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34 What is hypothermia?




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This article is from the Sea Kayaking FAQ, by Todd Leigh with numerous contributions by others.

34 What is hypothermia?

Author: Sam Crowley

An excellent source of information on hypothermia is:
http://www.princeton.edu/~oa/hypocold.html

Hypothermia is the lowering of the body's core temperature. There are
two types of hypothermia, acute and chronic. Acute hypothermia is the
rapid lowering of the body's core temp. Chronic hypothermia is the
slow lowering of the body's core temp. If the temperature drop occurs
in less than 4 hours it is acute, otherwise it is chronic. Acute
hypothermia is also called immersion hypothermia and typically occurs
when a person is in cold water. It is important to note the difference
between the two since treatment will be different. Hypothermia is
considered severe when the body's core temperature drops below 90
degrees F and mild from normal body temperature to 90 degrees F.

A difference between acute and chronic hypothermia is the severity of
something called afterdrop. This is the continued dropping of the
body's core temperature after the person has been brought to a warm
place. Afterdrop complicates treating severe hypothermia.

Hypothermia is the biggest killer of sea kayakers. Many of its victims
are unprepared for the cold water exposure that induces it. Water
conducts heat away at 20-25 times the rate that air removes heat. This
is one reason why an exposure to cold water at a certain temperature
is more traumatic than exposure to air at the same temperature.

Sometimes a person will not know they are hypothermic since people
typically do not notice it in themselves. It is important for people
in a group to keep an eye on their companions for signs of hypothermia
(this includes group leaders and guides). Sometimes a person will
appear physically and mentally okay and will refuse treatment because
they claim they are okay.

Exposure to cold does not automatically induce hypothermia, it
typically will take time to develop unless there is exposure to very
cold water or there is no protection (wetsuit/drysuit) against the
cold.

 

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