Survive in extreme temperatures

Six months ago, at the June solstice, I wrote "a series of Survival Guides in an attempt to educate and inform readers of wilderness survival techniques". Today, on the day of the December solstice, I would like to revisit the subject of survival.

Photo from telegraph.co.uk [found via Universe Today]

During a solstice, the "tilt" of the Earth is at its greatest angle in relation to its orbit around the Sun. Meaning, the Northern hemisphere is in the depths of Winter and the Southern hemisphere is at the peak of Summer. The solstice is a time of astronomical extremes and so are the conditions on our planet. Inspired by these extremes, I want to give you some guidance in today's article on surviving extreme temperatures.

Whether freezing cold or scorching heat, extreme temperatures stress the human body to death. Though apparent opposites, heat and cold cause similar problems. The human body is a system run at a consistent core temperature, any environment outside the usual comfort limits to this system causes the body to have to work harder to maintain its core temperature.

We have at least three options when it comes to our process of temperature maintenance:

1. Change our environment/location to bring it within our comfort limit.
2. Provide our bodies with the resources necessary to continue to operate under the demands of increased work.
3. Do nothing, risking the possibility that our body will fail to meet the new demands. Said simply: Death.

Regardless of the temperature, we need to address these basic components: shelter, water, and first-aid. Shelter allows us to insulate ourselves against the extremes (option 1). Water is a necessity for maintaining our internal system (option 2). First-aid allows us to treat any damage the environment may have caused to our bodies, injury and illness puts our body at greater risk, stressing it further.


SHELTER
Finding shelter is important in both heat and cold. In times of heat, it will shield you from the Sun and help you keep a little cooler. In times of cold, shelter will help stay warm and protect you from rain or snow.

"Shelter" is not only physical standing structures, shelter can refer to clothing as well. It's all about environmental comfort. When keeping warm, remember the COLD acronym:

CLEAN - Dirt weighs down clothing, decreasing the amount of air between one layer and the next. Air is essential to insulate the body and keep in the heat.
OVERHEATING - If you overheat your body, you'll begin to sweat. The moisture will cool you faster, not a good thing when trying to stay warm. Keep things comfortable, not hot.
LAYERS - Keep your layers loose. It's important to keep your blood flowing easily. It will help to circulate your core temperature and keep your extremities warm.
DRY - Any moisture, including sweat, cools the skin and collapses the layers of clothing.

Clothing is important for keeping cool as well. If trying to stay cool, clothing will help slow the evaporation of sweat. Additionally, clothing will protect your skin from the direct sunlight. Beware not to wear too much clothing though; cover what you are able, but don't overheat yourself further.


WATER
As I said in my article about Finding Water:

You should drink about two liters of water per day (2 L ≈ .5 gal) under normal circumstances. In more strenuous situations, you should intake four to six liters per day; "strenuous" describes anything outside tolerable temperatures (21°C ≈ 70°F) or stress levels (physical or mental). Basically, drink 2 liters when you're feeling average; more if you're not feeling average.

Staying hydrated is one of the most important steps to ensuring your survival. In addition to what I've already addressed in my related article, here are some other guidelines:

- Avoid drinking caffeine or alcohol; those drinks will take more moisture from you than they offer.
- Do not eat/drink frozen water (e.g. snow or ice). If you do consume frozen water, you'll decrease your core body temperature, which your body then has to fight to restore. So, melt first!
- If trying to stay warm, avoid getting your clothes and skin wet when finding or consuming water.

FIRST-AID
Frost bite, sun burn, and exhaustion are a few of the dangers you face in extreme environmental conditions. I wrote about common ailments in my Wilderness First Aid article, be sure to supplement that knowledge with the following tips:

- Be careful with your skin. Both frost bite and sun burn are similar in their effect on the body.
- Don't ever rub damaged skin, you'll cause even more damage.
- Wear loose clothing so that you don't restrict blood flow.
- When trying to rewarm frost-bite, do NOT use hot water. Ideally, use water between 38°C (≈100°F) to 41°C (≈106°F).

Please take care in all times of year, especially when facing environmental extremes. Always try to stay informed of possible changes in weather and always plan/pack for the worst-case scenario whenever you leave your home (even if only a "quick trip").

Survival Guide: Wilderness first-aid

It is my primary intention with these "Survival" Guides to provide readers with the knowledge, skills, and techniques which can be of significant benefit in life-threatening wilderness circumstances. As I have stated previously, most of my knowledge on these subjects comes from my experiences with the Boy Scouts of America and a lifetime of curiosity and practice. That said, I do NOT consider myself an expert and I am certainly not a professional. So, please, use your own brain, a proper degree of caution, and seek the advice of appropriate officials.

Why the disclaimer?
Looking at the sky, building shelters, and even safe drinking water are relatively mundane. Starting today, though, I am going to get into some serious stuff. Beginning with Wilderness first-aid.

Things can always go wrong. Even more so when you're under stress, like being lost or stranded. When things go wrong, the chance of injury increases. In this article, I hope to give you some simple pointers on the basic treatment of medical circumstances in the wilderness.

