Hypothermia (hypothermia) - a condition in which the body temperature drops too low, below normal. The main systems of the body that control blood flow, respiration, brain and muscle movement can not function properly when the body temperature is too low. Hypothermia can occur gradually, if a person is exposed to cold temperatures for a long period of time, or it may occur within a few minutes in certain situations, for example, when released into the icy water.

If a person is just very cold help hot tea, warm clothes and a few physical exercises to warm up. To freeze less in the diet can include more fat and high-calorie food to create internal heat. Also have a warming effect: cabbage, carrots, potatoes, hot pepper, ginger.

In severe cases of hypothermia at the first symptoms you need to quickly take action to recover and to prevent hypothermia of serious damage.

• Define hypothermia by the following symptoms: cold to the touch, lethargy, drowsiness, weakness, confusion, tremor (may be absent, as deterioration), slow and shallow breathing, and slow heartbeat. Hypothermia is a medical emergency in many cases. Call the ambulance service and to proceed to the next steps.
• Move the person out of the cold place, if possible. Rooms with warm air may be enough for mild hypothermia. Remove all wet clothing and replace with dry, warm clothes.
• Prepare hot packs or hot water bottles. Place them under the armpits, on the body, neck and groin. Do not use hot compresses on the arms or legs, as this can cause the blood to flow back to the heart, and the heart can not stand. The same goes for hot tubs in the case of strong supercooling. But in the case of mild hypothermia hot bath will help.
• Give drink a warm liquid to increase the temperature inside the body. To enhance the effect in a drink, you can add ginger or any searing spice. Do not give alcohol, it leads to dehydration.
• Share the warmth of the body in a prone position skin-to-skin contact of a person suffering from severe hypothermia. It will also help massage that enhances circulation and warm up the body.
• Until help arrives, if a person stops breathing, give artificial respiration and chest compressions.

As the temperature is regulated and why it may change

The temperature of the human body is not constant, it depends on the internal state and external conditions. Basically it ranges from 36 to 37˚S. Such fluctuations - a protective reaction of the body, which prevents both overheating and overcooling of the body inside, that is, to maintain the constancy of the internal environment.

Adjustable temperature thermoregulation special centers, which are located in one of the parts of the brain - the hypothalamus. As soon as there is overheating inside our bodies under the influence of hypothalamic blood vessels dilate, the skin warms up and gives off heat to the external environment, start actively functioning sweat glands. If the temperature inside the body is lowered, the blood vessels, in contrast, remains constricted and heat inside the body.

In different parts of the human body temperature varies, but it usually is measured under the arm, in the rectum or in the mouth.

Lowering the temperature can be after a serious illness or surgery, the presence of severe wasting disease, with a decrease in immunity (eg AIDS, but the disease may be constantly high temperature, as associated infection). This is usually accompanied by lethargy, weakness, malaise, headache Headache . All of this suggests that a person with something wrong.

In response to the introduction of antigen of an organism produces antibodies that neutralize antigens. Simultaneously, the body produces biologically active pyrogens which influence the thermoregulatory center on raising the temperature. The heat does not pass to humans without a trace, it activates the first sharply and then exhausts the immune system.

What is required to raise the temperature

If the temperature is lowered a long time, and thus the person feels unwell, then it is, of course, a sign of distress. Raising this temperature yourself with all sorts of people's means there's no point, you must first figure out why this is happening. If this condition is not related to the traumas of acute illness, you should be screened, and only then can prescribe adequate treatment.

There is a special treatment using artificial rise in temperature - pyrotherapy that was popular a few decades ago. The temperature was raised both by means of some pyrogens (e.g. pyrogenal, horse serum inogruppnoy blood), or by other means, for example, the influence of electric and magnetic fields and ultra high frequencies. In this way, we treat some types of syphilis, gonorrhea, chronic gynecological diseases. That is, those diseases that require prior shake the body, so that they proved to be in full - in this case, they are easier to treat. Dermatovenerologists, urology and gynecology today introduced pirogenal to detect low-intensity forms of gonorrhea and other diseases, sexually transmitted diseases.

As a "hang" from the school by means of temperature

The Internet is full of groans and calls for help, the students are asked to immediately give the recipe, how to raise the temperature at a time, to the slope of the occupation. With only this purpose are proposed: to drink tincture of iodine, there is slate from the ashes after a pencil or smoked cigarettes. The most interesting thing is that the advice given by those who themselves have not tried to apply them.

And to raise the temperature just so - it means once again shake the body, forcing him to work in extreme mode. If, however, then the person is really sick, the resources may not be enough. Especially dangerous is this situation in adolescence, when the background of hormonal changes reduced immunity. At this time, all the teenagers seriously carry infection, and if the immune system and deplete even artificially, the situation is bad.

Another danger of the use of unknown substances - this idiosyncrasy. It is possible that taking them may end up very sad, because the reaction to the new substance is totally unpredictable. It is better to spread the armpit pepper - this recipe is also very popular (but it probably hurts).

Temperature - this is a common defensive reaction, which maintains the constancy of the internal environment in our body. And intrude into this area for a reason, to "hang" - it is dangerous, because the consequences could be unpredictable.

Galina Romanenko