Hypothermia Health Dictionary

Injury by exposure to damp and cold. Small babies and emaciated elderly people may not generate sufficient heat in wintry weather.

Causes: fatigue, poor physical condition, inadequate nutrition.

Symptoms: death-like cold on surface of abdomen and under armpits, arrested pulse, slow breathing, partial loss of consciousness, blue puffy skin, stumbling, hallucinations, function of vital organs slows down.

A Glasgow survey shows cases are usually due to “the person dying of something else, drinks or drugs, or low thyroid function”. Cold induces platelet agglutination which is a hazard for sufferers of thrombosis and heart disease. Even short exposures in the elderly with atheroma (see definition) are a hazard. Preventative: Garlic.

To thin down thick blood: Nettle tea. Lemons.

Treatment. Circulatory stimulants. Under no circumstances should sedatives, antidepressants or tranquillisers be given. More than a few drops of alcohol increases heat loss and worsens the condition. Alternatives. Life Drops: 5-10 drops in cup of tea.

Cayenne pepper on food. Composition powder or essence.

Camphor drops rapidly dispel the shivering reaction. All these open surface blood vessels and promote a vigorous circulation.

Teas: Chamomile, Balm, Yarrow.

Diet. Hot meals, hot drinks, adequate protein as well as carbohydrates. No alcohol. Oats warms the blood. Oatmeal porridge is indicated for people habitually cold. One teaspoon honey thrice daily in tea or other hot drink.

Wear a hat; nightcap at night. Electric blanket. Sleep in well-heated room. Wear thick wool underclothing. Serious cases admitted to Intensive Care Unit. 

A fall in body temperature to below 35°C. Most cases occur in sick, elderly people exposed to low temperatures. The body loses its sensitivity to cold as it ages, becoming less able to reverse a fall in temperature. Babies also have an increased risk of hypothermia because they lose heat rapidly and cannot easily reverse a fall in temperature.

A person suffering from hypothermia is usually pale and listless. The heartrate is slow, the body is cold, and the victim is often drowsy and confused. In severe hypothermia, breathing becomes slow and shallow, the muscles are stiff, the victim may become unconscious, and the heart may stop beating.Hypothermia is a medical emergency.

Treatment varies according to the age of the victim.

A young person may be placed in a warm bath.

An elderly victim is usually warmed gradually by being covered with layers of heat-reflecting material in a room temperature of 25°C.

When hypothermia is life-threatening, victims may be admitted to an intensive care unit for controlled warming.

This may be done by withdrawing blood from the circulation, warming it, and returning it to the body.

A core body temperature of less than 35 °C. As the temperature of the body falls, there is increasing dysfunction of all the organs, particularly the central nervous and cardiovascular systems. The patient becomes listless and confused, with onset of unconsciousness between 33–28 °C. Cardiac output at ?rst rises with shivering but then falls progressively, as do the oxygen requirements of the tissues. Below 17– 26 °C, cardiac output is insu?cient even to supply this reduced demand for oxygen by the tissues. The heart is susceptible to spontaneous ventricular FIBRILLATION below 28 °C. Metabolism is disturbed and the concentration of blood GLUCOSE and POTASSIUM rises as the temperature falls. Cooling of the kidneys produces a DIURESIS and further ?uid loss from the circulation to the tissues causes HYPOVOLAEMIA.

Severe hypothermia is sometimes complicated by gastric erosions and haemorrhage, as well as pancreatitis (see PANCREAS, DISORDERS OF). Infants and the elderly are less e?cient at regulating temperature and conserving heat than other age groups, and are therefore more at risk from accidental hypothermia during cold weather if their accommodation is not warm enough. Approximately half a million elderly people are at risk in Britain each winter from hypothermia. The other major cause of accidental hypothermia is near-drowning in icy water. Deliberate hypothermia is sometimes used to reduce metabolic rate so that prolonged periods of cardiac arrest may occur without tissue HYPOXIA developing. This technique is used for some cardiac and neurosurgical operations and is produced by immersion of the anaesthetised patient in iced water or by cooling an extracorporeal circulation.

Treatment of hypothermia is by warming the patient and treating any complications that arise. Passive warming is usual, with conservation of the patient’s own body heat with insulating blankets. If the core temperature is below 28 °C, then active rewarming should be instituted by means of warm peritoneal, gastric or bladder lavage or using an extracorporeal circulation. Care must be taken in moving hypothermic patients, as a sudden rush of cold peripheral blood to the heart can precipitate ventricular ?brillation. Prevention of hypothermia in the elderly is important. Special attention must be paid to diet, heating the home and adequate clothing in several layers to limit heat loss.

Greatly decreased temperature

n. 1. accidental reduction of body temperature below the normal range in the absence of protective reflex actions, such as shivering. Often insidious in onset, it is particularly liable to occur in babies and the elderly if they are living in poorly heated homes and have inadequate clothing. 2. deliberate lowering of body temperature for therapeutic purposes. This may be done during surgery, in order to reduce the patient’s requirement for oxygen.