Steps To Follow For Hypothermia Prevention

Steps To Follow for Hypothermia Prevention
1. AVOID EXPOSURE
STAY DRY. Wet clothes lose about ninety percent of their insulating value. Wool loses less. So do some of the new synthetics. Cotton andwet down are virtually worthless. Check the insulating values of the materials you choose to wear.
STAY OUT OF THE WIND. A breeze carries heat away from bare skin much faster than still air. Winddrives cold air under and through clothing. Wind cools wet clothes even faster by evaporating moisture from their surface.
WIND MULTIPLIES THE PROBLEMS OF STAYING DRY. If you have been in water and youare wearing a T-shirt that is wet, take it off. You will stay warmer. Direct sunlight on the skin also helps the warming process.
UNDERESTIMATING EFFECTS OF COLD. Most hypothermia cases develop inair temperatures between 30 and 50 degrees. Most outdoor enthusiast simply don’t believe such temperatures can be dangerous. They underestimate, often with fatal results, the danger of being wet atsuch temperatures.
Fifty degree water is unbearably cold. The cold that kills is cold water running down your neck and legs, and cold water removing body heat from the surface of your clothes.HYPOTHERMIA IN WATER Loss of body heat to the water, is a major cause of deaths in boating accidents. Often the cause of death is listed as drowning; but, often the primary cause is hypothermia. Alcohol alsolowers the body temperature around two to three degrees by dilating the blood vessels. Do not drink alcohol around cold water.
The following chart shows the effects of hypothermia in water:
WaterTemperature Exhaustion Survival Time
32.5 degrees Under 15 min Under 15 to 45 min
32.5 to 40 15 to 30 min 30 to 90 min
40 to 50 30 to 60 min 1 to 3 hrs
50 to 60 1 to 2 hrs 1 to 6 hrs
60 to 70 2 to7 hrs 2 to 40 hrs
70 to 80 3 to 12 hrs 3 hrs. to indefinite
Over 80 Indefinite Indefinite

2. TERMINATE EXPOSURE
If you can not stay dry and warm under existing weather conditions using the...