Now Playing: Act quickly! -Safety First Tip
Topic: Travel Tips
Act Quickly! Prevent Hypothermia or Pneumonia BEFORE, it becomes a concern .
When body temperature drops quickly; you must act quickly to prevent an emergency situation!
Use a blanket to cover yourself if you are suffering from extreme cold.
Cover your head and your feet to prevent further heat loss. If you have
a scarf, use it to wrap your head and neck.
Acquire a hot cup of tea or water for yourself or the person(s) suffering MILD Hypothermia, ONLY. DO NOT give hot beverages to persons who suffering a severe case.
For a severe case, call 911 in the US or 999 for European Countries. Check for your location's emergency number.
An emergency crew has special thermometers that register temps low enough for severe Hypothermia.
95 degrees Farhenheit or 35 degrees Celsius or below, are what the experts will be concerned about. But you don't want to wait until you or another person's temperature drop to such extremes!
Always call 911 or 999 in a severe case with temperatures below 96 degrees.
Have safe travels and always be prepared, so you can enjoy wherever life takes you.
-VL
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Here are some hints from The University of Maryland Medical Center :
Signs of Hypothermia:
Skin that is cold to the touch
Shivering at first then absence of shivering
drowsiness
weakness, clumsiness
shallow breathing
Treating Mild Hypothermia:
Mild hypothermia can be treated by warming the person. Get out of the cold and remove wet clothing and replace it with dry, warm clothing and blankets. Give the person something warm to drink, but do not give alcohol.
Other techniques include using hot water bottles, warm baths, or heat packs placed under the arms and on the chest, neck, and groin. Do not warm the arms and legs directly; this can force cold blood back toward the heart. Do not apply heating pads or heating blankets, and don' t rub arms and legs.
Sharing body heat (lying with your skin touching the person' s skin) may help. The person can also get into the heat escape lessening position (HELP), sitting with knees bent upwards so they are against the chest. This helps keeps the body' s trunk warm.
Watch the person' s breathing. If they stop breathing and have no pulse, give CPR if you are trained to do so. Use caution, however, because a person with hypothermia may have a very slow heart rate. You may need to check for a pulse for as long as 45 seconds or a minute.
At the hospital, the medical team will use heated intravenous fluids. The person may be wrapped with blankets in a warm room or put into a large tub of warm water.
Source: http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/hypothermia-000092.htm#ixzz2GHvYfw8x
Follow us: @UMMC on Twitter | MedCenter on Facebook
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Disclaimer: We at Travel Today do not claim any medical expertise, but wish to inform the public of simple procedures that can prevent emergencies.
If there is a true emergency, contact the appropriate experts.
Thank you for reading our tips on Travel Today -VL
