Every once in a while, we hear a bunch of rumbling on the news about a possible pandemic outbreak or a chemical attack like sarin gas or anthrax.  Sometimes the news talks about nuclear reactors having problems – like yesterday in San Diego.  These are real threats that could happen because of accidents, terrorism or simply an attack on us by another country.  What are you doing to be prepared for this possibility?   Most importantly, do you even know what you should be doing?

If you’ve already looked into prepping for these threats, you’ve likely discovered that there’s not a lot of straight forward and clear answers to questions.

Want to get some REAL information on Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) Preps?  Have you tried to decide which gas mask you should be purchasing for your family?  Or wondered if you need to get other protective gear for potential quarantine and survival of a serious pandemic outbreak?

So have we!

We think we know a lot of the answers to these questions – but we decided to get it RIGHT!  So, we’ve arranged for Robert Goepp, a career Hazmat expert and instructor, to join us on the show.  Robert has done Hazmat work in the Military, for the Fire Dept, and for DHS and probably a few other places he can’t tell us about.   You can read a lot more about him here.

Come join us LIVE TONIGHT and ask him any and all questions you may have regarding Hazmat and NBC Preps!

During the PLC show, you can follow this link and participate in the live chat – and ask questions during the show.  You can also call us live and talk directly to Robert.

You won’t want to miss this one!  It’s not always easy to get a true expert in this area to talk to you.

Friday, February 3rd 2012, at 6 pm MST (tonight) the Preparedness Learning Center Podcast/Radio Show broadcasting LIVE with Robert Goepp of Midwest Safety Associates.

A family in my congregation just went through a grueling experience of their own. Their story can be read here.

Escaping your car

A few years ago, the TV show Mythbusters ran through several scenarios involving a submerged car, and passengers inside trying to escape. Read here for the results.

For such an event, there are two tools that you must have to be prepared. The first is a seatbelt cutter. Upon impact, your seat belt will lock up to secure you, and it may be difficult or impossible to disconnect or loosen the belt to escape. The second is a window-breaking hammer. Vehicle window glass is tempered to strengthen it; without sufficient strength and leverage, it can be very difficult to break.

Recommended product: $10 ResQMe, The Keychain Version of the Original LifeHammer

The above product stays on your keychain for quick access, and then can both cut seatbelts and puncture vehicle window glass with ease. Whether the accident involves becoming submerged in water, rolling the vehicle in an accident, a car fire, or anything else, you will be able to quickly escape your vehicle.

Staying in your car

A few years ago we had a really rough snow storm hit, and many people in our stake were stranded in their vehicles. For such situations, it is crucially important that you have in your car a “bugout bag” with basic supplies that will keep you going until you are able to be mobile once again.

For a comprehensive list of items you might consider including in such a kit, see this post. Review the suggested items, consider your family’s needs and life situations, and then acquire and store the necessary items in each of your vehicles.

Emergency Essentials has an automobile combo kit on sale here. I don’t necessarily recommend this kit (I prefer to custom build my own “bugout bags” so I know precisely what’s in it, what the quality is, etc.) but if you’re looking to buy something to get you started, it may be a good option.

If you have any questions or would like ideas and/or recommendations for specific items or scenarios, please let us know!

Wrap-It-Ice by Shield-Safety

Today I decided to write a little review on a product that I really wish I didn’t have to do. The reason for this is not for a lack of quality in the product, but the fact that I actually needed to use it. Yes, this is a first-aid bandage that I’ve had sitting in my cabinet waiting until needed, and now it is.

Several months ago I met with Mike at Shield-Safety, and went through their sales pitch about some first-aid products they had.  While a lot of what they did was not new, they had several things that did pique my interest and stand out as something I wanted to buy. Now I’m not normally a person to give into a home sales pitch, but the Shield-Safety people approached us a little bit differently, they taught first-aid basics, and how to actually use the different items that you should have available in a home first-aid station. One of the products they had that got my attention was a sealed wrap for sprains.

I’ve always had a nice supply of compression wrap bandages to deal with my always twisting ankles. So why would I need something different? Well one of the main things you always need after a sprain is to keep the wounded area cold. The common way to do this is to surround with ice, however ice is too cold and to keep from causing more damage you follow the pattern of icing for fifteen minutes, then keeping it off for fifteen.  The Wrap-It-Ice product helps with this by taking your gauze wrap, and keeps it soaked in Ethanol, Arnica, and Menthol.

