Medical · Emergency · Intermediate
Recognize and Treat Hypothermia
The signs people miss, the numbers that matter, and the exact order to rewarm someone without killing them.
This is for educational purposes only. Not professional medical, electrical, or safety advice.
Warning
A person who has stopped shivering, is confused, or cannot be woken is a medical emergency. Begin core rewarming and evacuate — do not wait to see if they recover.
- 01
Catch it early: the 'umbles'
Mumbling, fumbling (dropping things), grumbling (irritable), staggering. Shivering plus clumsy speech is mild hypothermia and is fixable in ten minutes if you act now.
- 02
Know the numbers
Mild: 95–90°F core with heavy shivering. Moderate: 90–82°F, shivering may stop, confused and drowsy. Below 82°F: unconscious, weak pulse — critical, needs a hospital.
- 03
Stop the losses first
Out of the wind and wet, off the cold ground, wet clothes cut off rather than pulled over the head. Handle a moderate or severe patient gently — rough handling can trigger a fatal heart rhythm in that state.
- 04
Rewarm the core, not the limbs
Warm (not hot) bottles wrapped in cloth against the neck, chest, armpits and groin, then wrap the whole body in dry insulation including the head. Warming arms and legs first pushes cold blood to the heart.
- 05
Only feed the awake
Warm sweet drinks and easy calories if they are fully conscious and swallowing normally. Never alcohol, never caffeine, never cigarettes — alcohol dilates vessels and dumps core heat.
- 06
Do not do these
No rubbing arms or legs, no hot bath, no heating pad on bare skin, no walking a confused or unsteady person. Rapid rewarming of a severe patient can stop their heart.
- 07
Get them out
Moderate or severe hypothermia needs evacuation even if they seem to improve. Protect them from refreezing on the way — a rewarm-then-refreeze cycle causes far worse injury.