Hypothermia, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Treatment And Related Conditions

How nice it is to play in the snowTo enjoy the ice and the coldHypothermia occurs when more body heat is lostIt occurs when the body is bitten by Jack FrostDo not stay outside without protective clothing in winterDo not wear wet clothing in windy or cold weatherAlways keep warm and wear winter clothingIf needed use your body heat to aid the warmingCover the person's head and neck to help retain body heatApply warm compresses to the neck and where neededGive warm, sweetened, nonalcoholic fluids to aid the warming.
Wind-proofed the person with many-layered clothingPatients with mild hypothermia can be sent home after rewarmingThose in more critical conditions should be sent to hospital for resuscitatingStay calm, find shelter, change to dry clothes, keep movingThe body once warm will do its own miraculous healing-An original poem by Kenneth Kee1. If any symptoms of hypothermia are present, especially confusion or changes in mental status, immediately call ambulance.a.
If the person is unconscious, check airway, breathing, and circulation.b. If necessary, begin rescue breathing or CPR.c. If the victim is breathing fewer than 6 breaths per minute, begin rescue breathing.d. Take the person inside to room temperature and cover him or her with warm blankets.e. If going indoors is not possible, get the person out of the wind and use a blanket to provide insulation from the cold ground.f.
Cover the person's head and neck to help retain body heat.g. Once inside, remove any wet or constricting clothes and replace them with dry clothing.h. Warm the person.i. If necessary, use your own body heat to aid the warming.j. Apply warm compresses to the neck, chest wall and groin.k. If the person is alert and can easily swallow, give warm, sweetened, nonalcoholic fluids to aid the warming. HypothermiaEvery now and then we hear news of a person who has nearly froze to death after falling in a snow bank.
He or she made a miraculous recovery after passing out and the body temperature dropped to 78 degrees. Hypothermia causes tissues to freeze and ice crystals to form many time the size of the individual cells but only in the extracellular spaces. Large ice crystals can develop between the cells in soft tissues without producing irreversible injury as long as the percentage of water frozen do not exceed a certain amount.
Because of this phenomenon, there is extensive use of low temperature as a way to do:1. CryosurgeryAdvantages are safety and hemostasis (stoppage of bleeding)2. Hypothermia with hyper-barbaric oxygen is used in harvesting, preserving and transplanting organs and stem cells into human bodies. Hypothermia is injury by cold with possible damage to the skin, blood vessels, nerves and generalized decreased body temperaturesHypothermia is dangerously low body temperature below 95 °F (35 °C).