What is Hypothermia and how to prevent it?

What does Hypothermia mean?

Hypothermia is a potentially fatal health condition which involves a person’s body temperature dropping substantially below the normal range of temperature.

This generally happens in very young & elderly individuals when their body gets exposed to cold temperatures for an extended period of time.

What causes Hypothermia?

In simple terms, hypothermia takes place when a human body loses heat much more quickly than it’s able to generate it.

The main causes of hypothermia comprise:

• Being outdoors in cold temperatures for a prolonged period
• Wearing inadequate clothes to protect from cold weather conditions
• Wearing wet clothes for a long period of time
• Extended exposure to cold water caused by an accident in a water body
• Residing in a very cold house due to lack of heating or high levels of air conditioning

What are the symptoms of Hypothermia?

The most common signs & symptoms of hypothermia comprise:

• Shivering
• Slurred speech, mumbling
• Slow, shallow breathing
• Clumsiness, absence of coordination
• Fumbling hands, stumbling steps
• Confusion, memory loss
• Slow, weak pulse
• Drowsiness, high levels of tiredness
• Loss of consciousness
• Bright red, cold skin (in babies)

The challenge with hypothermia is that a person with this condition generally isn’t able to identify it as the symptoms show up in a gradual manner. This is further exacerbated by the confused thinking that grips a person experiencing this condition.

How to Prevent Hypothermia?

Preventing hypothermia involves some easy-to-implement steps such as:

• Wearing warm, multi-layered clothing that provides adequate hand & feet protection
• Using warm headgear to avoid substantial loss of heat via an uncovered head
• Changing into dry clothes whenever possible
• Staying in a warm shelter

How Hypothermia can be diagnosed?

The primary way of detecting hypothermia is via the symptoms mentioned above. The medical method of diagnosis includes using a specialised thermometer, which can detect significantly low core body temperatures.

The range of temperatures for mild, moderate & severe levels of hypothermia is usually the following:

• Mild hypothermia: 32-35 degrees celsius
• Moderate hypothermia: 27-32 degrees celsius
• Severe hypothermia: Below 27 degrees celsius

It’s important to note that since the response of each person’s body to hypothermia is different, the temperatures can vary.

Conclusion

Hypothermia can be a deadly health condition if not treated quickly. This is because very low body temperature results in the abnormal functioning of the heart, nervous system and other organs inside the human body.

In severe cases, hypothermia can cause total cardiac failure & respiratory system failure leading to death.

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