Winter's Silent Killer

Preventing, Recognizing and Treating Hypothermia.

- Joe Alton

The environment plays a large role in your success as a medic in survival settings. If you don’t take weather conditions and other factors into account, you have made the environment your enemy… and it’s a formidable one.

Different areas might pose special challenges. If you live in Miami, you might be treating a lot of people with heat stroke. If you live in Siberia, you’ll be treating a lot of people with cold-related exposure. In many places, you might be treating both, depending on the time of year.

IF YOU DON’T TAKE WEATHER CONDITIONS INTO ACCOUNT, YOU HAVE MADE THE ENVIRONMENT YOUR ENEMY … AND IT’S A FORMIDABLE ONE.

Illness related to cold temperatures is known as “hypothermia.” Normally, the body core ranges from 97.5 to 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit (36.5 to 37.5 degrees Celsius). Hypothermia begins when the body core drops below 95 degrees.

HEAT LOSS

The body loses heat in various ways. 

Evaporation—Perspiration from physical exertion, overheating or other reasons release heat from the body core.

Radiation—The body loses heat to the environment when the surrounding temperature is below the body’s core temperature. For example, you lose more heat if exposed to an outside temperature of 20 degrees (F) than if exposed to 80 degrees (F). 

Conduction—The body loses heat when its surface is in direct contact with cold temperatures, as in the case of someone falling from a boat into frigid water. Water, being denser than air, removes heat from the body much faster.