While driving a car in wintertime and you see a blue, half-conscious, freezing person on the shoulder, how should you help him?
Show the correct answer
Correct answer
C. Take him to the car, cover him and have him warm up slowly.
Explanation
When in winter you find a person on the shoulder who is blue, half-conscious and very cold, you call the emergency medical services, take them into the car, cover them and warm them slowly - answer C. A hot drink (A) may be given only to a fully conscious person, and alcohol (B) is forbidden - it widens the blood vessels and speeds up the loss of heat.
The State Emergency Medical Services Act requires everyone who notices a person in a sudden health emergency to notify the services without delay, and the Criminal Code provides for a penalty for failing to help a person in danger. Severe hypothermia may lead to cardiac arrest, and warming too quickly can cause it - that is why you warm the person gradually: you move the casualty to a warm place, take off wet clothes, wrap them in a blanket or a thermal blanket and switch on the heating in the car. You do not give a half-conscious person anything to drink, because they may choke. You watch their breathing until the ambulance arrives.
Legal basis: Art. 4 para. 1 of the State Emergency Medical Services Act; Art. 162 § 1 of the Criminal Code