Paradoxical Undressing

[olyclimber]

http://www.survivaltopics.com/health-and-safety/paradoxical-undressing/

 

Victims of even slight hypothermia often exhibit altered states of judgment, which in mountaineering circles is known as being "cold stupid". One common but especially bizarre behavior of hypothermia victims is a conundrum known as "paradoxical undressing".

 

As you may know, the general causes of hypothermia are a decrease in body heat production, increase in the loss of body heat, and the inability of the body to regulate its core temperature.

[G-spotter]

So even if I was wearing an MLU i might take it off if I got cold?

[StevenSeagal]

So even if I was wearing an MLU i might take it off if I got cold?

 

Phil Jones prefers to have his anally implanted to avoid this issue, and suggests you do the same.

 

[iceaxedave]

I've read that the cause of paradoxical undressing is due to when the body shuts down or reduces blood flow to the extremeties that it can only do so for a indeterminate period of time. When the body restores blood flow to the extremeties, the feeling is a burning sensation. Hypothermia victims think that they are now too hot, so shed layers. Kinda like when blood flow is restored to your arm after it falls asleep, all pins and needles, only more painful. So if anyone can tell me where to find if my infor is true or not, let me know...or maybe I'll just google search it.

[Dechristo]

So even if I was wearing an MLU i might take it off if I got cold?

 

Phil Jones prefers to have his anally implanted to avoid this issue, and suggests you do the same.

 

 

ShiniGami prescribes every orifice filled

[G-spotter]

I wouldn't mind undressing a pair of doxies.

[iceaxedave]

I wouldn't mind undressing a pair of doxies.

 

Only a pair?

[G-spotter]

Some things take two hands.

[Weekend_Climberz]

The warming sensation is called "hunter reflex" and is usually well developed in animals that regularly come into contact with cold temperatures. Like the feet of Antartic (and Artic for that matter) birds who wade for fish and even many Sherpa and Eskimo tribes. Your Hypothalmus (part of the brain) senses the drop in temperature and restricts blood to that area in a move to keep from losing a lot of heat from that location in the body. At the same time it tells your frontal lobe, "get the fuck out of the cold water/snow/etc you dip shit." If you don't follow that command it will compromise by alternating between constricted vessels and dilated vessels to keep some heat flowing, but minimizing the heat loss through that area. By the time this happens, usually the victim has added lots of clothes and ends up overheating. Their brain, in it's altered state, responds by removing clothes. The Hypothalmus though, gets fed up, and being well beyond hypothermia, it decides that losing the limb is worth overall survival.

[Gary_Yngve]

I wouldn't take the article cited by the OP or WeekendClimberz's comments as having much scientific validity regarding the reasoning behind paradoxical undressing.

[Weekend_Climberz]

Actually, what I described is almost verbatim from the research of Dr. Kenneth Kamler. He was the first doctor to treat Beck Weathers on Everest at 21500 feet.

[olyclimber]

I wouldn't believe anything you read on the internet.

[Gary_Yngve]

J Forensic Sci. 1979 Jul;24(3):543-53.

 

"Paradoxical undressing" in fatal hypothermia.

 

* Wedin B,

* Vanggaard L,

* Hirvonen J.

 

The phenomenon called paradoxical undressing has been described from 33 cases of hypothermia collected from Swedish police reports. The cases were almost evenly distributed with regard to sex, age, and geographical distribution. The cases occurred more frequently in open land although cases from town areas were also found. Most incidents were recorded from November to February at low ambient temperatures, although cases were also reported at temperatures above 0 degree C. Arteriosclerosis and chronic alcoholism were important concomitant illnesses, the latter being frequent in middle-aged men. Epilepsy, diabetes, and pregnancy were present in single cases. Ethanol and other drugs were present in 67% of the males and in 78% of the females, ethanol predominating in men and various psychotropic agents in women. The mean blood ethanol concentration in males was 0.16% and in females, 0.18%. Most frequent findings at necropsy were purple spots or discoloration on the extremities, pulmonary edema, and gastric hemorrhages. It is concluded that paradoxical undressing might be explained by changes in peripheral vasoconstriction in the deeply hypothermic person. It represents the last effort of the victim and is followed almost immediately by unconsciousness and death.

