Re: [Paddlewise] Tragedy in Sweden

> If mr Rappe had been isolated by a thick layer of fat, like a seal,
> he most likely would have survived, but the more lean you are -
> competing athletes tend to be very lean - the greater the dangers
> when it comes to hypothermia.
>
> Tord


                      very true

i not longer do triathlons but i've always naturally had very low levels of
skin fat. my body mass index is around 18.5, almost the cut off limit for
too skinny super models.  this means i have a low body mass with high
surface area to radiate heat. warmth just gets sucked out of me at a much
faster rate than my friends.
          people like this also tend to have higher metabolic rates which
may mean they lose heat even faster and burn up their bodies energy reserves
even quicker ...

experimenting in the 15C cold water bath at the local onsen/sauna shows that
i can slow the heat loss by staying very still, (body heat warms the water
around you and slows heat loss) and keeping arms and legs close to the body.
even keeping your fingers together helps, (zero fat high blood flow areas
around the trunk, like under the arms and around the groin, (arteries etc.
lose heat the fastest as the body can't restrict blood flow to them easily)

however being dragged through 5C open water on the back of a kayak isn't
going to allow these strategies

after not too many minutes of such cold water the blood vessels in the arms
and legs will constrict to conserve core heat and fine control of the
fingers will very quickly be lost followed by strength in the hand
and of course a wet head loses heat very fast

who can forget  those images of  passengers from an airplane that crashed
into a frozen river being unable to fit the rescue helicopter lifting
harness clips around themselves or support their weight when it was winched
back up. and so they fell back into the river to die, (some years ago in the
usa)

multi-sport athletes tend to over estimate their abilities to conquer limits
and underestimate their ability to survive in cold conditions when for some
reason they stop working their muscles.  this added to their need to wear
clothing that dumps heat effectively and distaste of carrying the excess
weight of proper survival equipment, (for those temps you would really need
to carry a 7mm wetsuit with hood. really, really bulky) means that they are
probably more vulnerable, not less, than the average, less than fit, person
to hypothermia

as i understand it when the person loses consciousness from hypothermia
death is not far away

i think the only recommended recovery technique in those circumstances is
for 1 or 2 body naked people to sandwich the body naked victim together and
cover themselves with the resulting big pile of clothes and keep talking to
to try and stop the sleep that never ends

probably the last thing adrenaline driven macho men are going to try

(seem to remember this was "animal heat" theory that the nazis also
discovered with their "experiments" on polish pilots)

eric e
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