What is hypothermia?
Hypothermia is a serious condition which results when the body loses heat faster than it generates heat. There is a risk of hypothermia if the indoor temperature drops below 15.5 C (60 F).. Most vulnerable are children, pregnant women, the elderly, people who are sick, injured or have a medical condition, or those who take drugs or medication.
It’s a condition in which an organism’s temperature drops below that required for normal metabolism and bodily functions. In warm-blooded animals, core body temperature is maintained near a constant level through biologic homeostasis. But, when the body is exposed to cold, its internal mechanisms may be unable to replenish the heat that is being lost to the organism’s surroundings. On the night of the Titanic sinking, the temperature of the salt water was likely around 28 F. The human body loses heat to the water about 30 times faster than it does to the air. When the core body temperature falls to approximately 89 F, a decrease in consciousness occurs. If the core temperature cools to below 86 F, then heart failure becomes a major concern, as it is the most common cause of hypothermia-related deaths. The people in the bone chilling 28 water above the sinking Titanic would have had anywhere from several minutes to an hour to live, depending on their physical condition and how much they
