Causes of Lower Than Normal Body Temperature

Lower than normal body temperature is a medical condition known as hypothermia. There can be one or several contributory factors that may cause a lower than normal body temperature. Hypothermia is a very serious pathology for human beings and as such requires immediate medical attention to prevent permanent damage.

Environmental Causes

• Hypothermia is most often caused by excessive exposure to cold environments. Some of the environmental factors that can lead to this pathology are improper apparel for an environment with very low ambient temperatures, or submersion in very cold substrates, such as swimming in very cold water. In these circumstances, the body loses heat to the outside environment at a faster rate than it can produce heat.

Warm Water Hypothermia

• While cold is the usual cause of hypothermia, it can also occur under warm conditions. Pursuant to the laws of thermodynamics, cooling is not the process of adding cold but rather removing heat. As such, if the human body is surrounded by a material such as water, even if it is warm water, which conducts heat more effectively than air, a person will lose body temperature at an accelerated rate. This movement of heat away from the body is by definition cooling. The core temperature of the human body is approximately 98.6 degrees F. If submerged in water at any lower temperature, as heat moves to areas of lower heat, a person faces danger of hypothermia. Though counter-intuitive, a human can succumb to hypothermia swimming in 90 degree F water if surrounded by it long enough. This is why divers wear thermal diving suits even in warm climates.

Traumatic Causes

• Hypothermia is not constrained to the cooling of body temperature. It is more accurate to say that lower than normal body temperature is caused by the loss of body temperature. As such, physical trauma such as gunshot wounds, car accidents or any other traumatic injury in which a significant loss of blood is endured can lead to a hypothermic reaction. This is the reason why patients will often complain of being cold after a traumatic accident. The blood loss sustained has actually leaked their body's heat and as such their core body temperature lowers to a point where a hypothermic reaction occurs.

Stages of Hypothermia

• There are three distinctive stages of hypothermia that differentiate based on how far the body temperature has dropped. Hypothermia phases one, two and three in order of severity are measured in body temperature drops of 2 to 7.2 degrees F, 9 to 16 degrees F, and anything lower respectively. The homeostasis of the human body is very specific and requires precise thermal conditions to operate efficiently. As such even minor temperatures changes can greatly effect a human's survivability.

Treatment

• Hypothermia is treated depending on which stage of hypothermia the patient is currently in. General rules for all stages call for drying the patient, covering with blankets and slowly warming the patient. Warming and blankets must be used in tandem as using a blanket alone is not effective enough to maintain a core body temperature. A common and very effective treatment for hypothermia is to have another person gently hold the patient to transfer his own core body heat over to the hypothermic victim while under a blanket.

Hypothermia Prevention

• There are a few simple rules that can help prevent what can easily become a fatal hypothermic pathology. Always ensure you are properly defended from a cold environment by wearing wool or even synthetic clothing, as this resists water and provides better insulation from the elements. Never drink alcohol prior to entering a cold environment, as alcohol dilates the blood vessels in the body and as a result causes the body to lose heat at an increased rate.

Warning

• Hypothermia is an often overlooked and under prepared for situation that can happen slowly. As hypothermia sets in, its effects gradually become more debilitating. Without any assistance, it can become harder to recover. Furthermore, as hypothermia sets in, it slows motor function and brain activity which can alter a person's ability to even realize she is suffering from hypothermia.