Don't Fall Prey to the Unforgiving Cold 🥶

mimmii7777
Nov 30, 2020
2 min read

December is right around the corner with the unforgiving cold not far behind. As such, it is important to know about hypothermia.

Hypothermia is a medical emergency that occurs when your body loses heat faster than it can produce heat, causing a dangerously low body temperature. Normal body temperature is around 98.6 F (37 C). Hypothermia occurs as your body temperature falls below 95 F (35 C). (mayoclinic.org)

The normal body temperature is 37 degrees Celsius. Hypothermia occurs when your body temperature drops below 35 degrees. This is caused by imminent exposure to cold weather or being doused in cold water. Primary treatments constitute warming the body back to a normal temperature.

Symptoms

Shivering will be the first noticeable symptom of hypothermia because it's the body's natural response. Other symptoms include:

Slurred speech or mumbling
Slow, shallow breathing
Weak pulse
Clumsiness or lack of coordination
Drowsiness or very low energy
Confusion or memory loss
Loss of consciousness
Bright red, cold skin (in infants)

Causes

Here are some specific causes for hypothermia:

Wearing clothes that aren't warm enough for weather conditions
Staying out in the cold too long
Wearing wet clothes
Falling into the water (e.g. lake, river)
Living in a house that's too cold (poor heating or too much air conditioning)

Body's loss of heat

Heat loss can occur due to the body not being adequately protected in clothes. This is called radiated heat.
Being in direct contact with a cold surface or being immersed in cold water causes the body to lose heat rapidly.
Wind is also responsible for stripping heat away from the body.

Risk Factors

Here are some risk factors:

Being exhausted makes us less tolerant to cold milieus,
With old age the body cannot regulate its temperature like it used to.
Children lose heat quicker than adults do. Also, children may not realize they are cold.

Prevention

Remember the acronym C.O.L.D. which strands for: cover, overexertion, layers, dry. This should be everyone's MO during wintertime.

Cover adequately; wear a hat, mittens and a scarf.
Avoid activities that make you so sweaty that your clothes will cling to you in cold weather. This causes more heat to escape.
Wear layers of warm clothing.
Keep your head, hands and feet dry as well as your clothing.