Tuesday, June 15, 2010

"The Clinic: Killer Cold" by Jim Thornton

Rating: **

This article talked about how hypothermia symptoms can come quickly. Fact: 720 Americans die of hypothermia each year, even in warm temperatures. The symptoms of hypothermia are not always easy to see and they come on fast, even when its not expected. An individual can be sweating from the heat at one point, and suffering from hypothermia within an hour or so if it cools down quickly or clouds move over. Just a few degrees of a drop in body temperature can cause violent shivers. The body can defend itself against the cold, but if affects an individuals judgment and movement. Water affects the body just as much as the air on land does. Once the body is cold it begins to constrict it's blood vessels so the body has to result to pushing blood to the most vital organs...but this is that the expense of limbs. An individuals muscles will begin to shiver, and eventually they may experience hallucinations as the brain begins to fail.

I did not find this article very useful. All it did was explain how you die from hypothermia. It didn't explain what any of the symptoms are or what you should do when suffering from hypothermia. On the positive side, I now know what happens to the body when suffering from hypothermia.

Thornton, Jim. "The Clinic: Killer Cold" Adventure. February, 2003. Print.

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