Treatment for Hypothermia

Hypothermia

(Treatment)

Care for the hypothermic patient begins when the person is found.
• First aid should be initiated.
• The patient should be removed from the cold environment and placed in a warm shelter away from the wind. Wet clothing should be removed and replaced with a warm, dry covering including head covering.
• The patient's breathing should be monitored, and if it becomes dangerously slow or stops, CPR should be initiated.
• Rough handling or jerking of the patient should be minimized if the person is lethargic or unconscious. This may cause an irritable heart to develop electrical abnormalities such as ventricular fibrillation.
• Rewarming should be started by applying warm compresses to the chest, neck, and groin. Hot water should not be used. Because there may be associated frostbite, direct heat should not be applied to the body. Instead, warm blankets and body to body contact may be needed as a first aid measure.
• The severity of hypothermia and the patient's mental status and ability to function will determine what further treatment is necessary. Passive rewarming with warm clothing in a warm environment may be all that is required for a conscious person who is shivering.
• Active rewarming may be considered for those who are colder, showing signs of confusion, or have other medical conditions that need attention. Warmed intravenous fluids, warming blankets, and warmed humidified air may be provided in the hospital.
• More aggressive core rewarming may include infusing warm fluids into the stomach or bladder, irrigating warm solutions into the chest or abdominal cavity, and in some situations, placing the patient on dialysis or heart bypass to rewarm the body.