Does anyone specifically use warm air/o2 to warm casualties up?
I would have thought it wouldn't have made THAT much difference as gas is a relatively poor conductor of heat.
Perhaps someone more up to speed with hypothermia treatment could confirm - I thought it involved warm water baths etc?
Hi there, In both mountain rescue and cave rescue circles we use a device called a little dragon, it uses sodalime like in a rebreather to warm O2 before a patient inhales it, I have to say that it does make a difference from the few times I have seen it in use.
As far as warm baths e.t.c go there is passive and active re-warming. If somebody had become hypothermic quickly e.g, a sudden suit flood while having a deco obligation as in has "crashed and burnt" then active re-warming is the better option that would be putting them fully clothed into a warm(not hot) shower and getting there temprature up quicky again then stripping them off in the shower drying them off and dressing them in warm dry clothes.
If on the other had somebidy had gotten lost on a mountain and been under sub standard shelter for say 12-24 hours or more and were hypothermic then passive re-warming would be the order of the day, warm thick casualty bags, little dragons, none direct heat.
in summary, warm air is a bonus not a requirement and certainly dont withold treatment because you dont have the equipment to warm the O2. Als remember t re warm casualties in the way they went down, if they go down quickly rapid,active warming is required, if they go down slowly then warm them up passivley slow and steady wins the race....most of all if in doubt get them to deifinitive care ASAP.
Also please remember that in a worst case scenareo situation a casualty is not dead untill they are warm and dead, hypothermia can mask signs of life significantly do not give up.
Giles
p.s I have a good article somewhere on hypothermia stages and treatment, i will try and dig it out and post it.