What is Hypothermia?

It was early April. The mountain, not far from our house still had snow. So, I asked my spouse to plan a trip. We are not snow-sport kind, but we can have a pristine time hiking there, I thought.

Over the weekend, we visited the place. The drive up the mountain was beautiful. We stopped at a few vantage points to soak in the glorious vista of the mountains.

Parking was a hassle, with a large number of crowds. We managed to park half a mile from the mountains. Walking to the snow was okay, but the exhaust from vehicles was triggering a headache and nausea in me. See, how over-tourism ruins a place!

I was not ready for what followed. The attire I had on was totally unfit for the occasion. I had jogging pants and a thin sweater. No layers, scarf, or head cap.

We decided to hike in the snow. My shoes had poor grips, and it was difficult to move forward without sliding on the slushy snow.

But the zeal to discover some flora, fauna, and objects and capture memories propelled me.

My spouse made a ball of snow in his gloved hands. I had already removed my gloves to use the DSLR camera better. I decided to have some fun, making snowballs as well. I had barely made a ball, and I could feel something uncomfortable.

My ears started ringing, my vision was about to black out, and I got the premonition of collapsing.

I had enough time to tell my spouse that I was blacking out. He was pissed off with this complaint, as it was my plan to go there. He was like, if you are uncomfortable in such climate, why do you decide to come here?

He suggested me to walk up to the nearby pine tree and lie down under it. The ground under the tree was littered with pine needles. So, I asked him to spread a scarf from our backpack, and I lay down.

I was very scared and was thinking, I don’t want to die in a foreign land like this! For a few moments, I blacked out.

Then my eyes opened to see the blue sky, and the pine tree canopy.

I sat up and was feeling unusually fresh. I realized that the high altitude, low oxygen level in the air, and cold must have sent me to hypothermia. An ongoing hormonal imbalance and my hypothyroid body had made the situation worse. To my respite, my body managed to acclimatize successfully. It could have been fatal. Remember, how people die in high altitudes, while climbing mountains.

We hiked up the sloped snowy, rocky landscape for an hour. I was taking pictures, feeling fresh and enthusiastic. I had just ditched death or serious sickness.

The trip was a success. But it sure gave me a health scare and more importantly lesson to respect nature and accept our vulnerability.

A year later, in my next snow visit, I was pregnant, but I was one of the most prepared in the group.

I was wearing layers, shoes with grips, and did not touch snow with bare hands. While others were freezing, getting toes numb, I did not have any hassles. The past accident had taught me to be safe.

Hypothermia can be deadly. Let me touch upon the internal mechanisms. When the core temperature falls below 35°C (95°F), the body’s systems can shut down. Blood pressure lowers, heart slows with dangerous arrhythmias. Brain is temperature-sensitive, so it's function decline and confusion can happen. It cannot control breathing

With shallow breathing, organs can't get enough oxygen and carbon dioxide can build up. Organs can fail.

Blood glucose level can fall and cause collapse. Blood can thicken and cause clotting. Muscles can become stiff.

Learn from my mistakes. Stay safe from hypothermia, by awareness.