"HYPERTHERMIA,

HYPOTHERMIA AND
DEHYDRATION"
• "What is your primary concern while in the wilderness?"
• "All the food and supplies in the world become irrelevant
the day you fail to protect your body against the killer trio of
Hyperthermia, Hypothermia and Dehydration."
• "What do I need to do to protect my body from heat, cold
and dehydration?"
• Hydration - keep enough fluids in your body referred
 WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF THE ELECTRIC GRID WENT DOWN FOR A
PROLONGED PERIOD DURING HEAT-WAVE IN THE REGION YOU LIVE.
THERE YOU ARE, IT'S 100 DEGREES IN YOUR HOME AND THERE IS NO
ELECTRICITY AND NO PLACE TO GO TO. YOU ARE SUDDENLY THRUST
INTO A SURVIVALMODE.

• Water next to your skin can be very beneficial or a t times a very detrimental.
• It is very important to remember when water is next to your skin it will conduct
over 20 times the body heat away from the body, t h a n if water was not present.
• The body does not care where the water came from rain, perspiration or
immersion, because all water is a conductor of heat and will remove heat from
the body.
• In the summer we sweat to help remove the heat, as the sweat evaporates the
body cools off. During colder days even 40 Fahrenheit weather, if water is next to
the skin, heat will be lost as it is conducted away from the body.
• Significant loss of heat [Hypothermia] or too much heat [Hyperthermia] can be
life threatening.
 WHAT IS HYPERTHERMIA?

• Hyperthermia is a result of the body being over heated.

Causes can be physical activity, moderate to high ambient
air temperature, onset of dehydration as a result of losing
too much sweat without adequate water intake to replenish
your system, solar or reflected radiation, improper clothing
which does not allow for evaporation [cooling] of sweat, a
low fitness level and or additional workload of carrying
excessive weight.
 SYMPTOMS INCLUDE:

•Heat cramps
•Heat exhaustion
•Heat stroke
 RULES OF THUMBS TO AVOID HYPERTHERMIA:

• Be very aware of your physical feelings during outdoor activities on hot humid
days.
• Be smart, don't push things with over aggressive activities. Pace yourself, and
seek shade as often as possible.
• Lay down on cool ground to allow the body to give off some of it's heat to the
cooler ground.
• If you are fortunate enough to have water nearby, take a break and cool off in
the water for ten minutes. Doing so will help you put a full day of putting one
foot in front of the other, as you trek to your destination.
 RULES OF THUMBS TO AVOID HYPERTHERMIA:
• Avoid activities in the heat of the day, higher t h a n the low 90s Fahrenheit, if
possible.
• Wear cotton next to skin - it absorbs water and will help draw-down the body
temp as it evaporates.
• Wear a broad brimmed hat, to lessen the heating of your head.
• Rehydrate by drinking lots of water. Your urine should be clear as possible.
Clearish urine indicates adequate hydration. The brighter the yellow, the more
alarming is the dehydration with subsequent over heating.
• Take salt tablets as needed. The body sweats to induce temperature reduction
and sweat includes salt in solution. The more a person sweats, the more salt
their body loses. Taking small salt tabs with water replenishes the lost salt.
 WHAT IS HYPOTHERMIA?
• Hypothermia is a condition whereby the temperature of your body falls to a
level at which your vital organs can no longer function and begin to shut
down. The condition can develop rapidly and is caused by cold, wet and/or
windy weather which cools the body at a rate faster than the body can
produce heat. A lack of energy-producing food and proper clothing will
heighten the speed at which hypothermia will affect you. Always remember to
bring extra clothing. It is important to hike at the speed of the slowest
member of your party. Take frequent breaks and keep a close watch for
members experiencing signs of fatigue. Exposure sickness generally occurs in
temperatures of less than 10 C (50 F).
 ACTIVITY
• You're on your way home in a very rural area outsider a small city. Suppose there was a n
terrorist event where by you could not get home. You come upon a road block and after the ID
thing, and where are you going, you find out all roads leading home were closed. You figure,
hey, I've got to get home to the family, so you grab what you can and head out. You head down
a set of railroad tracks which you believe go through your town about 8 or 10 miles away. It's
3:30PM and the temperature is 65 degrees F. Sometime after dark, it starts to drizzle, then
rain. It's stops in about a n hour, but you're wet. You notice the wind is picking up and it's
getting cooler. Being somewhat knowledgeable about weather, you tell yourself a mild cold
front h a s come through. You mu tte r to yourself something about stupidity. In the next several
hours, the wind picks up further and you s ta r t shivering as you walk along. It's only 40 or so
Fahrenheit, but you are starting to enter hypothermia. You quicken your pace to generate
heat, it doesn't help. Your thoughts drift as you try to figure out why you are so cold and you
remember putting on a cotton t-shirt under your cotton long sleeve shirt before leaving home.
By day break, you are nearing death as you huddle in a culvert near the tracks.
 SO WHAT DID YOU DO WRONG?
• You did not check the weather forecast.
• You did not have a Get Home Bag [GHB] in your car. GHB would have the right
clothes to change into for the trip home on foot.
• You headed out late in the day, not thinking about normal cooling during the
night.

• You headed out not realizing t h a t cotton soaks up sweat, but keeps it next to the
skin, where it continuously draw downs your body temperature.
• You made no effort to communicate your intentions.
• -----I could go on and on. Bottom line is lack or preparation and planning can kill
you. It's t h a t simple.
 RECOGNIZING HYPOTHERMIA:

• When heat loss exceeds heat production, the body gives heat to the body core (heart,
lungs, brain, and other internal organs) first. So, the body decreases blood flow to
the body surface and extremities to decrease heat loss and maintain the core
temperature. We perceive this, our first warning, as cold hands and feet. Our bodies
(if not too exhausted) may also increase heat production by shivering (involuntary
exercise). These are our only warnings, and they are not always obvious.