Warm a sleeping bag and put the victim into it with one or two other people,
being certain there is skin to skin contact in the area of the upper torso.
Have the people who are laying beside him exhale warm air near the victim’s
mouth and nose. Keep the victim awake and ignore his requests or demands to be
left alone. This patient is in real trouble, but most likely he will be in
denial. Keep a close eye on him, continuously. Apply lukewarm heat to stop core
body temperature from decreasing further.
If the victim is unconscious, handle him gently. At this point the heart is
very sensitive. Always assume the patient will recover and do not give up
attempts to keep body core temperature from dropping further. Constantly
monitor the victim’s pulse at the carotoid artery (neck.) If no pulse is found
after two minutes, check the other side of the neck for the same duration of
time. If the victim is breathing or has a pulse, do not give CPR, even if vital
signs are extremely faint. Keep a close eye on the victim for any change in
vital signs.
If there is no pulse found after checking both sides of the neck for a two
minute duration, start CPR immediately. Stop only when the heart begins beating
or when the person giving the CPR is in danger of exhaustion.
Get the victim to the hospital emergency room immediately. Medical
assistance is imperative to prevent death.
Caution
Treatment of hypothermia needs to be approached using extreme caution. It is
very easy to cause additional harm if you use the wrong method of treatment. If
the level of hypothermia can’t be determined visually through signs and symptoms,
it should be assumed that severe hypothermia is present.
Research has concluded that the most effective and safest method of
hypothermia treatment is to re-warm the victim through inhalation. The problem
is that most times the equipment for this procedure is not available except in
hospitals.