Hypothermia and coffee...?

Question

On my hiking trip in 2005, my hiking partner told me to use the washroom before going to sleep,otherwise my body will spend time concentrating on heating any urine in my bladder. I've also heard that coffee is a diuretic.Is it safe/recommended to give coffee to anyone sufferng from hypothermia?

Answer 1

The urge to pee can make you feel as if you are cold but it is something of an illusion. As pee is produced by the body it would be at body heat from the start and it would therefore actually help the body retain heat. However there is a lot of sense in the advice as when you are asleep a combination of blankets and body heat will mean you will be as warm as you can be. To get up and pee you have to leave that environment and go out into the cold. When you return a lot of the heat built up will have dissipated.

In cases of hypothermia it is important to heat the body mass slowly and not the limbs. Hot coffee would therefore be bad. Tepidly warm coffee would probably be good.

The Russians had the idea that if a man got hypothermia the solution was to strip him naked and put him to bed with a buxom naked blond to his front and a buxom naked brunet to his rear. That had the benefit of warming him gently and when he woke it did wonders for his ego!!

Answer 2

The most effective and safest treatment for all levels of hypothermia is the addition of heat to the body core, rather than via the periphery.. For Hypotheria you should:
# Seek or build a shelter to get the person out of the cold, windy, wet environment.
# Get the victim into dry clothes and keep in a horizontal recovery position.
# Start a fire or get a cookstove going to provide warmth.
# If conscious give a warm, sweetened drink - NO coffee or tea - and NEVER ALCOHOL!
Remember to handle the victim very gently.

FYI:
Hypothermia is defined as a core temperature of less than 35 degrees Celcius (37 degrees Celcius is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit). Hypothermia is also considered the clinical state of sub-normal temperature when the body is unable to generate sufficient heat to efficiently maintain functions.
The response to a downward variation in body temperature is shivering, which is the body's attempt to generate heat. Shivering is an involuntary contraction and expansion of muscle tissue occurring on a large scale. This muscle action creates heat through friction.
Once hypothermia develops, the heat deficit is shared by two body compartments, the shell and the core. The shell consists of the outer 1.65 mm of skin and has an average area of 1.8 square meters. This constitutes approximately 10% of a 70 kg mass. The remainder of the body is the core.
However, when we speak of Core Temperature it is the thoracic, or critical core we are concerned with, mainly the area of the heart, lungs and brain.

Answer 3

As someone mentioned before, your urine is composed of filtered liquid from your blood. So you don't have to heat it, it's already the same temperature as you are, and as long as it stays in you, it will remain that temperature.

I would not suggest giving coffee because of the caffiene. Caffiene causes a stimulant reaction. This stimulant affects receptors in your blood vessels that send a message to the vessels to contract. This increases your blood pressure but also decreases your blood flow. If you have hypothermia, you do not want a decreased blood flow. Blood flow keeps your body warm.

If you are still in the cold while you have hypothermia, it is not recommended that you drink anything that might dialate your blood vessels either, since you have no way to keep warm you want to reserve any extra heat for your core body parts, like your heart, lungs and brain.

Answer 4

No, coffee is a bad idea, but not because it makes you pee. Caffeine acts as a vasoconstrictor, reducing the amount of blood flowing to the extremities. In hypothermia, the body is already shunting blood to the body's core, and the additional loss of circulation can cause of exacerbate frostbite. Same deal with cigarettes (nicotine). As far as using the bathroom before sleep, I've never heard that. More comfortable going then, though, than in the middle of the night or the freezing morning.

Answer 5

yeah that's the problem - when its wet and cold, near freezing. Been cruising the back-country by myself since I was a little kid - alpine climbing, kayaking, etc.. About the only time I remember getting really cold was rafting about age 8 with crappy gear. Now that I'm older I have better gear. Now I'm totally comfortable kayaking in near freezing rain - wearing a drysuit, underlayers, beanie and full face helmet. I do something similar when I hunt, climb or whatever. Wear decent waterproof top layer and as many underlayers as needed. If I'm really worried I'll carry extra layers to add. I generally move hard and generate lots of heat. Sometimes I carry a thermos, but it just seems more pleasant than needed. Eating enough definitely helps. Staying dry is the main thing. Getting wet in freezing conditions is dangerous. You need to keep an eye on conditions and get the hell out of there if it looks sketchy. Back to camp or your car. My old girlfriend always used to say - "Cotton kills!" lol

Answer 6

Generaly any warm drink is good for someone suffering from hypothermia. If the individual does have hypothermia then the diuretic effects of the caffene is the least of their worries at the moment.

Answer 7

the bladder thing is bogus. the only reason you should go is so you dont have to get up in the middle of the night and yes, coffee is bad. i used to do alot of camping/ hicking all year round, so we had to familiarize ourselves with hypothermia, snake bites, etc..

Answer 8

When they are in a hypothermic state, no. The change in temperature in the interior of their body will do more harm then good at that point.