Hypothermia

Hypothermia

• Definition

• When it happens

• What it affects

• Symptoms

• 3 Stages

Definition

• Decrease in body heat to the point where normal muscle and brain functions are impaired.

• When the body loses heat faster than it can produce it.

When

• Mild cool, wet climates. Usually after hard physical work.

Affects

• Brain. Victims are unable to think clearly or move well.

Symptoms

• Early symptoms: Shivering, fatigue, loss of coordination, and confusion.

• Late symptoms: No shivering, blue skin, dilated pupils, slow pulse and breathing, and loss of consciousness.

Stages

• Mild

• Moderate

• Severe

Frostbite

• Definition

• When it happens

• What it affects

• Symptoms

Definition

• A loss of feeling and color in affected areas.

When

• Temperatures fall below the freezing point.

• Extremely cold temperatures and contact with extremely cold objects.

Affects

• Body parts like ears, face, fingers, and toes.

Symptoms

• Mild: Inflamed skin, slightly painful.

• Severe: Tissue damage without pain, burning, or prickling sensations, blisters, gangrene

How to avoid these (precautions)

• Wear warm head covering and clothing.

  • Protect feet and hands.

• Drink plenty of fluids.

• Pace yourself during activities in the cold.

• Move to warm locations if very cold.

• Acclimatation

  • Harder to adapt to cold environments than hot ones.

Effects of cold on the human body

• Low body temperature

• Constant shivering

• Blue lips and fingers

• Confused and crazy

• Reduced mental alertness

• Poor coordination

• Poor decision-making

• Cooling of tissues that result in injuries to the exposed parts.

• Reduced blood flow to the extremities in order to keep organs warm.

Bad things to do as precautions

• Drinking is bad.

  • The alcohol will warm you up initially by dilating your blood vessels but will ultimately cause you to lose body heat = Potential hypothermia.

• Wearing tight clothing

  • Restricts your blood flow and can make you colder.

• Not eating or drinking enough.

• Not moving around.

• Using direct heat sources like heating pads to numb areas can cause burns because you’re unable to feel the area.

Wind Chill Chart

• What it measures

• How it works

Measures

• Estimates the temperature a human would feel.

How

• It considers wind, which when increased, makes it feel colder than the actual air temperature.

• It considers the actual temperature.

• The combination of these two estimate the equivalent temperature.

• As you move right on the chart, it takes less time for you to experience frostbite.

 

Cold Water Hypothermia

• Body heat loss is 25 times faster in water than in cold air

• Swimming increases heat loss by 35%

• In 50F, 50% of death within 30 minutes.

• In Titanic, people got hypothermia within 15min and died within 30 min.