Ethanol

Ethanol is included for two reasons that I can easily see. First the wood-grain alcohol has a good, known evaporation rate. This evaporation acts like sweating to actually cool the compressed area down.  Secondly, while I wouldn’t want this on an open wound obviously, it does act as an antiseptic helping keep things clean.

Arnica

This was a new one for me. Apparently Arnica refers to several plants related to the sunflower that collectively contain traces of thymol. And since I’m sure that leaves you with questions the same way it left me let me summarize some things I found online. Thymol is used in liniments and ointments because it is clinically proven to help with surface capillary damage (bruises), both in pain and in restoration. Also it seems to be used as a fungicide, and antiseptic. Not bad for extra features.

Menthol

This is another great “multitasker” in sprain or bruise treatment. Menthol provides:

• A local/topical analgesic – gets rid of some of the pain
• Is a smooth muscle relaxant – lowers the tension and pain
• Is antipruritic – reduces itching
• Increases the cooling “sensation” – Feels better
• Essential – Usually made up from essential oils, and provides a smell that has a psychologically calming effect.

Getting Wrapped

After a rather hard week at work, my wife and I decided to join several other couples last week at a volleyball night at our church. The fun evening ended (I should have expected it) when I landed wrong, and quite severely rolled my ankle. Having plenty of experience in the matter, I quickly got my shoe off, some ice on, and elevated my foot to quickly stabilize myself.  After a few minutes, and allowing myself to get over the “CRAP THIS HURTS”, we went home so I could give it a little better treatment. My wife went to grab a bandage, and came back with one of the Wrap-It-Ice packages, deciding that now was as good of a time as any to see if it really lived up to its claims.  We opened the pouch and dressed the ankle as normal, the only difference in that the bandage was quite wet.

For the first minute or so, I really didn’t feel much (outside of the “CRAP THIS HURTS”), but shortly after I began to feel what I’d hoped for.  A nice cool sensation was starting to penetrate into my skin, and the aforementioned pain started getting pushed away.  While I wouldn’t expect this to get rid of all pain, it very quickly made a notable difference, and after my ibuprofen kicked in, I was feeling quite well about things as long as I didn’t step on the darn foot.

Conclusion

The bandages claim that they will provide “An hour of instant cooling and compression”.  Well about a minute to cut through a very painful sprain is about as instant as I think you can get, and that really did impress me.  As for an hour, it seemed to go a bit longer. And yes, it was quite cool, but not frigid like ice so I didn’t have to rotate.  It kept my ankle and a very steady temperature the whole time. I really do think it helped prevent the heavy bruising that I was expecting, and minimized my swelling (along with the proper procedures of elevating, and taking ibuprofen of course).

Now, could you make this yourself? I’m sure you could add alcohol and some essential oils to your bandage and get at least some of the benefits of this product. Even better if you can find a source and the proper dosage of that Arnica. I’d go so far as to say that would be a very good thing to learn and have on hand no matter what. BUT, this was actually a quite impressive product, at a pretty sane price for a medical item.  They come in a nice sealed container so you don’t have to take the time to mix it together, and they’re made for a local company that seems to be trying pretty hard to not just sell first-aid equipment, but really wants to teach you how to use it.

For me, yeah, I want to learn how to do it myself. But I know I’ll be buying a replacement for my medicine cabinet as well. It’s a well-made product that really delivered as promised. And while I would have rather not had the opportunity to review it, I’m really glad it came out well in this real-world test. Go check it out for yourself: Wrap-It-Ice.

I have a lot to work on! One of the things I’m doing right out the gate is to update our stake’s emergency preparedness plan. Our stake was formed only five years ago, so when it was organized, they got the preparedness plans of a nearby stake, and basically copied and pasted the name of the new stake over the other stake’s name in the plan. Reading over that plan now, I curiously wonder how long it had been since that other stake had updated it.

Why, you may ask? Get a load of this… In a section dealing with what to do after an emergency, it says:

Write, telegraph or telephone your relatives after the emergency is over, so they will know you are safe.

