if you experience any of them.
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Questions (level 1, 2, 3)
PDF module
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This topic is currently available in English.
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Frostbite occurs when someone’s skin and its underlying tissues are exposed to extremely low temperatures and become frozen. If serious, it can result in severely damaged skin and dead tissue, leading to infections or amputations.
Someone’s extremities, like their toes, fingers, ears, and nose are at higher risk of experiencing frostbite since they lose heat quicker than the rest of the body as the temperatures drop.
Symptoms of mild frostbite include hardened skin, pale areas of skin, or pain or a stinging sensation on the skin. It should be treated with gentle rewarming, like moving to a warm area or putting the person’s extremities in a warm area like their armpit.
Symptoms of severe frostbite include waxy skin that possibly turns white, blue, black, or grey, burning, aching, or no feeling at all in the skin, and all require immediate emergency attention.
Frostnip is the mildest of any cold emergency, but it serves as a warning sign of potential further injury so treat it immediately.
Symptoms of frostnip include pain, redness, stinging, and mild numbness in ears, noses, cheeks, and toes that have been exposed to cold temperatures for an extended period of time.
Trench foot occurs when someone’s body parts are exposed to damp and cold environments that aren’t fully frozen, like stepping in a snow puddle, leading to their feet becoming red, numb, swollen, or cramped.
Treat Trench foot similarly to frostbite; remove any damp clothing around the affected skin and dry the skin in a controlled, warm area.
Preview of PDF module for "Cold Emergencies - Frostbite, Frostnip, and Trench Foot.”
