Weather Wise Wednesday, Hypothermia

This week’s Weather Wise Wednesday, I’m going to discuss hypothermia, which is a condition that can set in due to the drop in body temperature. In future postings, I hope to highlight both actual weather properties as well as things that relate to the weather. And now…Hypothermia.

When your body temperature drops below a certain level, hypothermia can set in. As the temperature drops, the body starts to shiver and your hands may become numb. This is considered stage 1, and is the mildest form of hypothermia. At this stage, your body temperature has dropped 1-3 degrees.

The second stage of hypothermia is when the body temperature drops between 4-7 degrees below it’s normal temperature. Stage 2 can cause confusion and clumbsiness. While the subject’s skin may have a pale color, their lips and ears may have a bluest cast to it.

In the third stage, hypothermia presents itself with with much more severe symptoms. Subjects may lose the ability to think clearly, and may be unable to use their limbs. The bluest cast is more present and the skin may become swollen in appearance. At this point, the body temperature has dropped a full 8 degrees below it’s normal range of 98.6. Death can occur at this stage of hypothermia. 

If you’d like more information about how to handle hypothermia, you can go to hypothermia.org and learn about treatment hypothermia on land or in water.