Telegraph. I kid you not, the plan suggests using the telegraph as a means of communication (second to writing…) for getting in touch with loved ones. Telegraph.

The LDS Church published a new website on preparedness recently which has some helpful information (albeit nothing new). Note that there are several sections on this page; in the section titled “Ward and Stake Emergency Plans” we read the following:

Plans should be updated periodically.

Indeed.

So, I’ll be replacing telegraph with texting, or Twitter, or Facebook. :) And while it’s certainly important for wards and stakes (and cities and states and companies and private organizations) to keep their emergency plans up to date, it’s crucially important that families do so.

Just yesterday I was reviewing our family list. Over the past couple of years, I’ve crossed things out on the original list and have written in new things—locations of where to find a certain important item, or what to evacuate with, etc. Even so, the latest information is slightly out of date, and needs to be revised.

In the chaotic minutes that follow an emergency, it will be extremely difficult to think with a clear mind and recall what we should do, or bring, or get set up. Having a detailed plan to refer to will help us ensure that our loved ones our safe, our homes are secured, and the needs of anybody injured or distressed are responded to.

So set aside some time in the next few days to go over (or begin!) your family plans and set calendar reminders every few months to review the list and see if anything needs to be updated or added. Because surely you wouldn’t want to be wondering, amidst the commotion of an emergency, where to find a telegraph.

A few weeks ago, I was called by my Bishop (pastor) to be the new emergency preparedness coordinator for our ward (congregation). In order to better serve those in the ward and help them prepare, I thought it important to begin my efforts with a survey to gauge where our ward stood. I had a fairly good idea due to previous surveys conducted over the past couple of years in our community (see here and here), but wanted a bit more detail, and with the high turnover in our ward, needed updated information.

With the Bishop’s consent, I circulated a brief, anonymous survey through the ward and got responses from over 50 families. Our ward is a fairly average ward in terms of income, being squarely “middle class,” thus the results are probably pretty indicative of the average (American) Latter-day Saint household. I don’t consider any of this statistically accurate, but it’s close enough to be reliable and representative of the average family, in my opinion.

Below are the results of this anonymous survey.

My impressions? This is about what I expected. It’s not encouraging, of course, when a few families skew the results upward with their year supply of food; far too many families responded that they only had a few days or a couple weeks worth of food in their home.

Time to roll up my sleeves.

Case lot image from http://tightwadmomsfrugalforum.blogspot.com

Inevitably, each year in the weeks preceding the LDS General Conference sessions in April and October grocery stores in Utah begin their Case Lot sales. In case you aren’t familiar with the term, a Case Lot sale is a sale that allows you to purchase food (and other) items at a discount from a regular grocery store. The only catch is that you need to buy them a case at a time.

This can really help build of your emergency food supply quickly. Given that there are generally 12 to 24 cans or jars in a case, this is the perfect opportunity to scratch that Food Storage To-Do off your New Year’s Resolution list. As we have touted many, many times before, there are many reasons to have at a minimum a three-month supply of food you eat on a regular basis be it financial, natural disaster or otherwise.

Lucky for you (and all of us for that matter), our friends at Prepared LDS Family have updated their Case Lot spreadsheet. As always, we are greatly appreciative of the work and effort that went into this.

In addition to the spreadsheet will help you find the best deals this Case Lot season, there is also a 3 Month Supply post. This excellent resource details out what a basic 3 month supply for one person should consist of, then lists prices for items to fill that list along with the case lot costs for both Macey’s and Smith’s.

Many of the Bulk Food Suppliers on our Resources page also offer case lot sales during this same time period.

Go over and take a look!

Email edited for screen readability only (spacing), and redacting names.

——-

This was sent to a friend of ours March 13, and I’ve edited out names,they felt we could learn from this experience about a ‘real’ emergency. Hope it helps someone here.

