How to provide first aid in case of hypothermia

How to provide first aid in case of hypothermia

Winter is closing on us and, even though many people enjoy this season, the cold weather also comes along with a set of risks. Hypothermia is, by far, the greatest risk associated with low temperatures, as it can endanger a person’s life if that person does not receive immediate attention. Among other things you learn during First Aid Training Winnipeg, you will also get the information necessary to identify hypothermia and what to do in the case it occurs, to minimize damages and even save a person’s life. CPR courses are extremely valuable in this case as well, if the cold risks taking a person’s life. With this kind of knowledge, there are high chances that you will be able to save a life in this kind of unwanted emergency case.

There are two types of hypothermia, mild and severe hypothermia, each of them having its own set of symptoms and effects on the human body. Hypothermia that is mild will produce a shivering of the entire body, although the inner temperature of that person will still be normal.

Also, a sensation of numbness may be experienced in the extremities of the body, like toes and fingers. But, if the hypothermia will head toward a moderate level, then the core temperature of the body will start to drop. Besides feeling numbness in the extremities, the victim will also start feeling numb in other parts of the body as well. The victim will also shiver severely and both the coordination and behavior of the person may start to show signs of improper functioning of the body. This is the moment when the victim should receive immediate and adequate attention because moderate hypothermia can quickly turn into severe hypothermia and endanger the person’s life.

In case of severe hypothermia sets in, there’s no time to waste and the victim should receive immediate first aid, together with calling in an ambulance. Even healthcare providers should

take HCP Courses Winnipeg to know how to best handle this kind of emergency cases, to make sure that the victim will have a normal life as much as possible after this episode. Besides calling an ambulance, you should also try to gradually warm up a person that suffers from severe hypothermia. While the instinct is to warm that person as much and as fast as possible, warming him or her too quickly can trigger heart arrhythmias. Have in mind that the core temperature of the body drops to 30°C in this case, the victim not shivering at this point and with a high chance of being unconscious. If the temperature will drop below 30°C, the life of the person is seriously in danger.

Thus, what you can do until an ambulance arrives is to try to keep the person conscious, if possible, to use a blanket to gradually warm him or her, and check his or her breathing as often as possible, also being prepared to perform CPR in case the person becomes unresponsive and stops breathing. But again, try to remember that a rapid warming up of a person suffering from severe hypothermia can lead to permanent damages.

Prepare First Aid Training Winnipeg is a locally owned company in Winnipeg, Manitoba providing the First Aid Training & CPR Courses Training in Winnipeg. To learn essential of First Aid, CPR and HCP skills please visit our website www.preparefirstaidtraining.ca.