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Hypothermia – or hypothermia – is a condition in which the human body temperature drops below the limit of 36 degrees Celsius. Severe hypothermia, during which the temperature can drop even below 28 degrees, is a direct threat to life.
Hypothermia – causes and classification
A healthy person maintains body temperature at 36,6 degrees (measured under the armpit). However, a brief drop in temperature of one degree Celsius is relatively normal and as such is not viewed as an episode of hypothermia.
The main cause of body cooling is exposing it to extremely unfavorable conditions, usually associated with low ambient temperature. Cold water is especially dangerous. When a whole body is submerged in 4-degree water, the average person can only stay awake for about five minutes. Death from hypothermia soon follows. Cold rain and wind are also dangerous, as well as extremely low air temperature.
Hypothermia is divided into four stages of hypothermia. The so-called the defensive phase, during which the body temperature is 34-36 degrees Celsius, manifests itself with chills and the so-called goose bumps, especially on the limbs. Chills are supposed to protect the body from excessive heat loss through muscle movement. In this phase, there is also a feeling of weakness and slowing down of motor functions.
Symptoms of hypothermia in subsequent stages are dizziness, pain in arms and legs, a feeling of freezing cold, and restlessness combined with disorientation. When hypothermia becomes really severe, the victim is unable to help himself due to dementia, impaired consciousness and irrational behavior. Hallucinations, loss of sense of time may occur.
If the hypothermia progresses, you may become unconscious and become hypoxic, and your breathing and heart rate may slow down to an undetectable or hardly perceptible level.
Treatment of hypothermia. First aid for hypothermia
In case of advanced hypothermia, first aid should be started immediately. With a mild cooling, it is enough to change the cooled person into fresh clothes, cover with a blanket or other heat-retaining material and serve warm drinks. If an injured person develops apathy, this indicates a deeper stage of hypothermia. Medical intervention may then be necessary. In the meantime, the person should be placed with their limbs curled (to prevent further heat loss), covered and possibly washed down with warm liquids.
If we are suffering from severe hypothermia and the victim is unconscious, it is above all important to check the breathing and pulse properly. With hypothermia, the work of the lungs and heart slows down, therefore the time for checking vital functions should be extended to one minute. In the absence of pulse and / or breathing, the victim should first be ventilated for about 3 minutes to warm the body internally, and then resuscitate.
Resuscitation of a cooled organism may take up to 10 times longer than at normal body temperature. For further treatment, the victim must be transported to hospital, intensive care unit, as soon as possible. In such cases, medical standards provide for the use of cardiopulmonary bypass or circulatory support to restore body temperature.
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