Hypothermia

Kesehatan |The main causes of hypothermia are exposure to cold air. For example, for not wearing the right clothes when climbing a mountain, is too long in the cold, falling into a cold pool of water, wearing wet clothes, or the air-conditioning temperature is too low (especially for the elderly and infants).

Hypothermia can occur in anyone, but there are some risk factors that can increase a person's risk of experiencing this condition.

• Ages - infants and the elderly. The ability to control body temperature that has not been fully developed in infants and the decline in the elderly. Children also often ignore the cold because it was too busy playing.
• Liquor and drugs. Of alcohol in beverages dilate blood vessels and make a lot of blood on the surface of the skin. These conditions accelerate and increase the release of body heat. While drugs can make a person not aware of the situation and the cold weather in the vicinity.
• Diseases that affect memory, such as Alzheimer's disease. People with this disease are usually not aware that they were cold or not understand what to do.
• Influence of certain diseases. There are several diseases that can affect the body's temperature control mechanisms, such as anorexia nervosa, stroke, and hypothyroidism.
• Certain drugs, such as antidepressants, sedatives, analgesics and opiates. These medicines can affect the body's ability to control the temperature.
• People who spend a long time in a cool place, such as mountain climbers.

Symptoms of Hypothermia
Symptoms of hypothermia are very diverse and sometimes difficult to recognize. Symptoms that appear depend on how low the temperature of the body infected.

Infants with hypothermia may look healthy, but the skin will feel cool and look red. Babies also tend to be very silent, visible limp, and would not eat.

Symptoms of hypothermia usually develops slowly so it is often not recognized by the infected. People who experience mild hypothermia will show symptoms of shivering, accompanied by fatigue, dizziness, hunger, nausea, cold or pale skin, and rapid breathing.

If the body temperature continues to drop below 32 ° C, body hypothermia sufferers usually can not afford to shiver again. This indicates that the severity of hypothermia already entered the stage of medium to severe.

People with hypothermia attack the secondary level will experience symptoms that include:

• Sleepy or limp.
• Slurred speech or mumbling.
• Dazed and confused.
• Loss of common sense, for example, to undress even when cold.
• Difficulty moving and coordinating body decreases.
• Slow and short of breath.

If not promptly treated, the body temperature will decline and causes the following symptoms:

• Awareness continues to fall unconscious.
• Pupils were dilated.
• Shortness of breath or breathing at all.
• Weak pulse, irregular, or even absolutely no pulse.
• If a child or anyone in your family who experience the above symptoms, take it as soon as possible to the hospital for emergency treatment.

Step Hypothermia Treatment
Hypothermia can be overcome by preventing the release of body heat and warm up slowly sufferers.

Before the treatment of patients with hypothermia receive professional medical personnel, there is some emergency aid measures you can do to help. Among them:

• Monitor the respiratory sufferers. Immediately give artificial breathing if sufferers stop breathing.
• Treat people with carefully. Abusive or excessive movement can trigger a heart attack. Rubbing a hand or foot sufferers should also be avoided.
• Move sufferers into the room or warm place if possible. But do not jump to bathe sufferers with warm water.
• Remove the sufferers if wet clothing and replace with dry.
• Cover the person with the body (especially the abdomen, and head) with blankets or clothing for warmth.
• If you are outdoors or in the open, cover the soil with a blanket before lying sufferers.
• Share body heat by people with, for example, by hugging him carefully. Direct contact of skin-to-skin would be more effective.
• Give warm drinks if sufferers are still conscious and able to swallow. But do not give beverages containing alcohol or caffeine.
• Use a towel to dry the heated or warm water bottle to compress sufferers. This compress should be placed in the neck, chest, or groin. Do not put it on the feet or hands because it can drive cold blood to flow to the heart, lungs, and brain.

After arriving at the hospital, patients with hypothermia will receive some medical treatment steps. Selection of the type of treatment will depend on the severity of hypothermia suffered sufferers. Several types of intensive care that is usually performed include:

• Issued and warms the blood of the patient, and then re-running it into the patient's body. This process is done with heart and lung bypass machine (CPB) or a hemodialysis machine.
• Warms the respiratory tract by giving oxygen that has been humidified and warmed through a mask and hose.
• Provide infusions containing saline solution that has been warmed.
• Flowing warm solution to pass through and warm the body parts, for example around the lung or abdominal cavity.

Untreated hypothermia can lead to some serious complications, such as frostbite or frosbite and gangrene (tissue rotting due to the inhibition of blood flow), or even death.

Hypothermia Prevention Steps
Hypothermia can be prevented. There are some simple steps you can take to avoid hypothermia, namely:

• Keep the body dry. Water more quickly distribute heat to the air than if the body dry. Immediately change if your clothes are wet because it will absorb your body heat.
• Wear clothes appropriate to the weather and activities, especially for those who like mountain climbing or camping in a cool place. Use clothing from materials that can maintain body warmth while absorbing sweat, such as wool. Avoid cotton clothing. Use jacket windproof and water.
• Do not forget to use hats, scarves, gloves, socks, and boots. Keep your socks and shoes not crowded so that blood flow running smoothly.
• Choose clothing appropriate size. Fitting clothes that will create a warm air circulation space between the skin and clothing. While tight clothing can not warm you.
• Perform simple movements to warm the body, but not to excessive sweating. If exposed to wind, sweat-stained clothes can reduce body heat.
• Provide warm drinks and food, but avoid drinks that contain alcohol or caffeine.

Infants and children are more susceptible to attack hypothermia than adults. Therefore, you need to do preventive measures to avoid the hypothermia. Among others are:

• Give clothes or jacket extra layer of protection so that they are thicker.
• Do not let your baby sleep in the room where the temperature is too cold.
• Do not let your children play outside in the rain or cold weather.
• Avoid and fend off the cold air will help us to prevent attacks potentially fatal hypothermia.