Hi Everyone, We’re doing “fine” here. Considering what is going on around us. When the first big quake hit, around 2:45 in the afternoon on Friday, I ran to ***** room and grabbed him out of his crib. We’ve had plenty of earthquakes in the 2.5 years we’ve been here, but this one was huge. ***** started crying and calling for me –I got him too and we huddled on the stairs away from windows and light fixtures. The two boys were walking home from school and came in while the house was still shaking. They thought it was exciting. I yelled at them to “GET BACK OUTSIDE!” because I’d just been told if you’re outside, you’re supposed to stay outside! I sat on the stairs praying: “Please protect my kids, please protect my kids, please protect my kids…” It seemed to last forever (around 5 minutes I’ve heard) and then the aftershocks just kept coming and coming. They’re still coming.

They evacuated the hospital and **** was able to come home around 4. [I can't tell you what a relief it was to have my whole entire family safe and together. And how upsetting it was/is to think of people all over Japan who have family unaccounted for. It's really hard for me whenever one of the husbands has to leave.]

Since then, the power has been out and we haven’t had any heat or access to phones (to the states) or Internet (except ***** getting one e-mail out from the hospital.) Friday evening we moved our friends in with us (**** and **** and three kids) since they just shipped   their stuff to the states in preparation for their move in two weeks. It’s been nice to have them around because everyone is on edge and extremely stressed.

Yesterday (Saturday) they opened the commissary (No lights, cash only) and we grabbed some extra food, water and diapers. Since we have the standard Mormon “food storage” I wasn’t too worried about running out of food or water, but I didn’t have any spare diapers so was happy to buy three big boxes yesterday for *****. (And yes,I bought two big cans of hot chocolate. Priorities, people!)

We went to church for a shortened meeting to take the sacrament and get the news today. All members of the branch have been accounted for and we’ve heard that all the missionaries in Japan are accounted for also. (Big relief.)
The power is now back on off-base which is how I have Internet access right now. We’re at ***** house. Hopefully it stays on.

We were asked at church to see what extra coats, blankets, food and water we can round up to donate to the Japanese people nearby. I feel heart sick thinking of those who’ve lost homes and loved ones. Although you probably know much more than me, I hear the devastation is extremely great. We were lucky to be so safe on base and grateful our off-base friends and neighbors were okay.

The earthquakes (aftershocks) haven’t stopped and I spent all night last night having nightmares about running from collapsing and buckling buildings. The kids are on edge and tantrums are at an all time high. They keep busy playing during the day, but when it gets dark and we have to ration flashlights and candles it gets extra hard to keep the peace.
A few things I’ve been wanting to tell people and note for the future:

• Get an old school, corded phone. If the power goes out, your cordless won’t work. We were lucky to have a corded phone upstairs which helped ***** coordinate with the Branch President to get accountability of church members. (The phones have worked on-base off and on, but we were never able to get a call through to the states.)
• Speaking of accountability, in an emergency, if you’re going to leave your house–leave a note on the door saying where you are going so when guys from church or work coming looking, they’ll know where you are.
• When the power went out, people off base couldn’t get their cars out of their garage. Turns out there is a special crank to use but most of our friends didn’t have it or know what it was. Luckily ***** had parked outside and was able to get her kids to our house Friday.
• We’ve been cooking with our camping equipment. Note to self: Buy a 20 pack of small propane tanks. We’ve also used our outdoor BBQ (in the cold) and I’m wishing I had a spare tank of Propane for that.(We still don’t have power and don’t know when it will come back on On Base. Estimates have said 24 hours (we’re way past that) to 1 week, to indefinite.)
• Do you have an extra refill of your prescriptions in your 72 hour kit? It’s terrifying to imagine running out of the things you take every day. Also, the thought of my kids getting sick and not having enough Children’s Advil and/or Tylenol made me pretty nervous until I verified we had some of each.
• For ONCE I was glad to be doing Dave Ramsey yesterday when we had plenty of cash on hand to shop at the commissary. But we also have a cash and yen emergency fund hidden in the house for back-up which was very comforting.
• While I’m making notes to myself: Buy a hand crank wheat grinder and blender! (We have a freezer full of frozen fruit to make smoothies but no way to blend anything.)
• Flashlights are a pain in my butt. All of our stupid Rayovac crappy-**** batteries that I had stored for an emergency, LEAKED! So the flashlights are all slowly dying, being over used by the children, and being misplaced. The best source of light the last two nights has been the pillar candles I’ve had in the cupboard for fancy table settings. They seem to burn pretty slow and shed a lot of light. I’ve gone through 3 and have 1 left. Wish I had a 20 pack of those in my 72 hour pack. It would be nice not to worry about running out. Small, light weight, energy efficient lanterns would be nice too.
• Also, my next house will have a wood burning fire place. This all would have been much easier if we could have been warm.
• Also, I’m buying all my kids a down comforter. We have one on our bed and we’ve been fine at night, but the kids need 20 blankets piled up to stay warm. (Actually, the older boys each have a two layer fleece blanket which is pretty warm, but unfortunately, they’re not very big.)

