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Hypothermia

Alternative Names:
Low body temperature; Cold exposure

Symptoms:

The symptoms usually begin slowly. As people develop hypothermia, their abilities to think and move are often lost slowly. In fact, they may even be unaware that they need emergency medical treatment. Someone with hypothermia is likely to have frostbite as well.

The symptoms include:

  • Drowsiness
  • Weakness and loss of coordination
  • Pale and cold skin
  • Confusion
  • Uncontrollable shivering (although, at extremely low body temperatures, shivering may stop)
  • Slowed breathing or heart rate

If not treated promptly, lethargy, cardiac arrest, shock, and coma can set in. Hypothermia can even be fatal.



Review Date: 8/22/2003
Reviewed By: Jacqueline A. Hart, M.D., Senior Medical Editor, A.D.A.M., Inc. Previously reviewed by Steven Angelo, M.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network (1/12/2003).

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