What is Hypothermia

Two articles on this topic turned out to be longer than usual, since we consider it necessary to thoroughly talk about this problem and give some advice. If you don’t want to read so much, but want to avoid a phenomenon called hypothermia, here are some quick tips:

• Dress warmly!
• Drink a lot of hot tea!
• Eat well!
• Stay at home in winter!

And for the ones who are curious, we continue.

Frostbite and hypothermia are one of the greatest dangers for lovers of active tourism and sports. Both are manifested with a long stay in the cold. Although in 98 percent of cases they intersect with each other, there is still some difference between them.

To avoid confusion, let us separately examine both of these phenomena and their consequences. After that, we will understand how to escape them, and how to ensure proper treatment in extreme situations.

What is Hypothermia

Hypothermia is a medical emergency that occurs when your body loses heat faster than it can produce. During hypothermia the internal temperature drops below 35 °C. As a result, the processes occurring in the body and the stable functioning of the organs are disrupted, the person weakens physically and mentally, and if you do not help on time, the person falls asleep and dies. The fact is that this process occurs gradually, imperceptibly, and very often people do not feel that they are freezing.

The lower the internal body temperature, the more severe the hypothermia. Hypothermia has these stages:

• Mild hypothermia – from 33 to 35 degrees – dizziness, high blood pressure, impaired speech and coordination.
• Moderate hypothermia – from 33 to 29 degrees – shock, cardiac arrhythmia, dilated pupils, low blood pressure, drowsiness. In no case you should let the person fall asleep. During sleep, the body consumes less energy, so a sleeping person can freeze and die.
• Severe hypothermia – from 28 to 14 degrees – the heartbeat slows down: the number of strokes drops to 36 per minute. There may start cramps and vomiting. Breathing is greatly slowed down – 3-4 times per minute. The brain is not getting enough oxygen. All this is accompanied by severe frostbite. If immediate help is not provided at this stage, the person will die.
• Immersion hypothermia is another stage that should be noted separately. In this case, the temperature drops sharply, for example, when you fall into cold water. First of all, you need to remove your wet clothes and start to move actively to keep warm. Remember that you will have only 5-15 minutes before the work of the muscles begins to be disrupted, and you will no longer be able to act.

How to avoid hypothermia?

Causes of hypothermia can be cold, physical exhaustion and dehydration, hunger, falling into cold water, wet clothes on the body in cold weather.

The following groups of people are considered to be the most vulnerable towards hypothermia and frostbite:

• Old people and children.

This group of people has weak immunity. Also, they may not feel that they are freezing and will not take appropriate action.

• People living in hot sunny countries. Especially dark-skinned.

Their body is not adapted to such weather conditions and does not have any mechanisms for fighting against them.

• Thin people.

The body fat layer protects from the cold, that is why people with a thick body fat layer are more resistant to cold.

• People in poor physical shape, not involved in sports.

The metabolism of physically active people is better regulated, and they usually have better immunity. Therefore, in their body the processes of dealing with cold are more effective.

• Wounded, shocked or stressed people.
• People who have lost a lot of blood.
• People under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

During hikes, hypothermia is usually caused by:

• Underestimation of weather conditions
• Wet or inappropriate clothing
• Revaluation of own abilities
• Dehydration and a lack of food

It will be easier to prevent hypothermia than to treat its consequences later.

• Proper clothing

During cold and windy weather, it is necessary to protect the whole body from wind and cold. But you need to do this properly so as not to sweat, and then freeze. The main cause of hypothermia in the mountains is inappropriate clothing. It should be heat-insulating, waterproof, windproof, should not press hard so that the blood can flow smoothly through the vessels.

• Never go out hungry.

The body needs a huge amount of energy to produce heat. And the body receives energy from food. Eat a meal rich in carbohydrates and proteins, at least an hour before leaving the house, so that the body has time to digest it at least a little.

• Carry foods rich in simple carbohydrates – sweets, chocolate, energy gel, Snickers, Mars.
• Remember to drink liquid regularly:

The body needs fluids to transport nutrients in the blood. Therefore, dehydration is no less dangerous than hunger. In addition to water, bring along sweet tea, compote or any other warm and sweet liquid. Do not drink coffee or other caffeinated beverages. Caffeine dilates blood vessels, which speeds up the body’s cooling process. Therefore, tea should not be too strong, it should contain very little caffeine, for example, green or herbal.

• Take off all jewelry, watches and other metal objects that touch your body. The metal freezes quickly and by touching your body it will cool you.
• SMOKING OR USING ALCOHOL ARE STRICTLY FORBIDDEN.

They also dilate blood vessels, and your body temperature rises. At first you feel deceptive warmth, then you suddenly begin to freeze, as in the dilated vessels the blood cools faster. In addition, any narcotic or psychotropic drug weakens the body, as a result of which the functions occurring in the body are weakened, immunity and alertness decrease.

How to provide first aid?

If you notice symptoms of hypothermia in one of the participants of your group, then you should provide immediate help. It is necessary to warm the victim as soon as possible. If there is a settlement nearby, a closed building or your campground, then you need to take them there as soon as possible. If there is nothing nearby, it is necessary to take measures on the spot to quickly warm the victim. Before that, first of all, you need to call for help in order to gain time. If help cannot arrive quickly, then you need to continue to warm the victim yourself.

