Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsCommon CausesGeneticsCardiovascular Risk FactorsAlcohol as a Risk FactorFrequently Asked QuestionsNext in Hypothermia GuideWhat Is Hypothermia?
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Common Causes
Genetics
Cardiovascular Risk Factors
Alcohol as a Risk Factor
Frequently Asked Questions
Next in Hypothermia Guide
Exposure to cold air or cold water is the biggest cause of hypothermia. Surprisingly, it doesn’t take extremely cold weather to cause it. The only thing that matters is how cold the body gets. Chatting in the parking lot on a cool night with no coat is enough to reach mild hypothermia if you stand out there long enough. Indeed, the problem with hypothermia is that it creeps up on you.
Mild hypothermia is often not reported or treated on temperate nights because when a patient reaches his tolerance level, he usually goes inside where it’s warm and all is good. A little wind or a little water, however, can make it much worse. An incident in the Philippines demonstrates that even in the tropics, enough wind and rain can cause hypothermia.
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Cold Water Immersion
The fastest cause of hypothermia is immersion in cold water. Water conducts heat away from the body much more quickly than air. Falling into cold water is well known as a medical emergency.
Climbing out of the water with soaked clothes is also a problem. The wet clothing against skin continues to pull heat away. One of the first steps in treating hypothermia is to remove wet clothing, even if it means the patient gets naked. A thin, dry blanket is better than a couple of layers of wet clothing.
However, one study found that falling in the water while clothed might be better. There is a layer of water next to the skin that acts as a thermal layer, trapping heat until the patient starts moving or trying to swim. Researchers were attempting to determine whether or not waiting for help is better than swimming to safety in cold water immersion. As it turns out, falling in with clothes on keeps the patient warmer, but trying to swim out with clothes on is more dangerous due to fatigue.
Wind Chill Factor
Wind chill isn’t just a trick of the body feeling as if the air is colder; it actually accelerates loss of heat from the body and hastens hypothermia.
Surgery
The environment isn’t always about the weather. Patients in surgical situations can develop hypothermia for two reasons. First, they’re naked. Typically, surgical patients don’t have much more than a blanket or two to keep them warm in a room often kept cooler than the average home.
Second, their guts are exposed. Skin works as a permeable insulation to keep heat in the body.
When the skin is cut open and the outside air is cooler than body temperature, the internal organs are exposed to outside air and the body is cooled very quickly.
Therapeutic Hypothermia
Not all causes of hypothermia are bad. Therapeutic hypothermia is a medical treatment modality intended to slow down metabolism in order to let healing catch up. Therapeutic hypothermia is mostly used after cardiac arrest resuscitation.
Patients with metabolic disorders like diabetes are moreprone to hypothermiathan other populations.Likewise, some patients with neurological disorders have trouble regulating core body temperatures.
If you know that you are at higher risk because of these circumstances, be mindful of common hypothermia causes so that you can take preventive measures.
The use of alcohol is one of the biggest risk factors that can cause hypothermia.
Alcohol is a vasodilator, meaning that it opens up peripheral blood vessels and allows blood to flow freely to the surface of the skin. That blood flow puts patients with alcohol in their bloodstream at risk for hypothermia while at the same time feeling as if they are nice and warm.
Unfortunately, blood so close to the surface allows more heat to escape the bloodstream and, ultimately, the body. Even though a drink or two may make you feel warm in the moment, you are now much more susceptible to hypothermia.
Medical experts typically recognize three stages of hyporthermia, based on corebody temperatureand symptoms:Mild: 90 to 95 degrees; shivering and alert; altered mental stateModerate: 82 to 90 degrees; decreased level of consciousness; shivering or no longer shiveringSevere: Under 82 degrees; unconscious; no longer shiveringSome also regard core body temperatures under 68 degrees or 75 degrees as profound hypothermia.
