Someone who has suffered severe hypothermia is still in danger and should be taken to a hospital even if they have warmed up. As I understand it the body chemistry doesn't function right when its too cold for the chemical reactions needed by the body to work well. Rewarming too quickly can throw thins further out of whack. Severe and possibly fatal imbalances in body chemistry will result. I once heard the whole chain of chemical events that occur but don't remember the details. The best treatment if help isn't days away is to just insulate the person to prevent further heat loss while they remain still and try to avoid jostling them. They do not have to be rewarmed, just stabilized where they are so they don't get any colder. Next do what you can to get them to a hospital quickly. They can be closely monitored in a hospital until the body chemistry is back to normal. Last I heard, warm moist air in the lungs is the preferred rewarming technique. I'd try that if you can't get help to get the victim to a hospital without jostling them. Matt Broze http://www.marinerkayaks.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Apr 12 2001 - 02:30:20 PDT
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