As you know, nature does not have bad weather. But it is frosty days that can bring trouble to someone: from hypothermia to frostbite of some parts of the body. And doctors’ offices at this time, believe me, are fairly replenished for this reason. In order for this to happen as rarely as possible, you should, of course, dress for the weather. Preference should be given to clothing made of membrane fabric, which removes moisture and reduces superficial hypothermia. And if hypothermia or frostbite does happen, you need to clearly know which folk wisdom will be useful, and which will only harm.
Fiery water? No, tea with lemon
There is no need to try to warm up right on the street, and the first rule here is not to drink alcohol – it dilates blood vessels and thereby removes heat, while at this moment a person needs another protective reaction – this is the very heat to keep. A person ceases to be aware of the capabilities of his body, loses sensitivity, as a result, he may freeze even more and not even notice it. Alcoholic drinks give a short-lived and deceiving sensation of warmth that ends very quickly. As in the fight against stress, alcohol with hypothermia is a bad remedy that gives an imaginary result. When choosing a drink, it is better to give preference to hot tea with lemon or ginger. But it is better to refuse coffee: it accelerates the elimination of fluid from the body, which is completely useless in the cold.
No need to rub
And many more people rub the frozen parts of the body with snow, having heard somewhere that it will help to keep warm. In fact, such a procedure will not bring the desired result. Moreover, it can only harm, causing injury to the skin. Better instead of snow rubdowns, lightly massage your skin and hurry to a warm room. We must wait for the body to warm up on its own. Redness of the skin is a good sign. He will just talk about the restoration of blood circulation. In case of severe frostbite, it is impossible to lubricate the skin with fat and ointments, because it will be difficult for doctors to treat the damaged areas later, besides, the bacteria will “pack up” and continue to multiply under the layer of ointment.
Down with jewelry
Everything is correct here, you should not wear metal (including gold, silver) jewelry in the cold – rings, earrings, etc. First, the metal cools much faster than the body due to its high thermal conductivity and can stick to the skin, causing pain and injury. Do you need it? Second, the rings on the fingers impede normal blood circulation. “In general, in the cold, try to avoid contact of bare skin with metal, as well as in the wind, the likelihood of frostbite is much higher than in a shelter,” the Emergencies Ministry officials warn.
A hot shower is not a good idea.
So, you came home from a frosty street, thoroughly freezing, but you should not rush under a hot shower right away. Sudden changes in temperature can be serious stress for the body. Even the tips of numb fingers should not be poked under a hot stream or applied to a battery – such treatment of your body will result in a terrible throbbing pain when your fingers are “thawed”. The main principle is only dry heat produced by your own body.
Change into your home clothes, put on wool socks, wrap yourself in a blanket, and have a cup of warm tea. After that, you can take a shower.
And once again about sudden changes in temperature – you should not soar your feet in hot water in order to prevent colds, doctors are skeptical about such a procedure.
The tub must be properly organized. If you have already decided to soar your feet, you need to start with water with a temperature of +30, and then gradually increase it, but no more than 39 degrees. And even this water can cause a reaction from the vessels, so be careful. By the way, you can add a couple of glasses of linden blossom infusion to the liquid. It relieves swelling of the nasal mucosa. Well, the whole procedure should take no more than half an hour.
If your lips turn blue
As we already said, frost can play a cruel joke with a person, sending him to a hospital bed. So when should you see a doctor? This should be done as soon as possible if the person has lost consciousness or their lips are bluish. If breathing becomes extremely weak or heavy, and the body temperature is below 34 degrees or above 38, the heart rate is more than 100 or below 60 beats per minute.
Confusion, delusional ideas, nausea or vomiting, convulsions also indicate a difficult situation and require medical intervention. And, finally, if after 2 hours after full rewarming, the frostbitten part of the body remains cold and insensitive, or bubbles have already appeared on it, then medical intervention is urgently required.
On guard
The cold did not fall suddenly, and the Ministry of Emergency Situations has already thoroughly prepared.
– In each fire and rescue garrison, heating points were checked, inspected, equipped and prepared, taking into account the possible risks of jamming situations on federal highways, – said the deputy head of the department for supervisory activities and preventive work, Colonel of the Internal Service Yevgeny Gruzdev. – As a rule, the deployment of mobile heating points is carried out on federal highways M-9, M-10, M-11 and is planned taking into account the likelihood of road accidents in certain areas, for example, it can be dangerous turns, intersections, etc. In cities, social facilities are provided for heating points: schools, kindergartens, which do not work during holidays and weekends and are used for these purposes.
In the event of an emergency, call the unified emergency dispatch service at 112.
The unified helpline of the main department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia in the Tver region is (4822) 39-99-99.