Hypothermia: Prevention and treatment

Posted by Doctor Tran Hai Ha - Emergency Department - Vinmec Times City International Hospital

When the body temperature drops, the heart, nervous system and other organs cannot function properly. If left untreated, hypothermia can lead to complete heart and respiratory failure, eventually leading to death.
Hypothermia is usually caused by exposure to cold weather or immersion in cold water. The main treatment for hypothermia is methods of warming the body back to normal temperature.

Stay warm in cold weather
Before you or your child step out into the cold, remember the following advice with the simple acronym COLD - cover, overexert, layered, dry:
Cover. Wear a hat or other protective hat to prevent body heat from escaping from the head, face, and neck. Cover your hands with gloves. Try too hard. Avoid activities that make you sweat a lot. The combination of wet clothing and cold weather can cause you to lose body heat more quickly. Classes. Wear loose, layered, lightweight clothing. Outer clothing made of tight-knit, water-repellent fabrics is best for blocking the wind. Inner layers of wool, silk or polypropylene retain body heat better than cotton. Dried. Keep as dry as possible. Get out of wet clothes as soon as possible. Pay special attention to keeping hands and feet dry because snow is easy to stick to gloves and boots.

Keeping children safe from the cold
To help prevent hypothermia when children are out in the winter:
Dress babies and children in more layers than adults would wear under the same conditions. Bring your child indoors if he or she begins to shiver - that is the first sign that hypothermia is starting. Bring children indoors often to stay warm when they play outside. Do not let children sleep in cold rooms. Alcohol
To avoid the risk of alcohol-related hypothermia, don't drink:
If you're going out in the cold If you're sailing Before going to bed on cold nights Cold water is safe
Water doesn't have to be too hot cold to cause hypothermia. Any water colder than normal body temperature causes heat loss. The following tips can increase your survival time in cold water if you accidentally fall in:
Wear a life jacket. If you're going on a cruise, wear a life jacket. Life jackets can help you live longer in cold water by allowing you to float without using energy and by providing some insulation. Attach a whistle to the life jacket to signal help. Get out of the water if possible. Get out of the water as much as possible, such as climbing into an overturned boat or clinging to a floating object. Do not attempt to swim unless you are near a safe place. Unless there are boats, other people or life jackets nearby, stay put. Swimming will use up energy and can shorten survival time. Position the body to minimize heat loss. Use a body position called hypothermia (HELP) to reduce heat loss while you wait for support. Keep your knees to your chest to protect your torso. If you're wearing a life jacket facing down in this position, keep your legs together, arms to your sides, and head back. Don't take off your clothes. While in the water, don't take off your clothes as it helps insulate you from the water. Lock, button and pull your clothes. Cover your head if possible. Take off your clothes only after you are safe out of the water and can take steps to stay dry and warm.

The diagnosis of hypothermia is usually obvious based on a person's physical signs and the conditions under which the person with hypothermia is ill or detected.
However, the diagnosis may not be clear, if the symptoms are mild, as when an older person is indoors with symptoms of confusion, lack of coordination, and speech problems.

Seek immediate medical attention for anyone exhibiting hypothermia. Until medical help arrives, follow these hypothermia first aid instructions.
Be gentle. When helping someone with hypothermia, handle them gently. Limit only necessary movements. Do not massage or rub the person. Movements that are too forceful, forceful, or jarring can cause cardiac arrest. Move the person out of the cold. Move the person to a warm, dry location if possible. If you can't move the person out of the cold, shield them from the cold and wind as much as possible. Keep the person in a horizontal position if possible. Take off wet clothes. If the person is wearing wet clothing, remove it. Trim clothing as needed to avoid excessive movement. Cover the person with a blanket. Use layers of blankets or dry jackets to keep warm. Cover the person's head, leaving only the face exposed. Isolate the patient's body from the cold ground. If you are outside, lay the person on their back on a blanket or other warm surface. Monitor breathing. A person with severe hypothermia may be unconscious, with no obvious signs of pulse or breathing. If the person's breathing stops or seems dangerously low or shallow, start CPR immediately if you have been trained. Provide warm drinks. If the affected person is alert and able to swallow, offer warm, sweet, non-alcoholic, caffeine-free beverages to help warm the body.

Use warm, dry gauze. Use a warm compress for first aid (a plastic liquid-filled bag that warms up when squeezed) or a temporary warm water compress in a plastic bottle or a dryer-incubated towel. Apply only to the neck, chest wall or groin. Do not apply heat to arms or legs. Heat applied to the arms and legs pushes cold blood back to the heart, lungs, and brain, causing body temperature to drop. This can cause death.
Do not apply direct heat. Do not use hot water, heating pads, or heaters to warm up. Extreme heat can damage the skin or even worse, cause an irregular heartbeat, so severe that it can cause the heart to stop beating. Specific treatment
Depending on the severity of hypothermia, emergency medical care for hypothermia may include one of the following interventions to increase body temperature:
Reheat passive. For people with mild hypothermia, it is enough to cover themselves with a heating blanket and drink warm water. Heat the blood. Blood can be drawn, warmed and recirculated throughout the body. One common method of warming the blood is the use of a hemodialysis machine, which is often used to filter blood in people with poor kidney function. A heart bypass machine may also be needed. Warm intravenous fluids. A warm saline solution may be given intravenously to help warm the blood. Reheat the airway. The use of humidified oxygen through a mask or a nasogastric tube can warm the airways and help raise the body's temperature. If you need to consult and visit the hospitals and clinics of Vinmec Health system nationwide, please contact the Website for the best service.