Hypothermia
2:40 PM | Author: nadIRa
Hypothermia is a condition where the normal body temperature of 37°C (98.6°F) drops below 35° (95°F).



Hypothermia is usually caused by being in a cold environment. It can also be triggered by prolonged exposure (staying outdoors in cold conditions for a long time), rain, wind, sweat or being under cold water.

If exposure to the cold continues, your body's own automatic defence system will try to prevent any further heat loss by this steps:
STEP 1 : Start vague numbness in limbs as blood retreated to body's core to protect critical internal organs.
STEP 2: Delirious hallucinations would come next, as the pulse and respiration slowed, cheating the brain oxygen.
STEP 3: Then, the body would make final effort to conserve its remaining heat by shutting down all operations except the heart and respiration.
STEP 4: Unconsciousnee would follow.
STEP 5: In the end, heart and respiration centers in the brain would stop functioning altogether.

Treatment

Hypothermia is treated by preserving body heat and preventing any more being lost. If treating mild hypothermia at home, or waiting for medical treatment to arrive, you should:


  • move the person indoors, or somewhere warm, as soon as possible,
  • ensure that they change out of any wet clothing,
  • wrap them in blankets, towels, coats whatever you have protecting the head and torso as a priority. Your own body heat can help someone with hypothermia try gently hugging them,
  • increase activity if possible, but not to the point where sweating occurs, which cools the skin down again,
  • if possible, give the person carbohydrates to eat to provide rapid energy, or fats to provide prolonged fuel to the body,
  • give them warm drinks, but not alcohol, and
  • once body temperature has increased, be sure to keep the person warm and dry.

There are also some things that you should not do when treating someone with hypothermia. You should not:


  • re-warm an elderly person using a bath as this may send cold blood from the body's surfaces to the heart or brain too suddenly, and may cause a stroke or heart attack,
  • apply direct heat (hot water, a heating pad etc.) to the arms and legs as this forces cold blood back to the major organs, making the condition worse,
  • rub or massage the person as, in severe cases of hypothermia, there is a risk of heart attack. It is s therefore important to be gentle, and
  • give the person alcohol to drink, as this will decrease the body's ability to retain heat.
Medical treatment aims to warm up the body from the inside. Doctors do this by giving warm fluids intravenously (through a vein). In some cases, haemodialysis may be used. This is a treatment to take blood out of the body and warm it up before returning it. The blood is filtered through an artificial kidney , much like dialysis treatment for people with kidney failure.
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