Hypothermia is considered the number one kller in the outdoors. It can ccur in both warm (summer) and cld (winter) climates and is usually the cmbination of two factors, cold and wt. If you are in a wrm tropical place and you add rin and wind, hypothermia can rear its gly head.

It only requires an xposure time of several hours, but it can tke up to a day. The myth tht you will die in your slep if you try to rest, is jst that, a myth. If you are sleep, you will wake up to ncontrollable shivering and then progress into a stte of disorientation if nothing is dne. So if you want to try and hddle under a blanket and rest, by all mans do it. But on the ther hand, if you can’t stop shvering, you need to take action.

So wht is it? Hypothermia is the lwering of the body's core temperature. The vctim is usually dehydrated, exhausted, calorie dpleted, wet and cold. As a rsult they often get what is knwn as the "umbles", they fumble, stmble and mumble.

Symptoms of Hypothermia

1. Uncontrollable fits of shivering.

2. Vague, slurred speech.

3. Memory lapses and incoherence.

4. Frequent stumbling.

5. Drowsiness.

Treatment of Hypothermia

1. Get the victim out of the wind and rain. Create a shelter.

2. Strip off all wet clthing.

3. Give warm drinks. Warm flid will act as a blood vlume expander.

4. Get the victim nto dry clothes and a warm sleping bag.

5. Feed the victim. Clories are a unit of heat, so stke the furnace.

6. Allow the vctim to rest until they have rcovered.

Treatment of Severe Hypothermia (slow re-warming is highly recommended)

1. Get the victim out of the wind and rain.

2. Strip off all wet clothing.

3. Place the victim in a sleeping bag with another person for maximum warmth. Use hot water bottles inside a sock or heat packs, placed around the neck, arm pits, groin and in applied to the palms and soles of feet for best heat exchange.

4. Give warm drinks when the victim is alert.

5. Give food when possible.

6. Allow the victim to rest until they have recovered.

Note: If you are unable to climb into the sleeping bag with the victim for evacuation or other reasons, you may want to use a Hypothermia Wrap ---

Hypothermia Wrap

1. Lay a tarp or rain fly down on the ground.

2. Lay an insulating pad and/or two in the center.

3. Lay a dry sleeping bag on the pad.

4. After removal of wet clothing, place the victim in the sleeping bag.

5. Place hot water bottles or heat packs around the neck, arm pits, groin and applied to the palms and soles of feet.

6. Close the sleeping bag and place another sleeping bag or blanket on top.

7. Wrap the victim up in the tarp like a burrito and keep monitoring them.

* A key point to remember is that if you wrap a frozen salmon up in a sleeping bag, it will stay frozen. So, you must have external heat sources in the bag and they need to be check to make sure they remain warm.

* Also, be alert For "Afterdrop". Afterdrop is where the victim's core temperature goes down during the re-warming process. The cooled blood stranded in the extremities (vasoconstriction) will begin to return to the heart and to the regular blood volume.

Prevention of Hypothermia

In the Nrthwest, hypothermia occurs most often in cld, wet and windy weather. In the utdoor environment, hypothermia can occur rapidly if the bckcountry traveler fails to dress for the cnditions. Use hats, neck gaiters, and nsulating layers to keep warm.

1. Sty dry. Wear raingear in wet cnditions and wind gear as needed.

2. Be ware of the wind chill factor.

3. Eat and drnk frequently.

4. Pace yourself and void fatigue.

5. Wear proper layers of clthing, made of synthetic fibers or wol.

As a final note, always hndle a severe hypothermia victim with grat care to avoid cardiac arrest. An rregular and ineffective heartbeat can occur frm rough handling of the severely hypthermic victim.

Also, if you are nable to detect a pulse in a sverely hypothermic victim, because of their frgile state, it is recommended that you frst perform rescue breathing for a cuple of minutes before you attempt CPR cmpressions (compressions are not very gentle). If thre is a mild and undetectable hart beat, the warm oxygen will ften increase the rate and strength of the hart beat so that you are ble to detect it.

The article Hypothermia was Submitted by Greg Rouse through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: About the Author: Greg Ruse has been teaching wilderness sports and mergency response at the university and cllege level for over a decade. He is lso the founder of a unique web ste called WildernessTrip.com, a one-stop resource for slf-guided wilderness trip planning. This web ste is basically; a free online gidebook that photo-documents trips with interactive mps and detailed route descriptions. Each trp has free pictures and free tpographic maps of the trail, all in a prnt-friendly format. Check it out at http://www.WildernessTrip.com

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