How to Recognize and Assess Hypothermia

When it's cold in the wilderness, hypothermia is one of the greatest dangers you face. Early recognition, followed by treatment, can save a life.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Wilderness First Aid Classes
• First Aid Kits
• Low-reading Body Thermometers

1. Ask the affected person how he or she feels: If he or she expresses feeling chilled and manifests goose bumps, a slight lack of coordination in the fingers, mild shivering and slight mental impairment, mild hypothermia is probably the cause. Treat immediately (see "How to Treat Mild Hypothermia").
2. Check for more serious symptoms: severe muscular coordination problems (inability to use hands, stumbling, falling), violent and uncontrollable shivering, impaired judgment and irritability. These are most likely indicative of moderate hypothermia. Treat immediately (see "How to Treat Moderate Hypothermia").
3. Assess for yet more severe symptoms: cessation of shivering, almost complete lack of muscular coordination, muscular rigidity, unconsciousness, lowered heart and respiratory rate, dilated pupils and fruity breath (from incomplete metabolism of fat). These symptoms likely indicate severe hypothermia. Treat immediately (see "How to Treat Severe Hypothermia").
4. Take the person's temperature with a low-reading thermometer. A temperature from 98.6 degrees F down to 95 degrees indicates mild hypothermia; from 95 degrees down to 90 indicates moderate hypothermia; below 90 degrees indicates severe hypothermia.

Tips & Warnings

• A thermometer may not give an accurate indication of the true state of the internal organs; rely more on signs and symptoms than on the thermometer's reading.
• Take hypothermia seriously and treat it immediately (see related eHows on treating hypothermia).
• Hypothermia can strike in any season, especially in the high country. Keep a close eye on the weather whenever you go into the wilderness, and adjust your plans as necessary to avoid the risk of hypothermia.
• Hypothermia can and does kill. Prevention is the best medicine (see "How to Prevent Hypothermia").
• Avoid tight-fitting clothing - including footwear - which might impair circulation.
• Avoid alcohol, which could contribute to dehydration and impair judgment.
• Avoid caffeine and nicotine, which also exacerbate dehydration.
• This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment.