Hypothermia
This is a Diving Health Risk wherein the temperature of the body has dropped significantly below normal. There are two types of Hypothermia:
- Chronic - This is a condition when the body temperature drops over a longer period of time.
- Acute - This condition occurs when there is a drastic drop in body temperature. This is more hazardous than Chronic Hypothermia.
Causes and Symptoms
This is caused by losing body heat when you are in the water. In general, you can lose heat more easily in water because water carries heat away from the body better than air.
One of the early symptoms of Hypothermia is shivering. This can be followed by dry and cold skin, slow pulse and breathing, and numbness of the arms and legs.
Treatment
Here are some things that you can do in warming the victim up:
- Call for medical help.
- Do not give alcohol.
- Give the victim warm food and drinks.
- Create a warm and sheltered environment by sharing body warmth with the victim. Together with unaffected Divers, you can do this by using blankets.
- Give CPR when necessary.
- In worse cases in which the victim is unconscious, bring the victim to a hospital as quickly as possible, where carefully-monitored warming can be carried out.
Make sure to wear a good Exposure suit, especially if you will take a dive in cold conditions. Also, wear something that can protect or cover your head. This is important since much heat is lost through your head.
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