Hypothermia -- The Silent Killer
Three factors are major causal factors in hypothermia: cold, water, and wind.
1) In a cold environment, the body must work harder to regulate heat; contact with cold air, water, snow, ground or clothing will cause heat losses due to conduction.
2) If a person is submersed in water, heat will be lost due to conduction and convection. At a water temperature of 32 degrees death occurs in 15 minutes; at 70 degrees survival for as long as 48 hours has been observed. Loss of heat by evaporation is a major contributor also. Wet skin or clothing will cool of the body quickly, especially if it is windy and/or cold.
3) Wind will cause heat loss due to convection, and will accelerate heat loss due to evaporation.
4) Hypothermia occurs much more quickly in the elderly and chronically ill.
Hypothermia is insidious. As the body's core temperature drops, more and more body systems suffer from the effects of cold. The presence and severity of hypothermia can be assessed by the signs and symptoms below. A patient is hypothermic at any temperature below 98.6 degrees fahrenheit (rectal). 98-94 degrees is mild hypothermia; 94-84 degrees is moderate hypothermia, and below 84 degrees is severe hypothermia.
Hypothermia is insidious. As the body's core temperature drops, more and more body systems suffer from the effects of cold. The presence and severity of hypothermia can be assessed by the signs and symptoms below. A patient is hypothermic at any temperature below 98.6 degrees fahrenheit (rectal). 98-94 degrees is mild hypothermia; 94-84 degrees is moderate hypothermia, and below 84 degrees is severe hypothermia.
STAGES OF YPOTHERMIA:
98 - 95 degrees - Sensation of chilliness, skin numbness; minor impairment in muscular performance, especially in use of hands; shivering begins.
95 - 93 degrees - More obvious muscle in coordination and weakness; slow stumbling pace; mild confusion and apathy. Skin pale and cold to touch.
93 - 90 degrees - Gross muscular in coordination with frequent stumbling and falling and inability to use hands; mental sluggishness with slow thought and speech; retrograde amnesia.
90 - 86 degrees - Cessation of shivering; severe muscular in coordination with stiffness and inability to walk or stand; incoherence, confusion, irrationality.
86 - 82 degrees - Severe muscular rigidity; patient barely arousable; dilatation of pupils; in apparent heartbeat and pulse. Skin ice cold.
82- 78 degrees and below - Unconsciousness; death due to cessation of heart action.