Medical experts typically recognize three stages of hyporthermia, based on corebody temperatureand symptoms:
Some also regard core body temperatures under 68 degrees or 75 degrees as profound hypothermia.
When core body temperature drops below normal, a person will start shivering, become extremely tired and drowsy, and show signs of mental impairment, such as slurred speech, fumbling hands, confusion, and memory loss.
Certain drugs can impair the body’s mechanisms for regulating body temperature, impair a person’s ability to recognize the sensation of being cold, and/or cloud their judgment. Medications that can increase the risk of hypothermia include:Anxiolytics(anti-anxiety drugs)AntidepressantsAntipsychoticsOpioidsOral antihyperglycemicsBeta blockersAlpha-adrenergic agonists, such as clonidineGeneral anesthesiamedications
Certain drugs can impair the body’s mechanisms for regulating body temperature, impair a person’s ability to recognize the sensation of being cold, and/or cloud their judgment. Medications that can increase the risk of hypothermia include:
9 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Gocotano AE, Dico FD, Calungsod NR, Hall JL, Counahan ML.Exposure to cold weather during a mass gathering in the Philippines. Bull World Health Organ. 2015;93(11):810-4. doi:10.2471/BLT.15.158089Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Prevent hypothermia & frostbite.Bowes, H., Eglin, C., Tipton, M., & Barwood, M. (2016).Swim performance and thermoregulatory effects of wearing clothing in a simulated cold-water survival situation.European Journal Of Applied Physiology,116(4), 759-767. doi:10.1007/s00421-015-3306-6Bilgin H.Inadverdent Perioperative Hypothermia. Turk J Anaesthesiol Reanim. 2017;45(3):124-126. doi:10.5152/TJAR.2017.200501Schenone AL, Cohen A, Patarroyo G, et al.Therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest: A systematic review/meta-analysis exploring the impact of expanded criteria and targeted temperature. Resuscitation. 2016;108:102-110. doi:10.1016/j.resuscitation.2016.07.238Nishimura, T., & Watanuki, S. (2014).Relationship between mitochondrial haplogroup and seasonal changes of physiological responses to cold.Journal Of Physiological Anthropology,33(1), 27. doi:10.1186/1880-6805-33-27Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Hypothermia-Related Deaths.Klein, L., Cole, J., Driver, B., Battista, C., Jelinek, R., & Martel, M. (2018).Unsuspected Critical Illness Among Emergency Department Patients Presenting for Acute Alcohol Intoxication.Annals Of Emergency Medicine,71(3), 279-288. doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2017.07.021UpToDate.Accidental hypothermia in adults.Additional ReadingFudge, J. (2016).Exercise in the Cold.Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach,8(2), 133-139. doi:10.1177/1941738116630542
9 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Gocotano AE, Dico FD, Calungsod NR, Hall JL, Counahan ML.Exposure to cold weather during a mass gathering in the Philippines. Bull World Health Organ. 2015;93(11):810-4. doi:10.2471/BLT.15.158089Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Prevent hypothermia & frostbite.Bowes, H., Eglin, C., Tipton, M., & Barwood, M. (2016).Swim performance and thermoregulatory effects of wearing clothing in a simulated cold-water survival situation.European Journal Of Applied Physiology,116(4), 759-767. doi:10.1007/s00421-015-3306-6Bilgin H.Inadverdent Perioperative Hypothermia. Turk J Anaesthesiol Reanim. 2017;45(3):124-126. doi:10.5152/TJAR.2017.200501Schenone AL, Cohen A, Patarroyo G, et al.Therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest: A systematic review/meta-analysis exploring the impact of expanded criteria and targeted temperature. Resuscitation. 