Treacherous ice

If you fall through the ice – do not panic! Call for help. Try to stay afloat. Move towards the edge of the ice hole from which the current is flowing. Having reached the edge, try to lean your chest on the edge of the ice and, throwing in a leg, get out onto the ice. After the main part of your body is on the ice, roll away from the ice hole. Slowly and carefully crawl to a safe place, pushing off with your hands and feet.

What to do if you witness someone falling through the ice:

·                  Do not panic. Think about what can be done and whether it is within your capabilities! It may be better to call for help from another person and call rescuers by phone 101 or 112;

·                  If you decide to help yourself – arm yourself with a stick, pole, rope, or board and carefully crawl to the ice hole, evenly distributing the weight of your body over the surface, pushing the rescue device in front of you;

·                  Having approached the ice hole as close as possible, extend a stick, pole, or throw a rope to the victim;

·                  When you start pulling the victim out, ask them to work their legs;

·                  Pull the victim to a safe place and provide first aid necessary for hypothermia, call an ambulance by phone 103;

·                  Before the professionals arrive, provide first aid. If possible, remove wet clothing from the victim, wrap them in a blanket or dry clothes. If there is hot drink – give it to them.

·                  Do not immerse a person in hot water. Such a sharp temperature change is difficult to withstand even for a healthy heart. Immerse them in warm water, preferably at body temperature (around thirty-seven degrees). Then, as the victim warms up

possible slight warming of the water.

·                  even if the victim assures that they feel well and are not bothered by anything, an ambulance must be called. The fact is that after a state of shock and all that has been experienced, a person may simply not feel any changes in their body. In this situation, a doctor's examination, their assessment, and measurement of the most important indicators of the body's vital functions are simply necessary. After all, very often people who have fallen through the ice die even after they have been rescued, precisely due to hypothermia and failure of vital organs. 

Take care of yourself and talk to your children as often as possible about the dangers of ice during the cold season!