Date
COLD WEATHER INJURIESCOUTURE
Agenda✤ References
✤ Chilblain
✤ Frostbite
✤ Trench foot
✤ Hypothermia
✤ Dehydration
✤ Snow blindness
✤ Questions
REFERENCES
✤ DVC 08-36
✤ DVC 08-37
✤ FM 4-25.11
✤ STP 21-1-SMCT
Seek Medical Aid Immediately
✤ If situation allows, do not stop administering first aid. Send someone else to get help.
✤ Cold weather injuries can occur starting at 60F
✤ Might be effected by wind chill, duration of exposure, history of cold injuries
✤ Pack correctly for the situation
Chilblain
✤ Small, itchy red areas on skin
✤ Possible blistering
✤ Swelling of skin
✤ Burning sensation
✤ Changes in skin color - red, dark blue
✤ Pain
✤ Effects mostly Women, underweight, poor circulation
Treatment
✤ Rewarm the affected part by applying firm steady pressure with your hands or placing the affected part under your arms or against the stomach of a buddy
✤ Do not rub area
✤ Have medical personnel evaluate - signs are slow to show
Frostbite
✤ Painful, prickly, itching sensation
✤ Red, white, pale or gray/yellow skin
✤ Hard or waxy looking skin
✤ Cold or burning
✤ Numbness
✤ Clumsiness
✤ Blistering
Treatment
✤ Face, ears, nose: Cover the casualty’s affected area with another person’s bare hands until sensation and color return
✤ Hands: Open the casualty’s field jacket and shirt and place the hands under their own armpit and close the jacket and shirt to prevent exposure
✤ Feet: Remove boots and socks and place feet under clothing and against the body of another soldier
✤ DO NOT thaw the casualty’s feet if they must walk to medical center. Injury is more likely when feet have thawed.
Trench Foot✤ Long exposure to wet conditions 50F -
32F
✤ Stage one: cold and painless areas, pulse is weak, numbness.
✤ Stage two: hot and burning, shooting pain
✤ Later stages: skin is pale with bluish cast, decrease pulse, blisters, swelling, redness
Treatment
✤ Do not expose injured part to an open fire
✤ Rewarm the injured part gradually by exposing to warm air
✤ Protect the part from trauma and secondary infections
✤ Use dry, loose clothing or several layers of warm coverings
✤ Elevate
✤ Do not massage, moisten, apply heat or ice
Hypothermia
✤ Early: shivering, pulse is faint, drowsiness, mental slowness, stiffness, lack of coordination, slurred speech
✤ Moderate: glassy eyes, slow and shallow breathing, very weak or absent pulse, increasing stiffness, lack of coordination, unconsciousness
✤ Severe: frozen extremities, irregular heart action, sudden death
Treatment
✤ Remove person from cold
✤ Remove wet clothing and put on dry clothing.
✤ Warm trunk first, not hands and feet
✤ Do not immerse in warm water
✤ Do not apply heat directly to skin
✤ CPR, if needed, at same time
✤ Warm fluids - avoid caffeine or alcohol
Dehydration
✤ Parched, dry mouth, tongue and throat
✤ difficulty swallowing
✤ nausea
✤ extreme dizziness and fainting
✤ tired and weak
✤ difficulty focusing eyes
Treatment
✤ Keep warm
✤ Loosen clothes to improve circulation unless in chemical environment
✤ Give fluids
✤ Transport the casualty to a medical treatment facility
Snow Blindness
✤ Sensation of grit in eyes, watery eyes, redness, headache, increased pain with exposure to light
✤ Treatment: Cover eyes with a dark cloth or glasses
✤ Improvise: Don’t have glasses? Makeshift glasses shown above out of MRE box
Questions
✤ Backbrief
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