PS Magazine - TB 43-PS-733
PS, The Preventative Maintenance Monthly
ISSUE 733
DECEMBER 2013
PS 733
DEC 13
51
PS 733
DEC 13
The Cold Facts
Cold weather exposure can lead to
frostbite
and
hypothermia
. Both are dangerous
conditions.
Frostbite
is the freezing of body tissue caused by exposure to freezing
temperatures. Frostbite usually occurs on the face, ears, ±ngers and toes.
Hypothermia
is the lowering of core body temperature. Hypothermia occurs
when the body gets cold and loses heat faster than the body can make it.
Frostbite
• Numbness
• A tingling
or burning
sensation
• Red skin,
later turning
to a waxy
yellow
(grayish
in dark-
skinned
Soldiers)
• Tissue
that feels
wooden to
the touch
• Warm the affected area at room temperature, with direct body
heat from another Soldier, or with warm water (98-104°F).
• Do not thaw frozen tissue if there’s a chance it might freeze
again. Refreezing can further damage tissue.
• Do not expose frozen tissue to intense heat (open flames, stove
tops, steam, heat packs).
• Do not rub or massage. You might damage the skin.
• Do not wet the tissue or rub it with snow or ice.
• Seek medical treatment as soon as possible.
Frostsbite can cripple and maim
casualty
of the
cold
Winter Safety…
don’t
be a
CASUALTY
OF THE
COLD
Here are the
symptoms
of
frostbite…
The Army has
learned the
hard lessons
of history.
Today, serious
cold-weather
injuries are
less common.
But they’ll stay
that way only if
you understand the
threat. Leaders
and Soldiers
must
remain alert for
symptoms of cold
injuries.
And here’s
the
first aid
for tissue
suffering
from
frostbite…
Armies have
lost battles
and campaigns
because of
brutally
cold winter
weather.
in the winter of 1812, Napoleon lost
250,000 soldiers during the long,
freezing retreat from Moscow.
On the Eastern Front in World War II, 100,000 German
soldiers suffered frostbite during December 1941 and January
1942. Fifteen thousand of them needed amputations.
During the
Korean War,
cold injuries
accounted
for nearly
10 percent of
all U.S. Army
casualties.
733 50-51.indd
1-2
11/6/13
1:23 PM
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