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Hypothermia - an abnormally low internal body temperature caused by exposure to cold - kills thousands of people each year who are unaware of its lethal effects.
At greatest risks are the elderly, who probably account for nearly half of all hypothermia victims. According to the Center for Environmental Physiology, a national nonprofit research organization which studies and reports on the effects of heat and cold stress, tens of thousands of older Americans literally “freeze to death” in their own homes each year.
These deaths are a result of cool indoor temperatures, not prolonged exposure out-of-doors. Therefore, older adults in the nation’s sunbelt are no less vulnerable than their northern cousins, although it is less expensive to heat their homes.
Factors such as living alone, low incomes, poor diet, other illnesses, limited physical activity, and use of alcohol or certain types of prescription drugs place many older Americans at greater risk. Hypothermia can also worsen pre-existing conditions and diseases in older people. Many deaths are initiated by hypothermia although another disease is ultimately listed as the cause of death.
How it develops
Hypothermia is caused when the body loses heat faster than it can be replaced. Normally, the body conserves its heat by narrowing blood vessels in the skin, reducing the flow of warm blood near the surface in favor of heating vital organs in the body “core.” This process is our main defense against cold.
When skin blood flow is reduced, the skin becomes cool or cold. The resulting discomfort prompts us to put on more clothing or seek warmer surroundings. When warm clothing is used as an artificial barrier against the cold, the body is not forced to use its natural defense mechanism of reducing skin blood flow. Clothing is the key to comfort and survival in a cold environment.
However, many older individuals have a diminished skin sensation. They are often unaware they are even cold. If left alone, they can develop hypothermia in the course of a few days.
Symptoms
It is difficult to recognize hypothermia. Some symptoms are the same as those of other illnesses, including diabetic coma, stroke, or
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