Re: [Paddlewise] rescuers die/Hypothermia

At 10:14 AM 4/11/01 -0700, Evan Dallas wrote:
> >>>>Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2001 18:07:34 -0400
>From: John Fereira <jaf30_at_cornell.edu>
>Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] rescuers die
>
><snip>
>They were 400 feet offshore when they capsized into the 38 degree
>water.  They were not dressed for immersion.
><snip>
>Hypothermia had already started to have an effect and the twice
>swimmers were unable to stand after landing.  ***After a hot shower***, 
>and the
>rescuers gave
>them warm clothes and drove them home. <<<<
>
>I'm not an expert on hypothermia, but my understanding is that warming a
>hypothermic person too quickly (like from putting them into a hot shower) 
>can be
>*fatal*.  I took a class on wilderness first aid, where they told the 
>story of a
>fishing boat stranded (someplace cold, I forget where) powerless and heatless
>with a large crew.  They were "rescued" by another boat, who brought the
>hypothermic but still living crew into the warm cabin onboard the rescue ship,
>and within a short time every one of the rescued crew died.  My class 
>instructor
>said the best solution is to get them to a hospital immediately, but if that's
>not possible he preferred the
>put-a-cold-person-into-a-sleeping-bag-with-a-warm-person technique.

Obviously there are different levels of impairment or these two
people would have suffered the same fate as those on that
fishing boat.  While they were exhibiting some of the symptoms
of hypothermia, based on what I read, their exposure time in the
cold water was fairly short so their body temperature probably had
not dropped much.  The article didn't even mention "uncontrolled shivering"
or a "loss of judgement" (other than the fact that they got into those
conditions in the first place).

 From what I've read, the reason for getting someone to a hospital
as soon as possible in extreme cases is that a doctor would understand
at which rate it is safe to increase the core body temperature, and
the only way to get an accurate measurement of the victims core body
temperature is through the use of a rectal thermometer.


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