Environmental Emergencies

Front 1

environmental emergency

Back 1

a medical condition caused or exacerbated by the weather, terrain, or other risk factors

Front 2

risk factors for environmental emergencies

Back 2

age, general health, fatigue, predisposed medical conditions, medications

Front 3

thermogenesis

Back 3

internal heat production

Front 4

thermolysis

Back 4

methods of heat loss

Front 5

5 types of thermolysis

Back 5

Conduction, convection, evaporation, radiation, and respiration

Front 6

conduction

Back 6

direct transfer of heat to a colder object

Front 7

convection

Back 7

heat is transferred to circulating air, as when cool air moves across the body

Front 8

evaporation

Back 8

conversion of liquid to gas (sweating_

Front 9

radiation

Back 9

loss of body heat directly to colder objects in the environment

Front 10

respiration

Back 10

warm air in the lungs is exhaled into the atmosphere and cooler air is inhaled

Front 11

ways to modify rate and amount of heat loss

Back 11

increase heat production (shivering), move to an area where heat loss is decreased(cover head and reduce radiation heat loss by 70%), and wear insulated clothing

Front 12

hypothermia

Back 12

low temperature

Front 13

core body temperature

Back 13

98.6 degrees (37 Celcius)

Front 14

mild hypothermia

Back 14

core temp is 90 - 95 degrees Farenheit (32 - 35 Celcius)

Front 15

severe hypothermia

Back 15

core temp is less than 90 degrees Farenheit (32 Celcius)

Front 16

rewarming shock

Back 16

active external rewarming caused vasodilation, lowering BP

Front 17

what does rewarming too quickly cause?

Back 17

fatal cardiac arrhythmias

Front 18

what will you prevent by handling hypothermic patients very gently?

Back 18

ventricular fibrillation

Front 19

cold diuresis

Back 19

increase excretion of urine in a cold environment

Front 20

frostnip

Back 20

outer layer of skin is frozen but inner layer is not

Front 21

frostbite

Back 21

tissue is frozen and permanently damages cells

Front 22

gangrene

Back 22

permanent cell death

Front 23

hyperthermia

Back 23

high core temp, normally above 101 degrees Farenheit (38.4 Celcius)

Front 24

3 types of illness from heat exposure

Back 24

heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke

Front 25

persons at greatest risk for heat illnesses

Back 25

children, elderly, diabetics, heart disease, COPD, dehydration, obesity, and those with limited mobility

Front 26

heat cramps

Back 26

painful muscle spasms occuring after vigorous exercise

Front 27

heat exhaustion

Back 27

heat prostration or heat collapse; the most common illness caused by heat; result of body losing too much water ad electrolytes through heavy sweating and hypovolemia occurs

Front 28

signs of heat exhaustion

Back 28

increased cored body temp with some neurologic deficit, orthostatic hypotension, dry tongue, cool clammy skin with ashen pallor, dizziness, weakness, normal vitals but rapid pulse and low diastolic BP

Front 29

heatstroke

Back 29

most serious heat illness, but least common; occurs when body is subjected to more heat than it can effectively remove because normal mechanisms for getting rid of heat are overwhelmed. Body temp rises to level where tissues are destroyed and significant neurological deficits occur. Organ damage in liver, brain, and kidneys

Front 30

classic heatstroke

Back 30

presents in people with chronic illnesses with deficient thermoregulatory function: diabetes, age, and other medical conditions are factors

Front 31

exertional heatstroke

Back 31

commonly seen in people in good health that have overexerted themselves or due to excessive exposure or poor acclimatization

Front 32

most common cause of lightning related deaths

Back 32

cardiac or respiratory arrest

Front 33

reverse triage

Back 33

focus efforts on those in respiratory or cardiac arrest first after a lightning strike

Front 34

drowning

Back 34

death from suffocation due to submersion in water or other fluids

Front 35

near drowning

Back 35

near suffocation in water or other fluids with a recovery event that lasts at least 24 hours

Front 36

laryngospasm

Back 36

occurs from inhaling small amount of fresh or salt water - causes the muscles of the larynx and vocal cords to spasm

Front 37

water rescue rule

Back 37

reach, throw, row and then go

Front 38

mammalian diving reflex

Back 38

when a person dives or jumps into cold water, the heart rate is slowed

Front 39

descent emergencies

Back 39

due to sudden increase in pressure on body, severe pain in lungs, sinus cavities, the middle ear, teeth

Front 40

deep diving emergencies

Back 40

nitrogen narcosis causes lightheadedness. similar effect as nitrous oxide (laughing gas) giving diver a feeling of euphoria

Front 41

ascent emergencies

Back 41

air emobolism and decompression sickness (bends)

Front 42

air embolism

Back 42

most dangerous and most common diving emergency....bubbles of air in the blood vessel caused by divr holding breath during a rapid ascent. Pressure in lungs remain high while outside pressure drops, causing alveoli to rupture and air to be released into the bloodstream

Front 43

Boyles Law

Back 43

if the temp stays the same the volume of gas gets smaller at the same rate that the surrounding pressure increases and density increases

Front 44

decompression sickness

Back 44

the bends...bubbles of gas, especially nitrogen, obstruct the blood vessels as a result of too fast an ascent from a dive. treatment in a hyperbaric chamber is needed