Winter is fun, but are you taking care?
Rapid breathing and intense shivering: these are signs of hypothermia. Hypothermia occurs when the body temperature drops below 35 degrees. But what can you do about it? There are two forms: mild hypothermia and severe hypothermia. The Red Cross explains what to do in case of hypothermia.
Mild hypothermia
What do you observe?
- Uncontrollable shivering
- Cold, pale, and dry skin
- Sometimes blue lips, ears, fingers, etc.
- Breathing changes from very fast to slow and shallow
- Fatigue and drowsiness
What do you do?
- Move the victim to a warmer environment
- At the onset of hypothermia, provide a warm shower and (warm) drinks
- Wrap the victim, including the head, in a (thermal) blanket
- Call or have someone call 1-1-2 if consciousness is decreasing
Severe hypothermia
What do you observe?
- The victim stops shivering
- Decreasing consciousness
- Reduced reflexes
- The heart rate decreases
- Muscles become stiff
- Possibly blue lips, ears, fingers, and toes
What do you do?
- Call or have someone call 1-1-2
- Put your phone on speaker
- Prevent further cooling: wrap the victim in blankets and wrap arms and legs separately
- Avoid unnecessary movements or relocation of the victim
- Remove wet clothing
- Give the victimnothingto eat and drink
Do you know what to do if your child has hypothermia?
Do you want to learn what to do when your child becomes hypothermic? Or how to act when the little one gets burned on the gourmet set during Christmas dinner? Or chokes on a Christmas cookie? During a first aid course for babies and children, you will get answers to these questions and learn how to act in emergencies. And did you know that your health insurer sometimes evencoversit?
Source: Red Cross