As a serious health condition appears below 35.0 °C of body temperature, hypothermia is the fast heat loss that causes us to lose consciousness and functions, in fact, unfortunately, to die if it isn’t dealt with immediately. Wrapping the body gradually, it becomes a cold whispering enemy waiting to strike in the blink of an eye. A grave danger for the outdoor lovers, similar to the Night’s Watch’s.
The most common reasons that drop the temperature of human body which is generally 37 °C are exposure to cold for a long time or immersion in icy water. Also, very young or old age, alcohol usage that may result in vasodilatation, overexertion, medications or diabetes increase the chance of getting hypothermia. Seeing these following symptoms in a person who might have been exposed to cold:
- shivering,
- slurred speech or mumbling,
- slow breathing,
- memory loss,
- weak pulse and,
- redness of the skin (in infants), you should be aware of a prospective case of this cold-related disease
Stages of Hypothermia
- Mild : 90°F to 95°F (32.2°C to 35°C)
High blood pressure, shivering, rapid breathing and heart rate, constricted blood vessels, apathy and fatigue impaired judgement, lack of coordination, dizziness, hunger and nausea, difficulty speaking.
- Moderate : 82.4°F to 90°F (28°C to 32.2°C)
Irregular heartbeat, a slower heart rate and breathing, lower level of consciousness, diluted pupils, low blood pressure and a decrease in reflexes.
- Severe : < 82.4°F (28°C)
Labored respiration, nonreactive pupils, no reflexes, loss of consciousness, coma and cardiac arrest.
How to help
With one or more of these symptoms, it is clear that medical assistance should be in progress for the sufferer as soon as possible. And more important thing is, like we have always said, first aid saves lives. While waiting the medical crew:
- the person must be carried to a warm, dry and covered place, their cold or wet clothes taken off,
- leaving only the face uncovered, wrap the body by a dry and preferably warm blanket,
- if you can do, hugging would be effective to transfer your warmness provided by skin-to-skin connect.
Using scalding heat directly can damage the skin. Triggering irregular heartbeats, it may lead to cardiac arrest too and you may have to perform Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, CPR ( Check out this video and the end of the essay ‘Lightning, the Fatal Beauty of the Electrostatic Discharge‘, in case you need to perform CPR ). Besides, avoid serving boiling liquid so as to warm our victim up. The body temperature must increase progressively, not instantly.
What is paradoxical undressing?
A phenomenon frequently seen in cases of severe stage of hypothermia, paradoxical undressing is the attempts of victims to remove their clothes despite the cold as if they were burning up. Shortly before death, as they become disoriented, confused and combative. So, more heat loss that speeds up dying.