BLISTERS

A blister is a pocket of skin filled with fluid, such as blood (red/purple), plasma (clear), or pus (green/white from infection).
- Plasma helps with the growth of new tissue in the damaged area, so draining it should be avoided if possible.
- Sometimes it's necessary to drain even a plasma blister as it may not be possible to allow a it to heal naturally without impeding necessary function (such as employing survival skills).
- Blood blisters and infected blisters can be drained to relieve pressure. However...
- Blisters should always be drained using the most clean supplies.
- If you must drain a blister, use the following steps:

STEP 1: Carefully clean the area over and surrounding the blister.
STEP 2: Puncture the blister with a clean (preferably sterile) needle.
STEP 3: Use gauze or a clean cloth to apply pressure to the blister and drain the fluid.
STEP 4: Apply ointments to fight infection (such as antibacterial).
STEP 5: Lightly bandage (or band-aid) the affected area.

- Find out what caused the pressure. Try to reduce the friction and/or moisture in that area.

MUSCLE PAIN

- Cramps can be caused a few things; most commonly lack of oxygen, water, or salt for your muscles/body.
- To relieve a cramp:

STEP 1: Stretch the muscle while taking very deep breaths (to increase the oxygen in your bloodstream).
STEP 2: Slowly drink water. Allow the water time to enter your system before continuing activity.
STEP 3: Eat salty foods to replenish your body's reserves, as they may be depleted through perspiration and other bodily processes.

- Do NOT massage or punch the sore muscle, it will only make the aching worse as it increases the flow of blood and lactic acid to the muscle.

BITES, SCRATCHES, STINGS

- Bites should always be treated as if they could source infection.
- Beware of Rabies, if bitten by a carnivore. Did the animal exhibit an of the common signs of the virus? (e.g. foaming mouth, self-mutilation, growling, jerky behavior, red eyes)
- If you suspect the animal to be venomous, look for green or purple coloration around the bite.
- Do NOT attempt to suck out the venom.
- Do NOT attempt to expose the bite to heat or cold.
- If the victim of a venomous bite cannot reach medical:

STEP 1: Sit the victim up. (Raising the heart.)
STEP 2: Keep the bite lowered and away from the heart.
STEP 3: Remove any constrictive accessories/clothing (e.g. jewelry) on or around the swelling.
STEP 4: Tie a bandage, loose enough to fit a finger under, about 7 cm (3 in) above (toward the heart) the bite.
STEP 5: Get the victim professional medical attention as soon as possible.

- Some venom can paralyze the heart and/or lungs. Be prepared to administer CPR.
- Anaphylactic shock "anaphylaxis" is a severe bodily reaction to an allergen (e.g. insect bites or stings). Anaphylaxis causes rapid swelling which can close the victim's airway. Quickly administer epinephrine and antihistamine.

EXPOSURE

- Exposure (or "hypothermia"), according to the Wikipedia article on the subject, is when a person's core temperature drops below 35°C (95°F).
- Symptoms may include uncontrollable shivering, stiffness and confusion.
- Warm the victim slowly as sudden warming may cause heart failure.

HEAT ILLNESS

- Heat illness occurs when a person's core temperature rises above 40°C (104°F).
- Symptoms may include fainting, weakness, confusion, convulsions. (The latter two symtoms indicate a sever heat illness.)
- Treatment:

STEP 1: CLay the victim down, raise the legs.
STEP 2: Cool the victim. (e.g. fanning, applying damp cloths).
STEP 3: Slowly hydrate the victim and give them salty foods.
STEP 4: Massage the victims limps to help move cooled blood through the bloodstream.

- Heat illness can cause major damage to the body's organs.

WOUNDS

- Treating most wounds:

STEP 1: Quickly remove foreign material from the wound.
STEP 2: Apply pressure. No, really, apply pressure! Your goal is to try to stop the bleeding.
STEP 3: Keep your pressure on the wound for 15 minutes.
STEP 4: Check if the bleeding has stopped.
STEP 5: Wash the wound when bleeding is under control.

- Avoid use of tourniquet unless blood loss cannot be slowed using the above steps. Remember, tourniquets may lead to the loss of a limb.

BREAKS

- Split the break with two straight sticks tied around the extremity, if applicable.
- Try not to move the victim as it may cause more injuries.
- If the skin is broken, see above for treating a wound.

HEART ATTACK

- Symptoms may include nausea, sweating, discomfort in the center of the chest, and difficulty breathing. There may also be pain in the shoulder or arm, sometimes even the jaw; usually on the left side.
- Assisting someone having a heart attack:

STEP 1: Lay the victim down comfortably. (They may sit slightly, if having trouble breathing.)
STEP 2: Have the victim take slow deep breaths.
STEP 3: Give the victim aspirin, if available.
STEP 4: Help calm the victim and keep the comfortably warm.
STEP 5: Allow the victim to rest for eight hours before allowing them to move without assistance.

- You can also attempt to follow the same steps, if treating yourself during a heart attack.

Prepare yourself for any medical emergency. Knowledge is the first step, action is what is necessary. If something goes wrong when you're away from immediate medical assistance, remain calm and confident.