41 Health Allergies and Fir st Aid Insulat e with h at glo v es and socks t o pre v ent fur ther heat loss but do no t apply heat t o the e xtremities Applied heat causes peripheral blood v essel dilation which ma y result in a dr op in blood pressure and o ther cir culat or y pr oblems The victi m should a v oid unnecessar y activity as this cir culat es cold blood fr om the e xtremities int o the body core thus increasing the rat e of heat loss Do no t rub their skin or e xtremities A dminist e r w arm sw ee t drinks nonalcoholic and caf f eine free t o a victim who is conscious and no t shiv ering uncon tr ollably F or moderat e h ypo thermia k eep victims as still as possible and handle them v er y gently as a cold hear t is susceptible t o v entricular fbrillation which can cause death Gently t ranspor t victims t o a medical f acility as soon as possible An uncons cious se v ere h ypo thermia victim req uires consid erable care in or der t o sur viv e Carefully assess pulse and respirat or y rat e f or up t o tw o minut es If respiration only is absent begin moutht omouth resuscitation t o donat e heat If a pulse is absent star t CPR only if it can be maintained until a pulse is rest ored or until A dv anced Lif e Suppor t per sonnel arriv e It ma y be be tt er t o lea v e the victim cold and untreat ed as int ermitt ent application of CPR will lik ely cause v entricular fbrillation t o occur Al w a ys r emember t ha t a v ic t im is ne v er c onsider ed de ad unt il w ar med and de ad