(Poor little ***** had to spend yesterday in his snow suit to stay warm. The poor little guy must be sensing the stress because he’s been quite out of sorts. He’s always shivering (even when bundled) and very clingy. The kids are all confused and upset but mostly hanging in there. Like I said, it’s been nice to have friends to keep us company.)

Sorry, I’m rambling on and on but I’ve had all this stress for the last two days and my main way to process is by writing my thoughts down. So I’ve been going a little nuts feeling so disconnected.

A few more random thoughts: The last two days this thought kept running through my head “All are safely gathered in.” I can’t express enough how glad I was/am to have my family around me. Please say a prayer for our many many friends with deployed spouses. This is a very stressful time here and it’s really sucky for them to be apart. Also, please pray forall the Japanese people who are missing or displaced. So sad.

We were very blessed on base to have running (freezing cold) water. Off base, sewer lines broke and contaminated the water supply they weren’t even supposed to touch it.

Today we sang “I Need Thee Every Hour” at church. Has a lot of meaning right now.

Okay, there are other people who need to use this computer. Everyone on base is coming off base to try to contact family.

***** husband (Pilot) is at work trying to coordinate rescue efforts so I should go down and help her take care of the multitude of children and get everyone some lunch.

Please pray for us (us being everyone in Japan) and if you feel so inclined, find a way to send some warm blankets to people who’ve lost their homes. Don’t know when I’ll be back on-line again, but hopefully soon.

Thanks to everyone for your concern. I knew (figured) there were people praying for us back in the states and it helped to think about.

I’ve contacted the Volcano Grills company and they have agreed to a group buy on the Volcano Collapsible Propane regularly $149.95 with 20 orders we can each receive a 20% discount on this amazing product. The group price will be $120.15. The deadline for this buy is April 15th (See details below). This is a great product; see the review post to make sure it’s something you want. Some of the stove’s highlights: it uses three types of fuel – propane, charcoal or wood. It is built to work with a regular 12″ dutch oven and collapses to 5″ for easy storage. The stove is also very efficient, it only needs 12 briquettes to cook one meal.

Now a bit of the background story on me and the stove. I’ve been gathering the necessary preparations for my own family and my thoughts have turned to cooking stoves and fuel. After doing a bit of research on this website I found Connor’s review of the Volcano Stove. After reading that I’m now fully convinced of the design and efficiency of this product and must have it.

I made several calls to a few local retailers and found the product to be out of stock nearly everywhere. Following Connor’s example, I decided to call Volcano Grill company and they are very friendly and willing to offer a group buy discount. The people at Volcano Grill tell me the recent popularity of this item has caused shortages everywhere. Most places are backordered 6 weeks and the places like Costco may not receive delivery even as late as this fall. I’m excited to receive a discount and share this with as many as possible.

So thank you Volcano Grill and Connor for helping out. Here are the details on the group buy.

• Product: Volcano Collapsible Propane Grill aka Volcano II
• Discount Price: $120.15, 20% off regular price with minimum of 20 paid orders
• Deadline: April 15th at 5pm
• How to Order: Send me an email at jon@jrbond.com with: full name, email address, phone number, and quantity desired. Once we have at least 20 stoves committed for purchase, I will then give you instructions on how/where to call in and place the order directly with the company.
• Order will be ready 2nd week in May
• Delivery Option: Pickup/Delivery Option: 1) Pickup your own order from the Springville office (preferred) 2) $12 shipping for northern Utah delivery

Please spread the word to your community and groups. Ask any questions below in the comments section. Thanks.

The following is some information which may prove useful for your review, in preparing for a future earthquake that affects us at a substantial level.

First, as a summary of the situation here in Utah living along the Wasatch Fault, this 10 minute video by the Utah Geological Survey is a great starting point.

