Hypothermia - do you know the symptoms

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hairycob

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OH was filling up with diesel at 7.30 this morning when a woman on her way home from doing her horses collapsed with hypothermia. Luckily OH used to be Scout Leader recognised the problem & was able to get her sorted out quickly. It did make me wonder how many of us would recognise if one of our fellow liveries was showing the symptoms & know what to do.

The symptoms are:
Blurred vision
Argumentative
Shivering
Slurred speech
Erratic behaviour
Stumbling.

Sufferers need to be warmed from the inside:
Warm layers
Get another person to cuddle them
Bring limbs close in to the body - feotal position
Warm, sugary drinks.
No alcohol.
 
hairycob said:
OH was filling up with diesel at 7.30 this morning when a woman on her way home from doing her horses collapsed with hypothermia. Luckily OH used to be Scout Leader recognised the problem & was able to get her sorted out quickly. It did make me wonder how many of us would recognise if one of our fellow liveries was showing the symptoms & know what to do.

The symptoms are:
Blurred vision
Argumentative
Shivering
Slurred speech
Erratic behaviour
Stumbling.

Sufferers need to be warmed from the inside:
Warm layers
Get another person to cuddle them
Bring limbs close in to the body - feotal position
Warm, sugary drinks.
No alcohol.
Click to expand...

Excellent idea posting this HC . . . when it's this cold it's worth knowing the signs and what to do.

Thank you.

P
 
In bad cases suffers think they are hot and often will try to remove clothes they also try to move around but need covering and keeping still until you can get them to medical help or it gets to them..
 
A little thing I saw on TV the other night which is catchy...
"first they mumble, then they fumble, then they stumble"
mumbling - face is so cold and tight they struggle to talk clearly
fumbling - cold hands that don't grip well
stumbling - legs / co-ordination starting to fail.

And would agree it's really serious when they STOP shivering and start to feel hot.
Yes they need to keep still (otherwise they are pushing valuable heat to the extremities of the body when the REALLY need to keep their core warm)
 
As a medic student its too easy to confuse this with hypoglyceamia. For an adult to get hypothermia in this weather they would need to have underlying conditions ie malnurished elderly etc extreamely rare for healthy adult to get ill this way unless wet and naked. However warmth and restricted movement is good for good for either condition. Just call for help ask for paramedic not ambulance!
 
OH is diabetic himself so the first thing he asked the ladies friend was if she had any known conditions - if someone is suffering what appears to be anything like this they should alwats get checked out by a doctor, but the real benefit is in recognising that things might be going wrong before they get really bad. Apparently the lady in question had gone out to her horses at 6am & had not been aware of just how cold it before she went out, so not enough layers & probably most critically - no breakfast, so no fuel to keep warm. That's not going to do blood sugar levels any good either, diabetic or not.
 
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