Cited Passage
3-54 U.S. Navy Diving Manual — Volume 1
is caused not only by convection at the limbs, but also by increased blood flow into
the limbs during exercise. Continual movement causes the limbs to resemble the
internal body core rather than the insulating superficial layer. These two conflicting
effects result in the core temperature being maintained or increased in warm water
and decreased in cold water.
3‑10.2.2 Symptoms of Hypothermia. In mild cases, the victim will experience uncontrolled
shivering, slurred speech, imbalance, and/or poor judgment. Severe cases of
hypothermia are characterized by loss of shivering, impaired mental status,
irregular heartbeat, and/or very shallow pulse or respirations. This is a medical
emergency. The signs and symp toms of falling core temperature are given in Table
3 1 , though individual responses to falling core temperature will vary. At extremely
low temperatures or with prolonged immersion, body heat loss reaches a point at
which death occurs.
Table 3‑1. Signs and Symptoms of Dropping Core Temperature.
Core Temperature
°F °C Symptoms
98 37 Cold sensations, skin vasoconstriction, increased muscle tension,
increased oxygen consumption
97 36 Sporadic shivering suppressed by voluntary movements, gross
shivering in bouts, further increase in oxygen consumption,
uncontrollable shivering
95 35 Voluntary tolerance limit in laboratory experiments, mental
confusion, impairment of rational thought, possible drowning,
decreased will to struggle
93 34 Loss of memory, speech impairment, sensory function impairment,
motor performance impairment
91 33 Hallucinations, delusions, partial loss of consciousness, shivering
impaired
90 32 Heart rhythm irregularities, motor performance grossly impaired
88 31 Shivering stopped, failure to recognize familiar people
86 30 Muscles rigid, no response to pain
84 29 Loss of consciousness
80 27 Ventricular fibrillation (ineffective heartbeat), muscles flaccid
79 26 Death
3‑10.2.3 Treatment of Hypothermia. To treat mild hypothermia, passive and active
rewarming measures may be used and should be continued until the victim is
sweating. Rewarming techniques include:
Passive:
n Remove all wet clothing.
The PDF viewer opens on the cited page and searches this passage for highlight.