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Fifth of a five-part series about low body temperature.
by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.
These days it’s not unusual to hear of someone found in the cold, considered dead, who’s then revived. Someone knew how to treat severe hypothermia and didn’t give up. The saying goes, “They’re not dead until they’re warm and dead.”
Even so, not everyone is revivable. Most aren’t. Many’s heart just won’t restart, or they may have died from something else and then got cold. But unless you know the cause of death, or you’re not going to be able to warm them up within the next hour or two, keep trying to help the person.
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Fourth of a five-part series about low body temperature.
by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.
You’re on a hike. The temperature is in the 50s, and it’s a little windy. You slip and fall in a stream, get your pants wet. You start shivering. Your target location’s only half a mile away. Besides, a little cold never hurt anyone. I mean, it’s in the 50s.
If you’ve been reading this series on hypothermia, you know that’s not true. You need to head for home or your campsite and get out of those wet clothes. Do it right away because your next symptom could be confusion. Then you’re wandering, lost, getting colder by the minute. Maybe eat something to give your body a little extra fuel to keep generating that heat until you get there.
But what if you’re farther away or you’re already getting too cold? Or you’re inside, but there’s inadequate heat?
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Third of a five-part series about low body temperature.
by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.
In part one of this series about low body temperature, I gave a scenario about staying out in the cold a little too long and becoming nauseous.
In the story, the person thinks the problem is an empty stomach. But he’d better watch out. The first symptoms of a low body temperature are often hunger, nausea, and fatigue. Pretty general. And the next thing you know, you’re getting confused.
If you’re mentally impaired by drugs, alcohol, disease, or other reasons, you may not even notice there’s a problem. So if it’s below 50 degrees, or you or someone else has other risk factors for low body temperature, be on the watch for symptoms.
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Second of a five-part series about low body temperature.
by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.
You’d think a cold, snowy mountain would be the setting for most deaths from low body temperature (hypothermia). But that’s not the case. Most people die in urban areas—many inside. In fact, almost every year there are deaths in Florida—sometimes even Hawaii.
There must be something besides cold weather that can cause a low body temperature.
There is.
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Winter weather is not the only cause for low body temperature.
First of a five-part series about low body temperature.
by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.
Scenario one: You’re out on a morning walk, maybe hunting your breakfast. It’s cool, a little breezy, but not freezing. In fact, you work up a good sweat, take off your coat. You find a spot and sit a bit. You start getting hungry and a little nauseous. It’s that empty stomach. Before long, you get up—but forget your way back home. What’s going on?
Scenario two: You visit your great-uncle to ask some advice. He’s getting up there in age but still sharp as a tack. He doesn’t answer the door. You go inside, and you can see your breath. He’s snoring in the bed, covers thrown off, stripped down to his underwear. What’s the deal? Carbon monoxide? Stroke?
In both of these scenarios, a low body temperature should be high on your cause list.
In medicine we call this hypothermia, and you don’t have to be in a snowstorm or on a mountaintop to get it. in fact, it’s not that unusual to read of hypothermia-related deaths in the Deep South, even Florida. Even Hawaii.
Well, how cold is too cold? I’m going to tell you. But first let’s talk about how our body keeps us warm.
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by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.
As you’ll see in my upcoming five-part series on hypothermia, it’s not the cold weather that gets you. It’s how you handle it.
If it were just the cold, the man stuck in his car for three days near Nome, Alaska, would have perished. But he didn’t.
Sixty hours in the wilderness. It got down to 17 below zero at night, not even counting windchill.He cranked his car once a day (the gauge was on empty) for a little heat and waited, wearing tennis shoes, jeans, and a cheap coat. No food. How can somebody survive like that? Personally, I think it was the Coors.
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