 

PMID: 541627 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 

[G-spotter]

Ethanol and other drugs were present in 67% of the males and in 78% of the females, ethanol predominating in men and various psychotropic agents in women.

 

OMG maybe the Mount Hood climbers were DRUNK!!!!

[Weekend_Climberz]

J Forensic Sci. 1979 Jul;24(3):543-53.

 

"Paradoxical undressing" in fatal hypothermia.

 

* Wedin B,

* Vanggaard L,

* Hirvonen J.

 

The phenomenon called paradoxical undressing has been described from 33 cases of hypothermia collected from Swedish police reports. The cases were almost evenly distributed with regard to sex, age, and geographical distribution. The cases occurred more frequently in open land although cases from town areas were also found. Most incidents were recorded from November to February at low ambient temperatures, although cases were also reported at temperatures above 0 degree C. Arteriosclerosis and chronic alcoholism were important concomitant illnesses, the latter being frequent in middle-aged men. Epilepsy, diabetes, and pregnancy were present in single cases. Ethanol and other drugs were present in 67% of the males and in 78% of the females, ethanol predominating in men and various psychotropic agents in women. The mean blood ethanol concentration in males was 0.16% and in females, 0.18%. Most frequent findings at necropsy were purple spots or discoloration on the extremities, pulmonary edema, and gastric hemorrhages. It is concluded that paradoxical undressing might be explained by changes in peripheral vasoconstriction in the deeply hypothermic person. It represents the last effort of the victim and is followed almost immediately by unconsciousness and death.

 

PMID: 541627 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 

Isn't that basically what I and the article said.

[Coldfinger]

There was a guy found frozen dead in a crevasse on Cho Oyu who was wearing nothing but long underwear. The funny part is that he was climbing alone (just above the "serac") and many people who could have rescued him walked past without knowing he was in there. It's only when he turned up missing that people looked and he was found DEAD!

Edited February 15, 2007 by Coldfinger

[Gary_Yngve]

Isn't that basically what I and the article said.

 

No, you said:

it will compromise by alternating between constricted vessels and dilated vessels to keep some heat flowing, but minimizing the heat loss through that area. By the time this happens, usually the victim has added lots of clothes and ends up overheating. Their brain, in it's altered state, responds by removing clothes. The Hypothalmus though, gets fed up, and being well beyond hypothermia, it decides that losing the limb is worth overall survival.

 

They specifically suggest clothes removal as the last thing before death and nowhere suggest any sort of alternation as you mention.

[Weekend_Climberz]

Fine, so the debate is whether or not the blood vessels constrict and dilate alternatively. I don't have a medical dictionary but I bet if you were to look up "hunters reflex" in one, you would find that this is the case :tup:

 

 

[Gary_Yngve]

actually i googled for

"hunters reflex," "hunter's reflex," and both of those with hypothermia added and didn't find much of anything useful.

[Weekend_Climberz]

Of course, if it's not on the internet then it must not exist

[olyclimber]

NERD FIGHT!!!!

 

 

[Weekend_Climberz]

Hey, there's nothing wrong with the Pet Shop Boys

[tvashtarkatena]

actually i googled for

"hunters reflex," "hunter's reflex," and both of those with hypothermia added and didn't find much of anything useful.

 

Google "hummers reflex" and you'll find that it causes rapid undressing.

[G-spotter]

Boolean operators - "blue" AND "ones". Of course!

[Drederek]

Hint: read more than the title of the link if you want more info! Unlike many articles in my local newspaper this one actually gets to the point and tells the why and how of it.