As rescue personnel and the medical community become more skilled at treating hypothermia, it s clear that a critical part of hypothermia treatment is to stabilize the patient s temperature from the inside out. It is compact and relatively light weight, yet it has made the difference between life and death time and time again. This treatment prevents further respiratory heat loss and helps to stabilize heart, lung and brain temperatures. When a person is hypothermic, they must be treated with care or their condition may deteriorate dramatically. If a patient is severely hypothermic, they must be handled with great care.
Good things come in small packs.
A high percentage of cold water fatalities are due to the cold affecting the person s ability to swim. The blood returning from the extremities can also include metabolic waste products that cause fatal heart arrhythmia. With hypothermic patients, Coast Guard rescuers apply external heat with thermo-pads, hot packs or heating pads, to the head, neck, trunk and groin along with inhalation therapy. In general, awareness of hypothermia is growing, thanks in part to the pioneering work done some 20 years ago by the University of Victoria. The research conducted then is still a major influence in the field of hypothermia.