Recommendations from rescuers during low temperatures 1. Monitor your health. At low temperatures, the risk of hypothermia and frostbite increases. If you feel cold, seek warmth immediately. 2. Dress in multiple layers. This will help retain heat. Use waterproof and windproof materials. 3. Don’t forget about headwear and gloves. Most heat is lost through the head and hands. 4. Avoid prolonged exposure to the outdoors. If you need to be outside, take regular breaks in a warm place. 5. Keep a
Frostbite is damage to any part of the body (up to tissue death) due to exposure to low temperatures. Frostbite is usually accompanied by general hypothermia and most often affects the ear lobes, nose, fingers of the hands and feet.
Close and damp clothing and footwear, physical overexertion, hunger, forced prolonged immobility and uncomfortable positions, previous cold injuries, weakening of the body due to past illnesses, foot sweating, chronic diseases of the blood vessels of the lower extremities and cardiovascular system are frequent companions of frostbite.
According to statistics, severe frostbite leading to limb amputation often occurs in a state of severe alcohol intoxication. Children and elderly people are most susceptible to hypothermia and frostbite. This should be taken into account when planning walks. Take a pair of spare mittens and a thermos with hot tea with you. When letting a child go out to play in the frost, remember that they need to return to warmth and warm up every 15-20 minutes.
Prevention
Several simple rules that will help you avoid hypothermia and frostbite in severe frost:
- do not drink alcohol: alcohol intoxication causes a significant loss of heat, while creating an illusion of comfort;
- do not smoke in the frost: smoking reduces peripheral blood circulation, making the extremities more vulnerable;
- wear loose clothing: this promotes normal blood circulation. Dress in layers, ensuring that there are always air layers between clothing layers, which excellently retain heat. Outer clothing must be waterproof;
Tight footwear, lack of insoles, damp socks – are the basis for frostbite. Special attention should be paid to footwear for those who often have sweaty feet. Warm insoles should be placed in boots, and instead of cotton socks, wool ones should be worn – they absorb moisture;
- do not go out into the frost without mittens, a hat, and a scarf. The best option is mittens made of water-repellent and windproof fabric with fur inside. Cheeks and chin should be protected with a scarf. In windy cold weather, before going outside, apply special cream to exposed areas of the body;
- avoid contact of bare skin with metal in the frost;
- do not wear metal (including gold and silver) jewelry in the frost – rings, earrings, etc. Metal cools much faster than the body and may cause "sticking" to the skin with painful sensations and cold injuries. Rings on fingers also hinder normal blood circulation;
- do not allow the frostbitten area to freeze again: this will cause much more significant skin damage;
- do not remove footwear from frostbitten extremities in the frost: they will swell, and you will not be able to put them back on;
- if your hands are frozen – try to warm them under your armpits;
- as soon as you feel hypothermia or freezing of the extremities, it is necessary to enter any warm place as soon as possible – a store, café, or entrance;
- if your car breaks down far from a populated area or in an unfamiliar place, it is better to stay in the car, call for help by phone, or wait for another vehicle to pass by;
- shelter from the wind: the likelihood of frostbite in the wind is significantly higher;
- do not go out into the frost with wet hair after a shower.
First Aid for Hypothermia
First aid involves stopping the cooling and warming the extremity, restoring blood circulation in the cold-affected tissues along with preventing the development of infection. Transport the victim to the nearest warm room, remove frozen footwear, socks, and gloves. Provide hot, plentiful drinks – for example, warm sweet tea. Pain relievers can be added. Simultaneously with providing first aid measures, it is necessary to call a doctor, an ambulance for medical assistance.
Assistance for Frostbite
Actions when providing first medical aid vary depending on the degree of frostbite, general cooling of the body, age, and accompanying diseases.
In frostbite of I degree, the affected areas should be warmed to redness with warm hands, light massage, rubbing with woolen fabric, breathing, and then a cotton-gauze bandage should be applied. In frostbite of other degrees, warming, massage, or rubbing should not be performed.
1) An insulating dressing is applied to the affected surface (a layer of gauze, a thick layer of cotton wool, another layer of gauze, and on top a plastic or rubberized fabric), the extremities are fixed using improvised means (a board, a piece of plywood, dense cardboard), applying and bandaging them over the dressing. Warm clothing or fabric can be used as insulating material.
2) The victims are given hot drinks, hot food, a small amount of alcohol, one tablet of aspirin, analgin, and two tablets of no-shpa or papaverine.
It is not recommended:
to rub patients with snow, because blood vessels are fragile and may be damaged, introducing infections through micro-injuries;
to warm the affected areas of the body under hot water, near a radiator or heater;
an ineffective option for first aid is rubbing oils, fats, or rubbing alcohol into tissues in cases of deep frostbite.
How to Determine the Degree of Frostbite?
Frostbite of I degree (the mildest) usually occurs with brief exposure to cold. The affected area of skin is pale, after warming it has a reddened hue, in some cases – a purplish-red; a slight swelling develops;
Frostbite of II degree occurs with more prolonged exposure to cold. Initially, the extremity pales and loses sensitivity. In the first days after the injury, blisters filled with clear fluid form;
In frostbite of III degree, the formed blisters are filled with bloody fluid, their bottoms are blue-purple, insensitive to irritations. All elements of the skin die, forming scars;
Frostbite of IV degree occurs with prolonged exposure to cold, the temperature in the tissues decreases significantly. All layers die, often affecting bones and joints. The affected area of the extremity is sharply cyanotic, sometimes with a marbled coloration. Swelling develops immediately after warming and increases rapidly. The absence of blisters with a significantly developed swelling and loss of sensitivity signals frostbite of IV degree.
Stove Heating and Heating Systems during Frosts
Remember that in cold weather it is better to heat the stove several times a day with breaks. Continuous heating can lead to overheating of the stove and the appearance of cracks. And they, in turn, can lead to a fire. Do not use flammable and combustible liquids to ignite the fire. The flash of their vapors leads to severe burns of a person standing next to the stove.
Frozen heating systems can be thawed using hot sand, water, or a special device. But do not use an open flame – this can also lead to a fire. Read recommendations for the safe operation of boilers and gas equipment here.