Scout Skills

First Aid · Cold Injury

Hypothermia

The body losing heat faster than it can make it, until the core temperature drops dangerously low. It's life-threatening and comes on slowly — often before the person realizes. Stop the heat loss and rewarm the core, gently.

Category
Cold injury · life threat
Rule
Warm the core, gradually
Early sign
Shivering, mumbling
Never
Hot bath, rub limbs

What to do

  1. 1Call 911 — suspected hypothermia needs emergency care.
  2. 2Get the person out of the cold and wind. If you can't get indoors, shield the head and neck and insulate them from the cold ground with a blanket or pad underneath.
  3. 3Remove wet clothing gently and replace it with warm, dry coats or blankets.
  4. 4Warm the core, gradually — warm, dry compresses to the neck, chest, and groin. Wrap any hot-water bottle or hot pack in a towel first.
  5. 5If the person is alert and can swallow, offer warm, sweet, nonalcoholic drinks.
  6. 6Begin CPR if they show no signs of life — and keep going; cold victims can sometimes be revived after what looks like death.
  7. 7Handle them gently throughout.

Do NOT rewarm too fast (no heat lamp or hot bath), warm or massage the arms and legs (it sends cold blood to the heart), or give alcohol or tobacco.

When to use it

  • Cold, wet, windy campouts and hikes — the classic scenario, often not even freezing (wet and wind at 40°F can do it).
  • Cold-water immersion — a fall through ice, a canoe capsize.
  • Catching it in a tired, shivering, "just clumsy and grumpy" scout before it becomes an emergency.

Common mistakes & safety

  • Shivering that stops is a bad sign, not a good one. It can mean the body is too cold to keep shivering. Falling coordination, slurred speech, and confusion mean the person is getting worse.
  • Warm the core, not the limbs. Rubbing or heating cold arms and legs sends cold, acidic blood back to the heart and can trigger a dangerous rhythm.
  • Rewarm gradually. A hot bath or heat lamp is dangerous — slow and gentle is the rule.
  • Handle a severely hypothermic person very gently and get EMS — rough handling can trigger cardiac arrest.
  • Wet and wind are the real enemies, not just temperature — "cotton kills" because wet cotton strips body heat. Prevent with layers, rain gear, food, and staying dry.
  • Don't give food or drink to someone who isn't fully alert — choking risk. Warm sweet drinks are only for an alert person who can swallow.

Going deeper

  • Cold water pulls heat far faster than cold air — which is why immersion (ice break-through, capsize) is so dangerous, and why getting dry and out of wind is the priority.
  • The "umbles." Stumbles, mumbles, fumbles, grumbles — a field way to catch early hypothermia by watching coordination, speech, dexterity, and mood.
  • Afterdrop. Rewarming can briefly lower core temperature further as cold limb blood circulates — part of why you warm the core first and handle gently.
  • Hypothermia vs. frostbite. Hypothermia is the whole body's core temperature dropping (systemic, life-threatening); frostbite is localized freezing of skin and tissue. They often occur together, but the responses differ.

Official source

Hypothermia: first aid — Mayo Clinic →

This is general first-aid information, not a substitute for hands-on training. Suspected hypothermia needs emergency care.

Related skills

First AidFrostbite First AidDehydration First AidHeat Stroke First AidHurry Cases First AidShock First AidFirst Aid Kit