Why is it that brain damage can be delayed when people drown in cold water?

Question

Especially true of children, I believe.

Answer 1

This is true in any cold environment, not just cold water. The reason is because as the body cools, the metabolism slows down and the body needs less blood and oxygen. The blood flow, which also carries the O2 is restricted to the trunk of the body (Chest and abdomen) and the brain. Very little blood is allowed to flow to the arms and legs. They are not as "vital" to life as the major organs and brain are. There have been cases of little children being pulled out of freezing water with no pulse or respirations. The child was given warm fluids by IV, covered with blankets to warm up the outside of the body. CPR was performed and the child survived with no lasting effects.

Answer 2

Drowning victims should be treated even if they have been submerged for a long time. The rule "no patient should be pronounced dead until warm and dead" applies. Children in particular have a good chance of survival in water up to 3 minutes, or 10 minutes in cold water (10 to 15 °C or 50 to 60 °F). Submersion in cold water can slow the metabolism drastically. There are rare but documented cases of survivable submersion for extreme lengths of time. In one case a child survived drowning after being submerged in cold water for 70 minutes. In another, an 18 year old man survived 38 minutes under water. This is known as cold water drowning.

Answer 3

Because biological processes slow down at cold temperatures. For example, when they do organ transplants, they pack the organ in ice for shipping. The cold slows down any signals the organ might recieve to die. When patients undergo open heart surgery (when the heart is stopped for some period of time) they cool the body down too (usually with ice) to allow more time to operate.

For children this is especially so because they cool down faster - they are smaller and have less heat, and the cold from the water penetrates them faster.

Answer 4

I don't know why anyone would care if the brain damage was slow or fast if the person drowned (died).

But I guess the brain cells tend to be lazy and slow when your head is subjected to low temperature.

Answer 5

Slows everything down. So the need for oxygen is less. Meaning the lack of oxygen is not so damaging. Children being smaller, bodies cool down faster, though I had heard adults that recovered too.

Answer 6

For the same reason meat lasts longer in the refrigerator. As to kids, their heads are smaller, making them smaller heat reservoirs. They cool faster, and so suffer less damage.

I wonder how many Titanic victims could have been saved if only they had known...

Answer 7

Cool body temperature slows down metabolism, particularly in the brain cells that die first.

Answer 8

okay when people cook and thy need to stop the cookong process when thy take whatevr it is they are cooking( in this case a boiled egg) when you take the egg it i is still cooking so to stop it they dop it into cold water. essentailly that is the same thing that happens only instead of stoppin somting they sow it down