hypotherma

[squeezebox]

Well it's getting colder out there. As I've said before I'm dreadfully afraid of hypothermia, Could someone post a link to a good article on how to prevent, diagnose, and treat hypothermia. Please!
For that matter, a link to hyperthermia for the hot summer time is worth knowing about also.
Thanks!!!

[OCDave]

http://www.nassauparadiseisland.com/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Branded%20%5BUS-FL%5D%20%28S%29%20%5EKW%20%2AAD&utm_term=travel%20to%20bahamas

[Slo-go'en]

I suppose moving to the Bahamas is the best way to prevent hypothermia although maybe not the most practical for most us. With it being 11 degrees out when I got up (and a low of 8), it is tempting though.

Basically, if your teeth start chattering uncontrollably, it's time to do one or more of the following:

1) get moving.
2) get some hot liquid inside you.
3) get some dry and warm clothes on, then get some hot liquid inside you.

If you don't do one of the above and you stop feeling cold and in fact start feeling so warm you start taking clothes off, then your not far from death.

Other signs your getting hypothermia is acting drunk, like stumbling and slurred speech.

The closest I came to hypothermia was indeed in the summer on a 90 degree day in NY. We had stopped to wait out a Thunderstorm because we were about to break out onto some exposed ledges and there was too much lightning going on near-by.

I didn't have a real good rain jacket and it didn't take long to get soaked through and through. After about 10 minutes of standing in the cold, heavy rain, I started shaking and teeth chattering. Lightning or not, I had no choice but to start hiking again to warm up. Thankfully, by that time the worst of the storm had passed and it wasn't too long before it was back to 90 again. In retrospect, I should have broken out my ground cloth and hunkered under it, but with these storms there is little warning between the first few drops and a full on heavy down pour.

The other situation one has to be careful with is the all day 40 degree drizzle/ light rain, as hypothermia can sneak up on you. Even with good rain gear your going to be wet inside. Your often climbing and as you get higher it gets colder or more exposed and into the wind. Any time you take a break you start to chill down. In this case there is little you can do but to keep moving until you get to where your going or find a place to stop and camp. Set up your tent, change into dry clothes and cook some hot food before you too far gone.

Finally, if the clothes and other gear you have is not sufficient to keep you warm enough, you either have to start walking or die. Good luck.

[Slo-go'en]

BTW, a good hot liquid to drink is jello. It has a lot of sugar in it to jump start you. I like lemon/lime with a tea bag.

[Coffee]

I got uncomfortably cold, although I believe not hypothermic, after being caught in a thunderstorm heading up toward a ridge on the Colorado Trail. I decided to turn back and head for treeline. It was probably in the 40s at the time with rain and some hail. I was fine while moving but then stopped for about 30 minutes to talk with some other hikers and consider what to do next. In those 30 minutes I got very cold and it snuck up on me. I was pretty numb and shivering by the time I decided to find a place to set up camp which I did with numb hands which sucked. I dried off the inside of my tent, got into dry sleep clothes and got into my sleeping bag but was still kind of cold until I ate a hot meal. Then I was fine. The lesson I learned is to keep moving in such conditions and to set up camp promptly if deciding to stop moving for more than a few minutes.

[Just Bill]

Both subjects are covered in this book- which would also answer many of your other thread questions- http://www.amazon.com/Wilderness-Medicine-Beyond-First-Aid/dp/0762780703/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419952012&sr=8-1&keywords=wilderness+medicine

This book also contains some good info on hypothermia- http://www.amazon.com/Lying-Trail-William-Townsend-III/dp/150319387X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419952123&sr=8-1&keywords=lying+on+the+trail

Experience is the key to both conditions, hypothermia especially.
Personally, I find it the scariest thing in the woods as it robs you of your reason and motivation to live.

I find the Ray Way thumb to finger test to be the most accurate self measurement technique.
Touch each finger to your thumb in order (counting to eight), then reverse and do it with the other hand.
If you fail this test stop and warm yourself via hot drink or sleeping bag.

[MuddyWaters]

Prevention is easy, stay warm and dry.:)

In reality, there is a continuum of physical state between normal and dangerously low body temperature. We all must operate in this continuum, because staying warm and dry isnt always possible when its cold or cold and wet, and we have to keep hiking.

Ive frozen my buns off in duck blinds, deer stands, and snow skiing my whole life. Shivering, numb hands and feet. I dont view those states as particularly dangerous, they dont scare me as long as you recognize them and have the ability to get warm when needed. People that have never experienced extreme cold, can panic however, or be swayed by a somewhat conservative view from the medical establishment.

Being cold, only becomes dangerous when you lose the ability to get out of elements and get warm. Which a hiker should never do as long as they have adequate gear, and make good decisions.

