Subject: On Hypothhermia

From: [email-masked] (Robert Allen)
Date: 20 Sep 1994 06:00:49 GMT

Here's the story I promised.  It's reprinted without permission
from "Hypothermia, Frostbite, and  other  Cold Injuries", by
Wilkerson, Bangs, and Hayward.  All typos are mine.  This is
a great book, although expensive for its' size (about 12.00 US
for a pocket sized book), and if you're interested in cold
injuries, it's a must read.

"The 4 Inns Walk, an  annual competitive hike  over the English
moors, is 45 miles  long, with a total ascent of about 4,500
feet.  In 1964 this  competition was held in weather that
approximately can be described as disastrous.  A heavy rain
was falling.   Wind speeds as high as 29 mph were measured
at sea level, and  even stronger  winds  were probably
encountered on the moors.  Temperatures  ranged from freezing
to slightly above (32-45 F.)

"240  hikers attempted the course.  Only 23 finished. (Usually
tho thirds finish.)  3 hikers died of hypothhermia.  4 others
were rescued in critical condition.

"This tragedy attracted much attention.  Many contemporary
outdoorsmen are surprised to learn how little was known about
hypothermia at the time of this competition, which took  place
just over 20  years ago.  Even the term "hypothermia" was
unfamiliar, and deaths caused by cold weather or immersion in
cold  water  were attributed to "exposure" or  "freezing".
Fortunately, the deaths of these hikers created  an awareness
of the danger of hypothermia and led to a realizaion of the need
for more knowledge about this problem.  As a result a number
of studies  were carried out, many of  them  by Griffith Pugh,
a physiologist who had been a member of the 1953 British
Mount Everest expedition.

"One of the  more  obvious lessons from the analyses of this
event was  the  inadequacy of the clothing worn by the
participants.  The clothing of the hypothermia victims
provided less than 40% of the insulation they were later
calculated to need.  The clothing worn by most of the other
participants was equally inadeqate.

"Another lesson was the inadequacy of the food consumed by
the hikers for maintaining a high level of physical activity.
Thhe total energy expenditure by the hikers who finished  the
course was calculated to be 6,000 kilocalories, but most
of the participants had a caloric intake estimated to be
about 1,000 to 1,500 kilocalories.

"However, the most surprising discovery was thhe inability of
most  participants to generate enough heat by physical
exercise to match their losses to the severely cold
environment.  Even though all the hikers had been selected
because they were in top physical condition, most them  could
not maintain an exercise level that would produce the heat
required by them to keep warm.  Without clothing that
significantly reducued heat loss, only the strongest hikers
could keep up a pace that protected  them from the cold 
(the winners finished in average times).

Thinks to  think  about.

Robert
[email-masked]
-- 
Robert Allen, [email-masked]

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this posting are mine, and
	do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.

    The Constitution of the United States: R.I.P, 8/26/94