HYPOTHERMIA..........."The SWEETEST Seduction" to painless DEATH.

[Sourdough]

A good Prepping subject.

This is one of those subjects, that the internet is overflowing with bad information. So, PLEASE if you are not "Professionally" trained in the "LATEST" procedures for treating hypothermia.........don't post "GUESSES" or anything you heard or read anyplace.

What would seem like a good treatment "idea" or solution (if untrained or unknowledgeable) could actually be the cause of death.

 

[Bacpacker]

I second that SD.
On one of our winter backpacking trips, the wife was starting with hypothermia by the time we got into camp. Temps were maybe 15 degrees and knee deep snow. So getting into camp was a chore, I had her follow my tracks to ease the work load on her. But her boots weren't great and she probably hadn't eaten enough. By the time we got to camp, she was shivering and felt cold. Right away I set up the tent and both sleeping pads, both sleeping pads. Got her boots and socks off and put dry socks on her as well as dry pants put her sleeping bag down inside my sleeping bag with both pads underneath her. As soon as she was down in the bag I got our stove fired up and heated a quart of water and poured it into a old metal army canteen wrapped it in a shirt and stuck it her sleeping bag. Then heated more water and made some hot chocolate. Got her to drink it down and lay back down for a while. By the time I got the rest of camp set up she had rallied and feeling much better. Maybe an hour total. We ended up spending 2 night at about 3800', temps first night dropped to 3 degrees. I had rented some snow shoes and the next day I took off the the ridge up above camp at about 4500'. The snow was another 8" deeper up there. It was beautiful. We had a great time and everyone was giving us crap for going in such cold conditions. But other than a couple hours the first evening everything was as expected.
One thing I learned from this trip was to address hypothermia RIGHT NOW. Catch it early and take care of the issue before it progresses will make things so much easier to deal with.

 

[SheepDog]

Yep, first step is get dry. It is easier to warm the body from inside so hot liquids or soups. Get the body wrapped so it can retain heat. Neck and head covered. Add some calories and work your muscles. If all else fails body contact in a sleeping bag - no clothes and full body contact. My brother and I sandwiched my wife between us when everything else failed. When her head got straight she was embarrassed but she got warm.

 

[Sourdough]

It is easier to warm the body from inside so hot liquids or soups.

This could be "NOT" current procedure........but I'll wait for the Pro's to jump in. Because a lot has changed over the decades, and I don't know what current theory is. There was a time, we were "not" to do that, as it speeds up the heart, which pumps cold blood from the extremities, back to the heart, which could cause it to "Stop".

Nearly all of my personal experience for my body, and for clients and assistant guides, has been with very advanced hypothermia. It is a super seductive killer, if you are alone.

 

[billyjack]

Ever since my thyroid quit a few years ago, I'm not far from hypothermic on a regular basis. I am normally in the 95.5 to 97.5 F range, but am frequently in the 94 to 95 F range am. I'm very uncomfortable if it isn't at least 80 F.

If I could afford it and was retired, I would seriously consider moving to El Paso, Tx or Las Cruces, NM.

On the Thursday evening before Thanksgiving, 2020, I was out doing some work about 8 pm when it was something like 45 F outside. I got really cold and went to the office to get a better coat. While there, I checked my temperature. It took about five minutes for me to warm up enough for my temperature to register -- the thermometer doesn't work below 90 F.

Once I warmed up to about 94, I went back out, but mainly stayed in the warm SUV. I tried to use a laptop while in it to configure some equipment and found it very difficult to type anything -- my fingers didn't seem to be working very well.

Oddly enough, ever since my thyroid failed, I don't shiver when cold. Even that Thursday evening, I never shivered at all.

Years ago, when I went back for my PhD (my committee chairman left and I never finished), I was at a football game one rainy late fall day. I couldn't stop shivering the entire second half. After the game, I walked to my apartment and got a hamburger and fries on the way. I ate the hamburger and fries while standing in a hot shower to warm up.

I told a doctor about this and he really chewed me out. He said that I was lucky I didn't have a fatal heart attack on the spot. It seems that when you get that cold, the blood goes to the core of the body to keep it warm. If you warm up too quickly, like by standing in a hot shower, the blood can rush away from the core so fast that it causes a fatal heart attack very quickly.

So, yeah, you are supposed to warm up slowly. Body heat from someone else in a sleeping bag is, I think, quite appropriate. And a small amount of warm soup.

I recently got a Supplemental Medicare policy. The next time my body temperature goes well into the hypothermia region, I'm heading to the emergency room.

By the way, in hospitals they have something called a "Baer Hugger" to warm patients up during surgery if their body temperature drops too low. There was a short account in a Canadian Medical Journal something like 25 years ago about a young woman who had been mauled by a bear and was in surgery. When her body temperature got too low and the surgeon called for a Baer Hugger, she woke up in alarm despite the anaesthesia.