Call our
Care
Support Team Now!
1-800
675-3044

Hypothermia Risks and not being able to get assistance

In the winter months, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say the threat of death or serious illness from hypothermia to the elderly and persons with disabilities is at its height.

If you have a parent or relative at risk, make sure they're keeping warm. CDC experts say the condition -- which kills around 740 persons nationwide yearly -- begins when an individual's body core temperature drops around 3 degrees, to 95 degrees Fahrenheit from the normal 98.6 degrees. Those conditions create a high risk of death, the experts say.

Symptoms can include shivering, memory loss, drowsiness or slurred speech. Elderly persons may not be able to reach others for assistance.

While hypothermia normally occurs in northern states where winter temperatures often tend to plummet below freezing nightly, CDC experts warn that the condition can develop in warmer areas, especially where wind and rain tend to lower body temperatures. A CDC spokesman says that more than half the people who die from hypothermia were 65 years of age or older.