Atton Rand & miscellaneous names (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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fandomhigh2016-02-09 01:55 pm
suitably_heroic) wrote in fandomhigh2016-02-09 01:55 pm
Entry tags:
101 Ways To Survive In The Field, Tuesday
"Right," Atton said. For once, he didn't look particularly busy; he was sitting on top of his desk, something that was only remotely weird because said desk was sitting in the middle of the simulated arctic environment they'd been working in for weeks now. Luckily for the class, the square area they were in right now was heated - they'd have to walk a few dozen feet to hit the actual cold.
"I said we're going to be dealing with emergency medicine repeatedly during this class. Now, you'd think that in icy environments like this, you'd think the chief thing to know is how to deal with frostbite, hypothermia, snow blindness, and stuff like that. But those are conditions that are actually really easy to avoid if you know how. Next week, we'll deal with treating injuries - today, we talk about avoiding the big cold trappings."
"Frostbite, we more or less already dealt with," he said. "Mainly it's about dressing well for the cold. However, anything wet that gets on you will exacerbate the conditions frostbite needs to get going. If it starts snowing, or gets cold and windy, you need to find some shelter; don't keep plugging on unless you absolutely have to. Make sure you pick bottom layers that keep you from getting damp. Tuck your gloves over your sleeves so your arms don't get cold. And for the love of god, try to protect your nose, hands, and feet. Those are most likely to go, and a bunch of those, you kind of need in those circumstances."
He clapped his hands. "You can recognize frostbite in its early stages pretty easily," he said. "First your fingertips get painful and red. Then they get white or gray and start to go numb. Frostbite only gets full-on 'you could lose a toe' dangerous if your skin gets fully white and it starts to feel waxy. Don't let it get to that point. Get inside if you can, or at least get out of the wind. Put your affected extremities in warm - not hot, warm - water. If possible, get someone else to test it for you, because you might have lost the ability to identify temperature. Don't touch it, don't use anything else to warm it up, especially not anything that can generate a dry heat, because you will burn."
Atton leaned forward. "Hypothermia prevention is a lot of the same," he said. "Seriously, I can't tell you guys enough how important it is to stay dry. Layer. Avoid cotton. Find shelter. If you do get hypothermia, then warm yourself up gradually. Again, you'll want warm, not hot. Drink some warm tea or soup or whatever. Put your hands in your armpits. Hell, hug a friend, that also helps." Beat. "No, seriously. I don't like it either, but it does. Not the best way to do it, but it does."
"Then there's snowblindness," he said. "UV rays from a sun can cause real damage on human eyes - and those of most sentients, actually. It's worse in snowy territories for a variety of reasons. Luckily, it's also the easiest to prevent: make sure you wear the right sunglasses. They can't let any light in from the sides, and they need to be polarized or mirror-coated. If you do get snowblindness, get your ass inside and don't look at anything for a while."
"Finally, a lot of snowy areas are at high altitude. That can cause altitude sickness if you're not used to it. The low oxygen pressure at higher altitudes can really mess with your head. You'll get headaches. Nausea, fatigue, dizziness, nosebleeds, your head might start spinning. Really dangerous if you're out in the field on a mission and there might be people shooting at you. In fact, your lungs might even fill up with fluid, causing shortness of breath, or your brain might start swelling, which is just about as nasty as it sounds; you'll start to lose consciousness and vomit up a storm."
He hopped off the desk. "Now, how do you stop that from happening? There's some drugs you can use; this planet has one called Diamox. Extra water or bringing a supply of oxygen will also be a boon. But really, you just have to acclimate. Try not to rush it. Go up a whiles, then make sure you go back down and sleep at a lower altitude. The next day, you'll be in better shape to go up even higher, and you can slowly take your base camp up. If you won't have time for that on a mission, try to get acclimated beforehand. Find some low-pressure oxygen environments, artificial or otherwise, and train yourself. Seriously, you do not want to deal with altitude sickness."
He clapped his hands, then pointed off into the woods. "Head that way, and you'll find three patients," he said. "I want you to diagnose what's up with them and either treat it, or write down how it could've been prevented."
[[wait for the ocd up! ]]
"I said we're going to be dealing with emergency medicine repeatedly during this class. Now, you'd think that in icy environments like this, you'd think the chief thing to know is how to deal with frostbite, hypothermia, snow blindness, and stuff like that. But those are conditions that are actually really easy to avoid if you know how. Next week, we'll deal with treating injuries - today, we talk about avoiding the big cold trappings."
"Frostbite, we more or less already dealt with," he said. "Mainly it's about dressing well for the cold. However, anything wet that gets on you will exacerbate the conditions frostbite needs to get going. If it starts snowing, or gets cold and windy, you need to find some shelter; don't keep plugging on unless you absolutely have to. Make sure you pick bottom layers that keep you from getting damp. Tuck your gloves over your sleeves so your arms don't get cold. And for the love of god, try to protect your nose, hands, and feet. Those are most likely to go, and a bunch of those, you kind of need in those circumstances."
He clapped his hands. "You can recognize frostbite in its early stages pretty easily," he said. "First your fingertips get painful and red. Then they get white or gray and start to go numb. Frostbite only gets full-on 'you could lose a toe' dangerous if your skin gets fully white and it starts to feel waxy. Don't let it get to that point. Get inside if you can, or at least get out of the wind. Put your affected extremities in warm - not hot, warm - water. If possible, get someone else to test it for you, because you might have lost the ability to identify temperature. Don't touch it, don't use anything else to warm it up, especially not anything that can generate a dry heat, because you will burn."
Atton leaned forward. "Hypothermia prevention is a lot of the same," he said. "Seriously, I can't tell you guys enough how important it is to stay dry. Layer. Avoid cotton. Find shelter. If you do get hypothermia, then warm yourself up gradually. Again, you'll want warm, not hot. Drink some warm tea or soup or whatever. Put your hands in your armpits. Hell, hug a friend, that also helps." Beat. "No, seriously. I don't like it either, but it does. Not the best way to do it, but it does."
"Then there's snowblindness," he said. "UV rays from a sun can cause real damage on human eyes - and those of most sentients, actually. It's worse in snowy territories for a variety of reasons. Luckily, it's also the easiest to prevent: make sure you wear the right sunglasses. They can't let any light in from the sides, and they need to be polarized or mirror-coated. If you do get snowblindness, get your ass inside and don't look at anything for a while."
"Finally, a lot of snowy areas are at high altitude. That can cause altitude sickness if you're not used to it. The low oxygen pressure at higher altitudes can really mess with your head. You'll get headaches. Nausea, fatigue, dizziness, nosebleeds, your head might start spinning. Really dangerous if you're out in the field on a mission and there might be people shooting at you. In fact, your lungs might even fill up with fluid, causing shortness of breath, or your brain might start swelling, which is just about as nasty as it sounds; you'll start to lose consciousness and vomit up a storm."
He hopped off the desk. "Now, how do you stop that from happening? There's some drugs you can use; this planet has one called Diamox. Extra water or bringing a supply of oxygen will also be a boon. But really, you just have to acclimate. Try not to rush it. Go up a whiles, then make sure you go back down and sleep at a lower altitude. The next day, you'll be in better shape to go up even higher, and you can slowly take your base camp up. If you won't have time for that on a mission, try to get acclimated beforehand. Find some low-pressure oxygen environments, artificial or otherwise, and train yourself. Seriously, you do not want to deal with altitude sickness."
He clapped his hands, then pointed off into the woods. "Head that way, and you'll find three patients," he said. "I want you to diagnose what's up with them and either treat it, or write down how it could've been prevented."
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