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Trauma Naked = Fully exposing your casualty to enable a complete and thorough exam so you do not miss any injuries hidden under clothing. We have heard and trained this over and over, so what’s the problem with it?
If not done properly, you casualty can rapidly lose a large amount of body heat, causing hypothermia. Hypothermia is a major contributing factor to blood failure and hemorrhageic shock. So, how do you ensure you don’t miss any wounds but also minimize effects of exposure?
- Have a quality HPMK system available and out early in your trauma assessment. **CoTCCC 2021 “Pre-stage an insulated hypothermia enclosure system with external active heating”.** Get the casualty in it ASAP and start warming the @readyheat.
- Perform incremental exposure of the casualty, checking a body area and then immediately cover with insulated HPMK. Go back and recheck the injured area as needed but keep covered as much as possible. **CoTCCC 2021 “Minimize casualty’s exposure to cold ground, wind and air temperatures. Place insulation material between the casualty and any cold surface as soon as possible”**
- Use insulated HPMK ASAP. **CoTCCC 2021 “As soon as possible, upgrade hypothermia enclosure system to a well-insulated enclosure system using a hooded sleeping bag or other readily available insulation inside the enclosure bag/external vapor barrier shell.”**
