Hypothermia is a condition that exists when the body’s temperature drops below ninety-five degrees. This can be caused by exposure to water or air. The loss of body heat results in loss of dexterity, loss of consciousness, and eventually loss of life. A few minutes in cold water makes it very difficult to swim, even to keep yourself afloat. In addition, a sudden, unexpected entry into cold water may cause a reflexive "gasp" allowing water to enter the lungs. Drowning can be almost instantaneous.

Your body can cool down 25 times faster in cold water than in air. If you examine the chart below you will see that survival time can be as short as 15 minutes. Water temperature, body size, amount of body fat, and movement in the water all play a part in cold water survival. Small people cool faster than large people and children cool faster than adults.

PFDs can help you stay alive longer in cold water. You can float without using energy and they cover part of your body thereby providing some protection from the cold water. When boating in cold water you should consider using a flotation coat or deck-suit style PFD. They cover more of your body and provide even more protection.

Hypothermia does not only occur in extremely cold water. It can, and does, occur even in the warmer waters of Florida and the Bahamas.

Hypothermia is progressive - the body passes through several stages before an individual lapses into an unconscious state. The extent of a person’s hypothermia can be determined from the following:

1. Mild Hypothermia - the person feels cold, has violent shivering and slurred speech.

2. Medium Hypothermia - the person has a certain loss of muscle control, drowsiness, incoherence, stupor and exhaustion.

3. Severe Hypothermia - the person collapses and is unconscious and shows signs of respiratory distress and/or cardiac arrest probably leading to death.

Conservation of heat is the foremost objective for a person in the water. To accomplish this, limit body movement. Don't swim unless you can reach a nearby boat or floating object. Swimming lowers your body temperature and even good swimmers can drown in cold water.

If you can pull yourself partially out of the water - do so. The more of your body that is out of the water (on top of an over-turned boat or anything that floats), the less heat you will lose. Especially keep your head out of the water if at all possible - this will lessen heat loss and increase survival time.

Wearing a PFD in the water is a key to survival. A PFD allows you float with a minimum of energy expended and allows you to assume the heat escape lessening position - H. E. L. P.

This position, commonly referred to as the fetal position, permits you to float effortlessly and protect those areas most susceptible to heat loss including the armpits, sides of the chest, groin, and the back of the knees. If you find yourself in the water with others, you should huddle as a group to help lessen heat loss.

Treatment of hypothermia can be accomplished by gradually raising the body temperature back to normal. Re-establishing body temperature can be as simple as sharing a sleeping bag or blanket with another individual, or applying warm moist towels to the individual’s neck, sides of chest and groin. Remove wet clothes as they inhibit heat retention. A warm bath could be used for mild to medium hypothermia, gradually increasing the temperature. Keep arms and legs out of the water and do not attempt to raise the body temperature too quickly.

Do not massage the victim’s arms and legs. Massage will cause the circulatory system to take cold blood from the surface into the body’s core, resulting in further temperature drop. Do not give alcohol, which causes loss of body heat, or coffee and tea which are stimulants (and cause vasodilation) and may have the same effect as massage.

Also see the Basic Boating Safety Course