Hypothermia

Hypothermia is a condition where the body temperature falls below 35C or 98.6F. When the body gets cold, the normal reaction is to become more active to warm up. You will start shivering, restrict blood flow to the skin and release hormones to generate heat.

In hypothermia, these reactions are not enough to maintain body temperature. As such your body starts draining energy reserves to support body heating. It is when the body energy is exhausted that hypothermia becomes life threatening and immediate medical treatment is required.

Hypothermia is caused by getting too cold. Staying in cold environments for too long will increase the chances of the condition. In mild weather it is possible to get hypothermia. One of the reasons may be not drying off after getting soaked in rain especially if there was a cold wind.

Hypothermia Symptoms

Hypothermia symptoms will depend on how cold it is and how long you were exposed. They can range from mild symptoms like:

• Shivering,
• Low energy,
• Cold, pale skin,
• Feeling cold

To severe hypothermia:

• Loss of control of hands, feet and limbs,
• Unconsciousness,
• Shallow or no breathing,
• Weak, irregular or no pulse,
• Stiff muscles,
• Shivering stops and
• Dilated pupils

Treating Hypothermia

Treating hypothermia involves preserving body heat and preventing any more heat loss. Some of the things that one can do to treat hypothermia include:

• Move the person to somewhere warm ,
• Change out of wet and cold clothing,
• Wrap the person in blankets, dry towels, coats even hugging them. Whatever you can get to prevent more heat loss,
• If possible, give the person carbohydrates or fats,
• Give warm drinks

It is also important to avoid some common mistakes. Do not apply direct heat to the person like a heating pad. Do not take alcohol to drink. Rubbing or massaging the person can cause a heart attack in severe hypothermia cases.

It is very important to be very gentle to the person. The idea is to keep the heat in the body but not to generate heat.

Preventing Hypothermia

Preventing hypothermia is simply a case of avoiding extremely cold conditions. In cold weather wear warm clothing. Try to keep room temperature at between 16C and 20C. Eating well during cold periods is essential to give you energy.

Preventing hypothermia is basically a matter of common sense. This is unless you find yourself in an emergency.

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