Carrying a shelter , make keeping insulation dry a priority, and dont make foolish decisions that prevent getting warm. Getting stuck on top of a peak in high winds and driving rain at 40F and no visibility, with no place to pitch shelter, would be such a foolish decision. Not having adequate insulation would also be a foolish decision. Continuing to expose yourself to the elements for some other reason when you really should be seeking warmth, is another (late for meeting someone, lost, out of food or water, etc). Waiting until its pouring rain to pitch shelter, instead of doing so ahead of time, is another.

People will always recognize when they are cold and need to get to get warmer. Simply doing that , is the key to staying alive.
Most of the time for hikers, that means KEEP MOVING. When keep moving doesnt work, its time to hunker down and get into insulation. Ive had it take hours for me to warm back up after getting into insulation when very chilled. But, eventually you will. Falling asleep cold and waking up warm and toasty is a nice feeling.

This summer I was pretty cold one day. Got rained and hailed on on the way up 12100 ft Mather Pass on the JMT in ~40F and rain /fog conditions, followed by about 8 miles of hiking in the cold drizzle. I was soaked under raingear of course as always after ascending the pass. Even though it warmed up a few degrees descending from the pass, by the time I stopped for day I was cold, the 8 mile downhill runout from the pass wasnt strenuous enough to keep my temperature up, even though I was walking 3+ mph. I stopped very early actually, because I was cold and hiking wasnt keeping me warm enough, and I didnt want to continue upwards again toward Pinchot Pass in that condition. So with half-functioning fingers and a little shivering I got set up, and got into insulation and took a nap. Woke up 1.5 hrs later and was warm, so ate dinner.

Hypothermia can happen easily, but dangerously so is also ridiculously easy to prevent. That is why it happens mostly, when things go WRONG. I.E. poor planning, insufficient gear.

[Slo-go'en]

Hypothermia can happen easily, but dangerously so is also ridiculously easy to prevent. That is why it happens mostly, when things go WRONG. I.E. poor planning, insufficient gear.

The problem is once you start to get hypothermia you can start to make poor decisions which leads to things going very wrong, very quickly. That's when people wander off the trail or take a wrong turn and get lost or start falling down and get hurt. That's why it's important to know the signs and do something about it before you get to the drunken stage. The finger test Bill described is a good method.

As real a danger hypothermia is, it's amazing that it's rarely a cause of death on the AT. Heart attacks are much more common.

[Coffee]

I don't think I was on the verge of hypothermia but my thinking was definitely not completely clear either. I actually only became fully aware of my own shivering when one of the other hikers I was talking to asked if I was ok. It was at that point that I decided to set up camp. My policy is now to either be moving or making a prompt decision to camp in conditions leading to hypothermia. No more than a five minute break in hiking to assess conditions before deciding whether to move on at a brisk pace or to set up camp immediately.

[MuddyWaters]

I dont know that ive ever been cold to the point my cognitive abilities were significantly degraded, and ive been darned cold . i know it can happen. Ie i know im cold and need to warm up soon. I might not be able to do calculus, but still aware of what I need to do to survive.

I have experienced confusion resulting from dehydration. I lost perception of distance and time that ordinarilly would have prevented blatant map following error once. I was alert enough i figured out when something wasnt right though. I was about 5 miles from where i had thought i was.

One of the signs of mental confusion is when you start questioning if a map is correct. Been there.

[English Stu]

Signs often spoken of as grumbles,stumbles and mumbles

[Bati]

BTW, a good hot liquid to drink is jello. It has a lot of sugar in it to jump start you. I like lemon/lime with a tea bag.

Actually, I've been taught that it's the gelatin, not the sugar that really helps, because the sugar can lead to a crash. I usually carry a packet of gelatin in my food sack as a first aid measure.
Treatment depends somewhat on how you acquired hypothermia and how cold you are. If you fall into a freezing pond and have to be pulled out, your friends will have to take care not to rewarm the extremities first, which can cause death by a heart attack. If you're more concerned about walking in cold rain, then dress appropriately, drink water (it doesn't have to be hot, just don't get dehydrated), eat, and take frequent short breaks so that you are rested but don't cool down too much. When you do stop for the day, change into dry clothes as soon as possible. Be sure to protect your core (head and upper trunk). If you are hiking solo, you'll need to make sure you have the dexterity and mental ability to help yourself; if you're with someone watch each other for irrational behavior.
On one cold rainy day, I fell on a ford. After getting out (luckily), I immediately wrang out my polypro clothes then put them back on and continued to hike about a kilometer to the campsite, as the exercise slowly rewarmed me. Once there, I changed to my dry clothes and made a hot drink/dinner. I would have been too cold to wait for the stove if I had tried to cook immediately after the fall. I didn't want to wear my set of dry clothes on the rainy walk and have nothing dry for the night. I was well hydrated and had snacked or I would have had a bit to eat immediately after (not too much, as your body needs energy for warmth, not digestion when you're really cold.)
There are excellent classes on this, but some of the best things you can do is dress in clothes that insulate even when wet, carry and drink water throughout the day, and snack on real food (not sugar snacks) throughout the day.