Hypothermia

Diagnosis

Based on a patient’s physical signs and the circumstances surrounding their illness or discovery, hypothermia is typically diagnosed. Moreover, blood testing can support the diagnosis and severity of hypothermia.

But in cases where the symptoms are modest, such as when an elderly person experiencing disorientation, lack of coordination, and difficulty speaking, a diagnosis might not be obvious right away.

Treatment

Immediately seek medical attention if you believe someone is hypothermic. To treat hypothermia, adhere to these first-aid recommendations until medical assistance arrives.

First-aid tips

• Be gentle. Handle the individual you are assisting with hypothermia gently. Restrict movement to what is absolutely required. Don’t rub or massage the person. Abrupt Excessive, forceful, or abrupt motions can cause cardiac arrest.
• Move the person out of the cold. If at all feasible, move the person to a warm, dry place. As much as you can, keep the person out of the wind and the cold if you are unable to relocate them. Try to maintain him or her in a horizontal position.
• Insulate the person’s body from the cold ground. Place the person on his or her back on a blanket or other warm surface if you’re outside.
• Remove wet clothing. Take off any wet clothing the person may be wearing. If required, cut away garments to prevent excessive movement.
• Cover the person with blankets. Layer dry clothes or blankets on top of the person to keep them warm. Just the face should be visible as you cover the person’s head.
• Monitor breathing. Severe hypothermia can cause a person to seem comatose and have no signs of breathing or a pulse. In the event that the person’s respiration has stopped or seems abnormally shallow or low, start CPR right away if you are trained in it.
• Provide warm beverages. To help warm the body, offer a warm, sweet, nonalcoholic, and caffeine-free beverage to the affected person if they are conscious and able to swallow.
• Don’t apply direct heat. To keep the person warm, avoid using hot water, heating pads, or heating lamps. The intense heat can produce burns on the skin or, worse, extremely strong irregular heartbeats that have the potential to stop the heart.
• Use warm, dry compresses. Make use of a homemade compress made of warm water in a plastic bottle, a towel warmed in the dryer, or a first-aid warm compress, which is a plastic fluid-filled bag that heats up when squeezed. Compress simply the groin, chest wall, or neck.

Avoid compressing the arms or legs with a warm compress. The core body temperature decreases when heat is delivered to the arms and legs because it drives cold blood back into the heart, lungs, and brain. This might be deadly.

Medical treatment

The following procedures to elevate body temperature may be part of emergency medical care for hypothermia, depending on severity:

• Blood rewarming. It is possible to extract, warm, and recirculate blood in the body. Using a hemodialysis machine, which is typically used to filter blood in patients with impaired kidney function, is a frequent way to warm blood. It can also be necessary to employ cardiac bypass equipment.
• Passive rewarming. It is sufficient to provide someone suffering from mild hypothermia heated blankets and warm liquids to drink.
• Warm intravenous fluids. To help warm the blood, an intravenous solution of warmed salt water may be inserted into a vein.
• Irrigation. Certain parts of the body, like the peritoneal cavity and the area surrounding the lungs (pleura), can be warmed using a warm saltwater solution. Catheters are used to introduce the warm liquid into the afflicted area.
• Airway rewarming. Humidified oxygen delivered through a nasal tube or mask can assist raise the body’s temperature and warm the airways