Whether you prefer hot summers or harsh winters, large temperature changes can only mean one thing for your body: bad news.
Humans are homeothersWhich means that the core body temperature remains approximately constant. Low temperatures that disrupt this balance can wreak havoc on our bodies, which are wired to function at or near a normal body temperature of 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
When we feel cold, our bodies respond by reducing blood flow to our skin, shivering to generate heat, and trapping warm air close to our skin with goosebumps. But in extreme conditions, our built-in heating methods fail, and body temperature begins to drop. Once the temperature drops below 95 degrees Fahrenheit, the body has officially entered hypothermia.
Low core temperature can be disastrous for the body, but in rare cases, it may actually be beneficial to go into hypothermia, and some medical procedures recommend inducing it. In this article, we’ll explore the pros and cons of hypothermia and find out how far we can go.
Accidental hypothermia puts the body at risk
Mild hypothermia– Body temperature between 89.6 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit – Has subtle symptoms. Patients may report feeling hungry, sick, or confused. Their skin may become pale and dry.
Below 89.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the body has entered a state of mild hypothermia. Patients feel lethargic, and their heart rate and breathing slow. The brain and internal thermometer short circuit at these temperatures, leading to strange behavior such as paradoxical nudism.
In severe hypothermia, below an internal temperature of 82.4 degrees Fahrenheit, the body begins to shut down. Blood pressure and heart rate decrease further.
How to detect and treat hypothermia
A person with severe hypothermia may show a lack of coordination or difficulty speaking. Video: How to detect and treat hypothermia / Canadian Red Cross / Croix-Rouge canadienne
These symptoms make it even more incredible than what happened in 1999, radiologist Anna Bågenholm says She made a full recovery after hypothermia to 56.7 degrees Fahrenheit. It is the lowest body temperature an adult can experience outside a hospital.
Bågenholm fell through the ice during a ski trip, spending nearly an hour and a half submerged in the deadly cold water. By the time rescue teams reached her location, she was clinically dead. When she was pulled from the water, rescuers intubated her and began CPR, which continued until doctors hooked her up to a heart-lung machine for three hours while she warmed up.
Bågenholm spent a month on a ventilator. Her blood stopped clotting, her nerves were damaged, and her internal organs malfunctioned. But despite this full-body assault, she survived. Five months later, she was back at work and hiking again, undeterred by death.
In 2014, a Polish child survived even colder conditions
Only one case of accidental hypothermia outweighs Bågenholm’s ordeal. In the winter of 2014, A A Polish boy named Adam He left his grandmother’s house in the village of Raklawice, north of Krakow. The temperature was 19.4 degrees Fahrenheit.
Adam was found hours later unconscious and immobile. His body was so stiff that rescuers were unable to intubate him. Like Bågenholm, he was hospitalized and hooked up to a breathing machine. Although his body temperature dropped to 53.2 degrees Fahrenheit, Adam made a full recovery and was released from the hospital two months later.
How did Adam and Bagenholm survive against all odds? Researchers believe multiple factors play a role. At normal temperatures, the brain has a relentless demand for oxygen and other nutrients that is greatly reduced by lower temperatures. Although extremely low temperatures slow vital nerve activities, they also slow those that control cell death and destruction. Bågenholm was trapped in an air pocket while covered in flowing icy water. This means she can still breathe while her body cools to a temperature where lack of oxygen is not a major problem for her brain.
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Induced hypothermia can protect the brain
Niklas NielsenThe medical community has been aware of the potential protective effects of hypothermia for decades, says the anesthesiologist at Lund University in Sweden. Surgeons often lower their patients’ core body temperature to protect vital organs during brain or heart surgery.
During open-heart surgery, surgeons fill the heart with a fluid called cardioplegia, which temporarily stops and cools it. This gives surgeons time to operate on a still heart while an external machine processes the blood flow. the The lowest temperature on record was cooled by hypothermia and survived With healthy brain function, the temperature is 39.6 degrees Fahrenheit. This extreme example was recorded in a case dating back to 1961.
Nielsen says that these studies are evidence that “low temperatures should not make the treating team believe that the patient is in an incurable stage.”
If we include induced hypothermia as an example of hypothermia, the 1961 example is the lowest ever recorded at 39.6 degrees Fahrenheit. If not, Little Adam’s survival at 53.2 degrees Fahrenheit takes the prize for lowest body temperature.
It is unlikely that the 1961 temperature will ever be overcome. Modern medicine recognizes this Reducing body temperature It is a double-edged sword, and newer technologies try to keep cooling to a minimum to avoid side effects. Risks include an increased risk of infections, such as pneumonia, blood clotting problems, and kidney problems.
Outside of the hospital, it is important to remember that many people died after enduring the conditions that Anna and Adam survived. For us humans who live in a warm environment, it is better to spend a winter night indoors.
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