AGRICULTURAL SAFETY TOPICS – COLd WEAThER ExPOSURE
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130-011-09-IADO © 2014, Workplace Safety & Prevention Services (WSPS)
1 877 494 WSPS (9777) | 905 614 1400 | www.wsps.ca
If you cannot guarantee that the tissue will stay warm, do not rewarm the tissue until it can be
kept warm.
If normal sensations haven't returned within 30 minutes, seek medical attention.
Hypothermia is the general cooling of the body. When the body drops much below the normal
temperature of 98.6ºF (37ºC), serious problems can arise. Severe hypothermia can lead to death.
Symptoms of mild hypothermia include: Symptoms of severe hypothermia include:
• Uncontrollable shivering • Shivering stops.
• Still able to walk and talk • Poor muscle coordination, and unable to walk
• Numbness of hands • Pulse and respiration rates decrease
• Unable to complete tasks with hands • Irrational/incoherent behavior
Treatment for mild hypothermia:
Encourage physical activity to generate muscle heat.
Give the person hot caffeine-free and alcohol-free drinks.
Get the person to a warm area and take off any wet clothing.
Gradually rewarm them by applying hot packs, or water bottles wrapped in hot, wet towels to the
groin, head, neck and sides of the chest to help provide a gentle source of heat. Immersing a person
in warm water rewarms them too fast.
Treatment for severe hypothermia:
Treat a person with severe hypothermia as a medical emergency.
Let the hospital rewarm the victim. If immediate access to medical facilities is not possible, wrap
the person warmly and transport to safety gently. Jostling the person may cause cardiac arrest.
Remove all wet clothing and place the person in a dry sleeping bag or blankets.
Once shivering has stopped, the person has lost the ability to generate heat. They need a gentle
source of heat, like another human body.
Apply hot packs to the neck, armpits, side, chest and groin to apply heat. Warm the person's lungs
by mouth-to-mouth breathing.
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