Hypothermia can occur in all parts of the United States, including the Sunbelt, and is always a potential risk for outdoor sports enthusiasts even if temperatures are not considered dangerously low. It occurs when the human body loses heat, by being unable to protect itself from the environment. Factors such as poor health and nutrition, exhaustion, alcohol and drugs, can diminish the bodies ability to maintain it s own temperature and increase the incidence of hypothermia.
Body heat is lost by the following four mechanisms.
Convection is when air comes in contact with the skin and is blown away. The amount of heat lost is determined by the difference in the outside temperature and our skin, and wind speed. Conduction is the transfer of heat away from the body by objects that are in direct contact with and which are colder than the body, such as stone, ice, water, and metal. If you sat on the snow with insufficiently insulated clothes, you would lose more heat than, if you were sitting on the beach drinking a margarita. Proper attire worn in layers minimizes sweating and heat loss Evaporation.