Hypothermia

You don’t necessarily need to fall through the ice in a frozen lake or be stuck in a Himalayan snowstorm to get hypothermia! Any excessive exposure that leads to a decrease in body temperature that you can’t make up for by shivering, leads to hypothermia. In fact, studies have shown that the overwhelming cause of death from being stuck in the water for whatever reason, is not drowning, but indeed hypothermia. This fact may be attributed to the very symptoms of advanced hypothermia. The early stages of heat loss include shivering, cold pale skin, apathy and impaired judgment, along with the other obvious signs that we have all felt before jumping into a thick warm jacket or warming up next to a fire. With continued exposure, your pulse and breathing slow down and you begin to get more and more confused. Weakness and drowsiness then consume you as stop shivering when your body’s core temperature drops below 96° F (35.5ºC).

Hypothermia in the advanced stages is very serious and should be considered a medical emergency. It can quickly lead to unconsciousness and inevitable heart failure so early recognition and intervention is key for a good outcome. As mentioned above, you don’t have to be stuck in arctic weather to get hypothermia, nor will it always be obvious that someone has lost a critical amount of heat. The elderly, very young and the frail can easily attain low core temperatures in moderately cold weather. In cold weather, expect and prepare for hypothermia and always keep the warning signs in mind.

Treatment and Expectations:

For more information about this and other Urgent Care matters, I highly recommend The American Red Cross First Aid and Safety Handbook .  It has earned tons of  5 star reviews from amazon.com readers and is a must for your household reference.