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