Number of Courses:  One Live 2-Hour Class
Credit Awarded:  2 Hours
Credit Type: Basic/Advanced
Accredited: CAPCE (F5-VILT), CE Broker (FL & TN), Pennsylvania Bureau of EMS, and Virginia Office of EMS
Enrollment Period:  One year or until completed, whichever comes first
Topics:  Allergic Reactions/Anaphylaxis & Environmental Emergencies

This CE activity is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Pre-Hospital Continuing Education for a total of 2 EMT/Paramedic CEH.

Are you in need of a few hours to round out your recertification? This individual NCCP course will meet those needs and is offered several times a month with a varying schedule.

Want to see when classes are offered, click here DistanceCME Course Calendar

Topics covered in this Live NCCP L9

  • Allergic Reactions/Anaphylaxis & Environmental Emergencies (2hr)

If you need more than a few hours, these bundles are perfect for your continuing education. You’ll complete your NCCR requirements and also gain access to our Anytime EMS CEU Package, offering over 100 on-demand learning modules with CEUs.

EMTs choose Live 20 Hour NCCP + Anytime

Paramedics/AEMTs choose  Live 30 Hour NCCP + Anytime

Course Overview
Environmental conditions and allergic emergencies present unique challenges that require EMS providers to rapidly recognize life-threatening conditions, understand the body’s physiologic response to environmental stress, and initiate timely, evidence-based interventions. From heatstroke and hypothermia to anaphylaxis and altitude illness, these emergencies often progress rapidly and demand decisive clinical management.
This course provides a comprehensive review of environmental emergencies and severe allergic reactions encountered in the prehospital setting. Learners examine the physiology of thermoregulation before progressing through heat-related illness, cold-related emergencies, drowning, altitude illness, allergic reactions, and anaphylaxis. Throughout the course, emphasis is placed on patient assessment, differential diagnosis, current treatment strategies, and preventing progression to critical illness.

Thermoregulation & Environmental Physiology
The course begins by reviewing the body’s mechanisms for maintaining normal temperature, including thermogenesis, thermolysis, metabolic rate, and endocrine regulation. Learners explore how the hypothalamus coordinates heat production and heat loss while examining the physiologic responses to environmental stress and the factors that predispose patients to heat- and cold-related illness.

Heat-Related Emergencies
Participants examine the complete spectrum of hyperthermia, including heat cramps, heat syncope, heat exhaustion, and heatstroke. Special emphasis is placed on identifying early warning signs, understanding the progression from mild heat illness to life-threatening heatstroke, recognizing exertional versus classic heatstroke, and implementing evidence-based cooling strategies, fluid resuscitation, and field management techniques.

Cold-Related Emergencies
Learners review hypothermia, frostbite, and other cold-related disorders by examining mechanisms of heat conservation, physiologic changes associated with decreasing core body temperature, and the cardiovascular effects of severe cold exposure. The course also explores passive versus active rewarming, management of hypothermic cardiac arrest, frostbite treatment, and safe patient handling to minimize complications.

Drowning & Submersion Injuries
The course examines the drowning process from initial submersion through respiratory compromise, hypoxia, and cardiac arrest. Participants review age-specific drowning risks, drowning physiology, airway management, oxygenation, post-resuscitation care, hypothermia considerations, and prevention strategies designed to reduce water-related morbidity and mortality.

Altitude Illness
Participants explore the physiologic effects of high-altitude exposure and the spectrum of altitude illness, including Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), High-Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE), and High-Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE). Learners develop an understanding of risk factors, clinical presentation, recognition of worsening symptoms, and appropriate treatment strategies, including oxygen therapy, pharmacologic interventions, and rapid descent.

Allergic Reactions & Anaphylaxis
The course concludes with an in-depth review of allergic reactions and anaphylaxis. Learners examine the immune response, common allergens, pathophysiology of anaphylaxis, patient assessment, airway compromise, circulatory collapse, and current evidence-based management. Particular emphasis is placed on early recognition, prompt administration of epinephrine, airway management, and preventing progression to life-threatening shock.

Clinical Application
Throughout the course, realistic EMS scenarios reinforce rapid patient assessment, differential diagnosis, and evidence-based treatment of environmental and allergic emergencies. Learners strengthen their ability to recognize subtle clinical findings, prioritize interventions, manage rapidly deteriorating patients, and apply current prehospital treatment principles across a wide variety of environmental conditions and medical emergencies.

Who Should Take This Course?
This course is designed primarily for EMTs, AEMTs, and Paramedics seeking to strengthen their knowledge of environmental emergencies, allergic reactions, and anaphylaxis. It is particularly valuable for providers responsible for managing patients affected by heat illness, hypothermia, drowning, altitude exposure, severe allergic reactions, and other time-sensitive medical emergencies requiring rapid assessment and intervention.