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Dumb science questions...


Trina

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Hi,

 

my group of friends and I are always coming up with dumb questions that we can't figure out. Maybe someone out there wants help us answer them. The current question is : How long would it take to die of hyperthermia in pool water that is about 28C?:silly:

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Hyperthermia, is "Heat Stroke"

 

If you are referring to Hypothermia then;

 

Most people wouldn't die in water that warm. However, the very young, very old, or ill people could develop Hypothermia at around 3.5 hours and die any time after that.

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Well actually, there are a couple of questions; what rate does the body lose heat in X temperatures of water. I would imagine that there is a x-y formula here...which is more like what I was looking for. If you can calculate that you die in ice cold water in a matter of minutes then you should equally be able to calculate how long it takes in warmer water. I would imagine that you could even establish whether the rate at which you lose heat would be negative and you might just die of exhaustion. So figure that out people B)

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Ok I have to chime in on this stuff...First of all hyPERthermia does not mean heat stroke..Heat stroke is when your body has exhuasted all of its cooling measures (i.e. sweating ect..) and now your brain is getting warmer (brain=stroke) which is very bad. Hyperthemia is purly higher than "normal" body temp. #2 is people can develope hyPOthermia in seconds to MAYBE hours but there is soooo many variables that someone would have to take into account like: age, medical history, activity level in the cold environment (increased activity=hypothermia faster) any alcohol consumtion, any thrombolytic meds, anti-platelet, or blood thinning meds (Lasix, Asprin, Coumadin ect..), physical condition, ambient temperature.. and a hundred other things, and to my knowledge there is no ACCURATE "formula" for figuring that out due to all the variables. WOO, that was fun, any more medical questions???B)

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(......increased activity=hypothermia faster) any alcohol consumtion...

 

isn't that funny? both activity and alcohol are supposed to bring body-temperature up instead of down, no?

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Trina wrote:

Hi,

 

my group of friends and I are always coming up with dumb questions that we can't figure out. Maybe someone out there wants help us answer them. The current question is : How long would it take to die of hyperthermia in pool water that is about 28C?:silly:

 

28C? That's not cold... Can one die in water with this temperature at all?

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To the first post fairY..That is a mis-conception...at least in these circumstances.. Alcohol thins the blood, therefore making it easier to dissipate heat in cold water, air, whatever it may be.. And as to the activity one you have to know some etiology behind cold weather and the body..Here we go, when a body is in a cold ambient environment the natural response to cold is for the body to shunt blood away from the extremities to the core organs for them to stay "alive"..Your extremities basically function like the radiator in your car to dissipate heat (veins and arteries are closer to the skin surface than the trunk((chest, head & abd.)) therefore making it easier to lose heat). Well if you are very active in the cold, your muscles need oxygen to keep working and living, so your body will override the shunting mechanism and will send blood out to the extremities, therefore cooling it down faster via conduction with the cold ambient temp, and sending it back to the core organs cooling them down faster in return.

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Wyuuu :ohmy: Thanks ParaM. B) Very comprehensible explanation (even for me :blush: )

 

Some old 'tales' are completely proven false that way. Having a 'schnapps' to keep warm in cold weather conditions is actually working against keeping the body warm. In effect, what you're saying is, that the blood is the transmitter of the cold and the thinner it gets the easier the cold is transported all through the body...

 

 

Makes sense. Stupid I never thought this through :blush:

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Correct!! in a nut shell thats basically how it works..OOO and I forgot a major factor in all this, the breathing part!! Increased activity=increased breathing..Which means your breathing more COLD air, cooling the core temp down further by directly cooling the lungs and the blood in the capilaries that are picking up the oxygen, and then going straight to the heart.. And you are right about the schnapps, when drinking alcohol in this case it just makes you "feel" warm because alcohol releases more epinephrine and vasopressin (natural hormones/chemicals in the body) into the blood stream and constricting blood vessels and increasing heart rate, which accounts for the warm feeling, then sending MORE blood out to the extremities making the blood colder..The warm feeling is completely false, making hypothermia more common in people that have been cocktailing because they do not take the precautions they normally would (coat and hat in the cold) because they feel warm enough..Everything thing with the body is a vicious cycle when one thing goes wrong;) :P B)<br><br>Post edited by: RdnkParamedic21, at: 2007/08/17 18:30

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HAHAHA Not!! I am very smart with EMS and medical stuff and other things I like, and have a very high IQ (148--borderline genius, not to brag:P ) but figure out how I graduated high school with a STRONG 2.0 GPA :laugh: :laugh: I partied all the time and worked alot and still do.. And I am a total country boy, the whole big trucks, muddin', and the "redneck" image to me..So no, I'm not really a "nerd" nor do I have the "nerd" image:P :P

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Then she must be saying so outta luv :P

 

Btw: I like rednecks B) I altogether like people who are the "tell-it-like-it-is" kind. And, rednecks sure belong to those.

 

Btw2:P : I won't hold it against you that you're a genius :P

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