One question you might have is whether this succession of small earthquakes is indicative of a larger one in the near future. Here’s one answer on that:

For instance, in California, if you look at the US Geological Survey (USGS) website, you can count hundreds of earthquakesthat aren’t even felt, occurring with great regularity. If these little earthquakes are precursors to big earthquakes, then we’d constantly be having large earthquakes. On the other hand, small earthquakes suggest a certain level of fault line activity and pressure building up, and scientists regularly suggest that we must all prepare for the Big One, since it could occur at any time. Thus you can say little earthquakes are precursors to big earthquakes because they do suggest that eventually, at some point in the future, a big earthquake is likely.

Before an Earthquake

To be prepared for future earthquakes, FEMA lists the following as recommendations:

• Repair defective electrical wiring, leaky gas lines, and inflexible utility connections. Get appropriate professional help. Do not work with gas or electrical lines yourself.
• Bolt down and secure to the wall studs your water heater, refrigerator, furnace, and gas appliances. If recommended by your gas company, have an automatic gas shut-off valve installed that is triggered by strong vibrations.
• Place large or heavy objects on lower shelves. Fasten shelves, mirrors, and large picture frames to walls. Brace high and top-heavy objects.
• Store bottled foods, glass, china, and other breakables on low shelves or in cabinets that fasten shut.
• Anchor overhead lighting fixtures.
• Be sure the residence is firmly anchored to its foundation.
• Install flexible pipe fittings to avoid gas or water leaks. Flexible fittings are more resistant to breakage.
• Locate safe spots in each room under a sturdy table or against an inside wall. Reinforce this information by moving to these places during each drill.
• Hold earthquake drills with your family members: Drop, cover, and hold on!

During an Earthquake

1. Remain calm! Think through the consequences of all your actions.
2. Stop, drop, cover, and hold on to something sturdy, where you are.
3. If you are indoors. . .
   • stay indoors.
   • take cover under a heavy desk, table, bench, archway, alongside a sturdy wall or in a narrow hallway.
   • stay away from and out of windows and all other forms of glass, elevators, stairwells, and doorways with doors, (doors can swing closed, causing injuries).
4. If you are outdoors. . .
   • stay outdoors.
   • move away from buildings, roofs with clay tiles, antennas, or satellite dishes, large trees, signs, power lines, and any other utility wires or buildings on stilts.
5. If you are in a crowded place. . .
   • stay away from overhead walkways and do not rush for a doorway.
   • take cover and move away from display shelves holding objects that can fall.
6. If you are in a high-rise building. . .
   • get under a sturdy desk or table away from windows and outside walls.
   • stay in the building on the same floor. An evacuation may not be necessary.
   • be aware that the electricity may go out and that the sprinkler systems and fire alarms may go on.
7. If you are in a moving vehicle. . .
   • stop as quickly and safely as possible, and stay in your vehicle.
   • try not to stop near power-lines, bridges, tall fences, or gas stations.
   • watch for road and bridge damage before proceeding.
8. Hold on to small children and pets. They scare easily and may try to run into dangerous areas or situations.
9. Do not use any open flame during or immediately after an earthquake in case there is a gas leak.

After an Earthquake

Expect aftershocks, and cautiously ensure everybody is okay. Move to a safer location in anticipation of further quakes. Also check for hazards (if you smell gas, turn off the main gas valve; if you have damaged electrical wiring, shut off power at the control box).

Additional Information

Some of the preceding information was extracted from this pamphlet which contains some very useful information on this and other topics. It is a great resource to print and keep on hand for consultation.

To With more than half the country being inundated by massive snow and ice storms and much of the rest of the country having below freezing temperatures, people are at a very high risk for Hypothermia.  Knowing what Hypothermia is and how to treat it not only prepares you to help yourself but most importantly, to help others.  I’ve consulted several resources to try to put together a very comprehensive overview of Hypothermia.  Those resources include the Mayo Clinic, my EMT Training Manuals, the CDC Guidelines for Hypothermia and the State of Alaska Cold Injuries Guidelines (Alaska knows more about Hypothermia than anybody, their standards are what we use here for Search and Rescue).

