Hypothermia

Hypothermia is a serious disease often found in those who are improperly dressed out of doors but it can be due to indoor coolness in elderly people. The body temperature is generally less than 95 degrees Fahrenheit and the body is losing heat faster than heat can be produced. The body gets cooler and cooler and the organs of the body fail. The heart begins to fail and the victim eventually dies. Hypothermia is worse in extremely cold weather or in immersion in cold water. The best treatment for hypothermia is to warm the body back to a normal temperature and to prevent damage to the end organs while warming the body.

Shivering is the first symptom you'll find in hypothermia. It is the body's way of keeping warm by burning up ATP in the mitochondria of the muscles. You then become clumsy with a lack of effective coordination. Your speech is slurred and your thinking is fuzzy or confused. Some people have been known to take off their clothing with the feeling of being hot instead of cold. You can hallucinate or feel apathetic around your problem and progressive loss of consciousness is not out of the question. The pulse weakens and breathing becomes more shallow. You do not usually have awareness of what is going on and this is what eventually kills you.

It is possible to become hypothermic indoors if there is insufficient heating and if you are elderly or very young. Even air conditioning can contribute to getting hypothermic. One can see an increase in confusion, lack of coordination, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, or fatigue. In babies, you can see bright red cold skin without a lot of other obvious symptoms.

The major causes of being hypothermic include wearing insufficient clothing, being wet, being outdoors for a long period of time, being immersed in cold water or having poor heating in the home. Air conditioning in the home can affect children and the elderly.

Body heat can be lost through radiant heat through unprotected areas, such as your feet, hands and head. You can also have contact heat loss by being in contact with snow or cold water. This is called conduction of heat and is a much faster way to lose heat than through radiation of heat. Wet clothes cause a faster loss of heat. Wind can carry away the thin layer of warm air from around the body and can increase the loss of heat from the body.

The risk factors for getting hypothermic include being older than 65 years of age. You might not have the proper judgment for dressing the way you need to when you are outside and you may have hypothyroidism, which increases the risk of hypothermia. Those who are mentally ill may have poor judgment about what to wear and how long to be outside. They may not recognize when they are cold. Patients with dementia are more prone to hypothermia than just about any kind of person. They can wander outdoors and can dress improperly for the conditions outside. Alcoholics make poor judgments about the cold and their attire and can feel warm inside when, in fact, they are colder than they should be. Medical conditions such as low thyroid, arthritis, stroke, malnutrition, trauma, burns or spinal cord injuries have an increased risk of hypothermia. Those on anti-psychotics or sedatives can have problems discerning the cold and are at risk for hypothermia.

Gentle treatment is required for those who have hypothermia. You need to move them to a warm environment and remove wet, clothing, covering them with warm blankets. Blankets can be warmed in the microwave oven. Keep the person off the cold ground and make sure the breathing is adequate. Give oxygen if needed. You can use your own body heat to warm the other person if that's all you have to work with. Have the person drink warm beverages in order to increase the core temperature. Use warm compresses on the body that are best done around the head, neck and armpits.

When seeking medical attention, the doctor often uses hemodialysis, putting in warmed IV fluids and removing cold fluids. Warm, humidified air is directed at the lungs and airways. Warm fluids can be instilled within the bladder in order to internally warm the body.