hypothermia test

[wareagle69]

ok kids winter season is here i am going to try to get chris to do a section just on first aid but for now i have this question.
if out in the wilds right now and you came upon a person in distress 1-how would you reconize hypothermia and 2nd how would you treat it? 3rd what are the causes of hypothermia
i want the answers off the top of your heads right now no looking up post your answers then re-post this idea is to drill in basic first aid to memorize and teach others the life you save just might be your own

[RangerXanatos]

Really quickly...

1. Uncontrollable shaking
2. Warm liquids
3. More loss of body heat than what is required for normal funtion.

[flandersander]

1) slured speach
2) High energy foods such as chocolate
3) Heat loss

[wareagle69]

what are the cuases of heat loss?

[crashdive123]

Can anybody play?

[wareagle69]

you can get hypothermia in florida. we lost three ranger in training one year in jungle training at eglin, so yes you can play

[crashdive123]

I know you can get it in Florida. I have had a bit of training in this area and didn't know if you wanted some of those that have had military training/experience in the area to wait. I'll start with your second question. As I learned it, the body looses heat in four ways. 1) breathing in cold air (convection) 2) Air loss (radiation) 3) Evaporation 4) Immersion (conduction). As you say, you don't have to be in a very cold climate or environment to suffer from hypothermia. Normal body temp 98.6* F. Mild hypothermia starts with a drop in core temp of about 1 - 1 1/2 degrees F.

[crashdive123]

Now, how to recognize it. There are three stages (mild, moderate, severe). Shivering, uncontrolled shivering, stopped shivering (severe), pale skin color (moderate), bluish skin color (severe), inability to perform manual dexterity type work, confusion, slurred speech, sleepy, poor judgement, slowed breathing, slowed heart rate, death.

[crashdive123]

Treating - get victim (or yourself) to a dry, warm area. Try to warm the core first (warm liquids). Share body heat. Blankets or sleeping bag may help for mild, but can actually hurt if hypothermia is severe and core isn't warmed first.

[tacmedic]

For me, the first signs of hypothermia that I would look for simultaneously would be shivering and the persons' mental status. The presence or lack of shivering would tell me how severe the hypothermia was, especially in the presence of a diminished mental status (although I admit, sometimes it is hard to tell what a diminished mental status is for some people :D.) Simple orientation questions are the best way to assess mental status (person, place, time, and situation). For treatment, it would depend on the severity. Something as simple as giving them a blanket or extra jacket to building a fire and heating up some warm water for them to drink.

People that are in the advanced stages of hypothermia can suffer from what is called "paroxysmal undressing", their brains are getting so little blood from the shunting that is going on that they actually think that they are hot and will take off all of their clothing. This activity is usually followed closely by death.

Hypothermia is caused, essentially, by the body losing more heat than it can produce and maintain. Heat is lost by convection, conduction, evaporation, and radiation. Convection is the wind chill, conduction is direct contact with a cold surface (or water-you lose body heat 5 times faster in water than on land), evaporation is breathing and water loss from perspiration, and radiation is the simple excape of body heat from bare skin.

[AKS]

Not a bad link if you want to learn about hypothermia.

[wareagle69]

ok not bad folks, one thing i would look for is to see if the victim has a hat on as we know you loose alot of heat thru an uncovered head also a victim in severe hypothermia needs to be handled and moved very gently as any rough handleing can disturb the heart rythem and cuase said patient to go into cardiac arrest

[tsitenha]

When I was a young fella I used to sit in a tub of ice water and when I got thick headed tried getting out and starting a fire, hard way to find out what hypothermia does, that was a game with us who could function the best under stupid conditions

[primeelite]

from what I was told it it easy to figure out because one of the first things people lose is the basic functions and dexterity of their hands. A friend said tell them to untie and then tie there boots and if they can't do that then they need to find heat. But people aren't always right with things like that but basically I think it is pretty easy to tell if someone has medium-to-severe hypo as they are basically becoming unconscious.

[wareagle69]

an easier trick is when you lose the ability to touch your pinky to yoyr thumb seems simple but try it out if this happens get warm now

[A190]

Now, how to recognize it. There are three stages (mild, moderate, severe). Shivering, uncontrolled shivering, stopped shivering (severe), pale skin color (moderate), bluish skin color (severe), inability to perform manual dexterity type work, confusion, slurred speech, sleepy, poor judgement, slowed breathing, slowed heart rate, death.

Most of that describes me when I just see a snow flake..............

Great post here, good refresher for those of us who spend a lot of time outdoors and those who want to start.........thanks