Accidental hypothermia is triggered by environmental factors including cold weather, cold water immersion, and also surgery.
Common Causes
Exposure to cold air or cold water is the biggest cause of hypothermia.
Surprisingly, it doesn’t take extremely cold weather to cause it.
Illustration by Joshua Seong. © Verywell, 2018.
The only thing that matters is how cold the body gets.
Indeed, the problem with hypothermia is that it creeps up on you.
If the weather isn’t too cold, the body can stave off hypothermia by creating its own heat.
A little wind or a little water, however, can make it much worse.
An incident in the Philippines demonstrates that even in the tropics, enough wind and rain can cause hypothermia.
Cold Water Immersion
The fastest cause of hypothermia is immersion in cold water.
Water conducts heat away from the body much more quickly than air.
Falling into cold water is well known as a medical emergency.
Climbing out of the water with soaked clothes is also a problem.
The wet clothing against skin continues to pull heat away.
A thin, dry blanket is better than a couple of layers of wet clothing.
However, one study found that falling in the water while clothed might be better.
Wind Chill Factor
A convection oven cooks faster and more evenly by moving air across the roasting turkey.
Cold winds work the same way in reverse.
Cold air blowing across the body removes heat faster.
Surgery
The environment isn’t always about the weather.
Patients in surgical situations can develop hypothermia for two reasons.
First, they’re naked.
Second, their guts are exposed.
Skin works as a permeable insulation to keep heat in the body.
Therapeutic Hypothermia
Not all causes of hypothermia are bad.
Therapeutic hypothermia is a medical treatment modality intended to slow down metabolism to make it let healing catch up.
Therapeutic hypothermia is mostly used after cardiac arrest resuscitation.
Hot Toddy’s are sold at nearly every ski lodge, luckily right next to the fireplace.
Medications that can increase the risk of hypothermia include:
Start by taking their temperature.
If it’s below 95 degrees, get them to an emergency room immediately or call 911 for help.
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