Hopefully you’ll find this summary easy to understand and helpful.  If you come across someone experiencing Hypothermia you really need to know ahead of time how to deal with it!

Hypothermia

Hypothermia is an emergency condition that occurs when the body is losing heat faster than it can generate or acquire it.  This results is a slow and steady decrease in core body temperature.  As the core temp drops below 95 degrees you begin to enter Hypothermia.  The body attempts to adjust to this heat loss by reducing perspiration and circulation to the skin – shutting down avenues by which the body usually gets rid of excess heat.  The body will try to compensate for heat loss by attempting to generate heat on its own by using muscular activity in the form of shivering by increasing the rate at which internal fuel (food) is burned.

Failure to get proper treatment for Hypothermia will result in death.

Signs and Symptoms of Hypothermia

• Shivering – Uncontrollable and constant.  Shivering is the body’s automatic defense against losing heat, it is how the body attempts to warm itself
• Clumsiness or loss of coordination
• Slurred speech or mumbling
• Confusion or difficulty thinking
• Poor decision making – such as removing clothes because the person thinks they’re too hot
• Drowsiness or very low energy
• Apathy towards their condition
• Progressive loss of consciousness
• Weak Pulse
• Shallow Breathing

Hypothermia comes on slowly and because it causes confusion, the victim is usually unaware of their condition.

General Principles of Hypothermia

1. The body is actually protecting itself and its vital systems by going into Hypothermia.  Without taking these protective measures, the heart would fail and the person would die much sooner.
2. Because the body has taken protective measures to protect itself, resuscitation efforts should be maintained beyond those for normothermic patients.
3. In severe Hypothermia cardiac instability is an issue.  Physical stimuli such as jostling, exercise and chest compressions can cause ventricular fibrillation (heart attack) in a cold heart that is functioning effectively.
4. In severe Hypothermia, compressions (CPR) should only be performed when functional cardiac activity is fully absent.  The pulse can be extremely difficult to feel and should be attempted for a prolonged amount of time (at least 45 seconds).
5. Cardiac tissue in severe Hypothermia is resistant to defibrillation and anti-dysrhythmia medications.  These procedures are generally withheld until core temp has been raised to at least 86 degrees.

Treatment of Hypothermia

Basic Treatment for Hypothermia

1. Prevent further heat loss
   1. Insulate from the ground
   2. Protect from the wind, eliminate evaporative heat loss by removing wet clothing
   3. Insulate the patient, including the head and neck
   4. Cover the patient with a vapor barrier (blue tarp, emergency blanket, large piece of plastic, etc)
   5. Move the patient to a warm environment
2. Call 911, request an ambulance
3. Do not give alcohol or permit patient to use tobacco

Treatment for Mild Hypothermia

1. Follow procedures for Basic Treatment
2. If there is no way to get to a medical facility, or it will be more than 30 minutes rewarm the patient with the following methods:
   1. Fuel their shivering with a very sugary drink (sugar content is more important than hot drinks)
   2. Do not allow the patient to drink liquids unless the patient is capable of swallowing
   3. Apply heat to areas of high surface heat transfer including the underarms, sides of the chest wall, the neck and groin.
   4. Place the patient in a sleeping bag and provide close skin-to-skin contact
   5. Consider a warm shower or bath for the patient
   6. Mild exercise such as walking or stepping up and down on an object will produce heat and may be helpful

Treatment for Severe Hypothermia (with signs of life)

1. Treat patient very gently, do not rub or manipulate extremities.
2. If clothes are wet, cut them off
3. Treat for Basic and Mild Hypothermia except:
   1. Do not allow the patient to sit or stand until rewarmed (do not put in a bath)
   2. Do not give the patient oral fluids or foods
   3. Do not attempt to increase heat production through exercise
   4. Take to a hospital as soon as possible

Treatment for Severe Hypothermia (with NO signs of life)

1. Treat as outlined in Severe Hypothermia WITH signs of Life
2. Check for signs of breathing (coughing, chest movement, etc) for 60 seconds.  If patient is not breathing and does not have signs of circulation give 3 minutes of ventilation.
3. Check for signs of breathing and circulation for 60 seconds.  If there are none, goto step 2
4. Use mouth to mask breathing
5. Transfer to a medical facility as soon as possible