If hypothermia does begin, immediate action should be taken to release the victim from the symptoms of hypothermia and restore the natural body temperature. In order to do this, you can place a hiking mat on a rescue blanket, put sleeping bags on top of the mat, help the victim lie on the bags and “wrap” him in a rescue blanket.

Here is a more detailed instruction:

• If the victim’s clothes are wet, remove them and put on dry, warm, not tight clothing.
• Open the rescue blanket, place a hiking mat on it diagonally, it is advisable to have two mats, depending on the size of the blanket. That is why it is always better to choose the largest blanket. It is very light and does not take up extra space in the backpack.
• Help the victim put on a sleeping bag and lay him on the mat. If there are several sleeping bags, then put one of them on the mat, and then place the victim in a sleeping bag on it.
• Properly “wrap” the victim in a rescue blanket. This method is called hypothermic wrap.

Remember this method. Below we will separately talk about each stage of hypothermia and the necessary first aid actions. But this method is suitable at all stages.

Mild to moderate hypothermia

• Take off wet clothes and put on warm, dry clothes or other insulating layers.
• Find an enclosed space
• “Wrap” the victim according to the instructions given above (hypothermic wrap)
• If it is necessary to actively warm the victim, place external sources of heat in the blanket: pour hot (non-boiling) water into the water bag and place it in the sleeping bag, use a salt heating pad.

External heat sources should be placed on the neck, armpits, in the groin area, in the inner thighs. The main blood vessels pass through these areas and they should receive heat in the first place. Thus, you simultaneously warm a large amount of blood. Therefore, warm blood reaches the whole body faster.

• If the evacuation is delayed and it is necessary to provide additional and more intense heat, then the victim and one or two other people without clothes should be wrapped in a rescue blanket with mats and sleeping bags. Sleeping bags should be positioned in a way that the bodies can touch each other. Thus, healthy people will intensively warm the victim with the heat of their bodies.

P.S. To some, this method may seem unusual, unacceptable and shameful. But this is a proven option that saves lives. Well, if this is against your moral principles, then after hypothermia you will definitly go to heaven.

• Give the victim food. Start with simple carbohydrates, sweets. Then when he starts to recover, you can give him complex carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
• The victim needs to drink warm liquids containing electrolytes and minerals. If you have isotonic, dissolve it in warm water and give the victim to drink. If there is no isotonic, you can make sweet green or not very strong black tea and add a small amount of table salt, citric acid, lemon juice or anything containing vitamin C.
• Person suffering from hypothermia should not be given coffee, energy drinks, strong black tea, or any product containing caffeine. Caffeine dilates blood vessels, and the temperature of the victim begins to drop even faster.
• If the victim feels better, ask him to do a physical warm-up.
• If there is no need to evacuate, reconsider your strengths and hit the road.
• If the victim is unable to walk on his own, start his evacuation in a rescue blanket. Under the blanket, you can spread another mat, fasten it with backpacks and trekking poles and get something like a stretcher.

Severe hypothermia

• The victim should be warmed up gradually and with extreme caution so as not to put pressure on the heart. As a result of rapid heating, the superficial blood vessels will quickly expand, and cold blood will begin to quickly pass through the body, freezing it more intensively.
• No food. In this case, the body may not be able to eat food, and any product can harm the stomach and lead to worse consequences. However, if the victim is conscious, try to give him fluid. It will be better if the liquid is hot, with sugar and electrolytes. In a word, follow the above rules for drinking fluid.
• No exercise. In this case, the preservation of the energy of the victim is paramount. In this state, it will still be impossible to warm the body through exercise.
• Wrap the victim in a rescue blanket according to the instructions above, without external sources of heat.
• If the victim regains counciousness, review your strengths and, if possible, continue on your way. If the victim is unable to continue, start the evacuation.
• In especially severe cases, if the body temperature is already below 30 degrees, it is unlikely to fully warm the victim. In this case, you need to keep his vital activity for as long as possible and seek help.
• Check the respiratory tract and heart function. If necessary, perform indirect heart massage and artificial respiration (CPR).
• Do not under any circumstances stop the process of warming the victim. He does not die as long as you continue to warm him and perform indirect heart massage and artificial respiration. Death is registered by the doctor who arrived. Until then the victim is alive, even if his face is completely blue from the cold.
• Have an electric thermometer in your first aid kit and always check the victim’s internal temperature. This is done through the oral cavity or anus. Placing the thermometer under your armpits will not give you an accurate result, especially in such extreme cases.
• If you manage to raise the temperature above 30 degrees, and if the victim regains consciousness, gradually begin to use external sources of heat.

Suppose you have reached a safe place — tents, hotels, weather station at the foot of a mountain, and so on. It is not over yet. It is necessary to continue the rehabilitation of the victim.

• First of all, you need to see a doctor, regardless of the current state of the victim, even if he is standing, talking, walking and eating. The doctor must examine him. Hypothermia is a huge stress for the body, which can have serious consequences. Therefore, you need to take this situation very seriously.
• It is necessary to continue to give the victim hot liquid and food, if he is able to take it.
• You can put the patient in a warm bath and gradually heat the water. Remember that you cannot go to straight to hot water or quickly heat it up. This can lead to shock.
• The best way to stay safe is to simply cover the victim with warm blankets and help him lie down in a soft bed. It is advisable that someone naked could lie next to the victim in order to warm him with the heat of his own body.

Together with hypothermia, the victim also gets frostbite, which we will discuss separately.

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