2016;108:102-110. doi:10.1016/j.resuscitation.2016.07.238Nishimura, T., & Watanuki, S. (2014).Relationship between mitochondrial haplogroup and seasonal changes of physiological responses to cold.Journal Of Physiological Anthropology,33(1), 27. doi:10.1186/1880-6805-33-27Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Hypothermia-Related Deaths.Klein, L., Cole, J., Driver, B., Battista, C., Jelinek, R., & Martel, M. (2018).Unsuspected Critical Illness Among Emergency Department Patients Presenting for Acute Alcohol Intoxication.Annals Of Emergency Medicine,71(3), 279-288. doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2017.07.021UpToDate.Accidental hypothermia in adults.Additional ReadingFudge, J. (2016).Exercise in the Cold.Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach,8(2), 133-139. doi:10.1177/1941738116630542
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Gocotano AE, Dico FD, Calungsod NR, Hall JL, Counahan ML.Exposure to cold weather during a mass gathering in the Philippines. Bull World Health Organ. 2015;93(11):810-4. doi:10.2471/BLT.15.158089Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Prevent hypothermia & frostbite.Bowes, H., Eglin, C., Tipton, M., & Barwood, M. (2016).Swim performance and thermoregulatory effects of wearing clothing in a simulated cold-water survival situation.European Journal Of Applied Physiology,116(4), 759-767. doi:10.1007/s00421-015-3306-6Bilgin H.Inadverdent Perioperative Hypothermia. Turk J Anaesthesiol Reanim. 2017;45(3):124-126. doi:10.5152/TJAR.2017.200501Schenone AL, Cohen A, Patarroyo G, et al.Therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest: A systematic review/meta-analysis exploring the impact of expanded criteria and targeted temperature. Resuscitation. 2016;108:102-110. doi:10.1016/j.resuscitation.2016.07.238Nishimura, T., & Watanuki, S. (2014).Relationship between mitochondrial haplogroup and seasonal changes of physiological responses to cold.Journal Of Physiological Anthropology,33(1), 27. doi:10.1186/1880-6805-33-27Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Hypothermia-Related Deaths.Klein, L., Cole, J., Driver, B., Battista, C., Jelinek, R., & Martel, M. (2018).Unsuspected Critical Illness Among Emergency Department Patients Presenting for Acute Alcohol Intoxication.Annals Of Emergency Medicine,71(3), 279-288. doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2017.07.021UpToDate.Accidental hypothermia in adults.
Gocotano AE, Dico FD, Calungsod NR, Hall JL, Counahan ML.Exposure to cold weather during a mass gathering in the Philippines. Bull World Health Organ. 2015;93(11):810-4. doi:10.2471/BLT.15.158089
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Prevent hypothermia & frostbite.
Bowes, H., Eglin, C., Tipton, M., & Barwood, M. (2016).Swim performance and thermoregulatory effects of wearing clothing in a simulated cold-water survival situation.European Journal Of Applied Physiology,116(4), 759-767. doi:10.1007/s00421-015-3306-6
Bilgin H.Inadverdent Perioperative Hypothermia. Turk J Anaesthesiol Reanim. 2017;45(3):124-126. doi:10.5152/TJAR.2017.200501
Schenone AL, Cohen A, Patarroyo G, et al.Therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest: A systematic review/meta-analysis exploring the impact of expanded criteria and targeted temperature. Resuscitation. 2016;108:102-110. doi:10.1016/j.resuscitation.2016.07.238
Nishimura, T., & Watanuki, S. (2014).Relationship between mitochondrial haplogroup and seasonal changes of physiological responses to cold.Journal Of Physiological Anthropology,33(1), 27. doi:10.1186/1880-6805-33-27
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Hypothermia-Related Deaths.
Klein, L., Cole, J., Driver, B., Battista, C., Jelinek, R., & Martel, M. (2018).Unsuspected Critical Illness Among Emergency Department Patients Presenting for Acute Alcohol Intoxication.Annals Of Emergency Medicine,71(3), 279-288. doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2017.07.021
UpToDate.Accidental hypothermia in adults.
Fudge, J. (2016).Exercise in the Cold.Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach,8(2), 133-139. doi:10.1177/1941738116630542
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