Exposure to Cold
Cooling of body parts may result in various cold injuries - nonfreezing injuries, freezing injuries, and hypothermia which is the most serious. Nonfreezing cold injuries include chilblain and immersion foot. Frostnip and frostbite are freezing injuries.Toes, fingers, ears and nose are at greatest risk because these areas do not have major muscles to produce heat. In addition, the body will preserve heat by favouring the internal organs and reducing the flow of blood to the extremes under cold conditions. Hands and feet tend to get cold more quickly than the torso because:1.they lose heat more rapidly since they have a higher surface area-to-volume ratio and 2.they are more likely to be in contact with colder surfaces than other parts of the body.If the eyes are not protected with goggles in high wind chill conditions, the corneas of the eyes may freeze.The most severe cold injury is hypothermia which occurs from excessive loss of body heat and the lowering internal temperature of the body.
Nonfreezing Injuries
Chilblain- Chilblains are the painful inflammation of small blood vessels in your skin that occur in response to sudden warming from cold temperatures. Also known as pernio, chilblains can cause itching, red patches, swelling and blistering on toes, fingers, nose, and ears.
Immersion foot- occurs in individuals whose feet have been wet, but not freezing cold, for days or weeks. It can occur at temperatures up to 10°C (50°F). The primary injury is to nerve and muscle tissue. Symptoms include tingling and numbness; itching, pain, swelling of the legs, feet, or hands; or blisters may develop. The skin may be red initially and turn to blue or purple as the injury progresses. In severe cases, gangrene may develop.
Freezing Injuries
Frostnip-is the mildest form of a freezing cold injury. It occurs when ear lobes, noses, cheeks, fingers, or toes are exposed to the cold and the top layers of a skin freeze. The skin of the affected area turns white and it may feel numb. The top layer of skin feels hard but the deeper tissue still feels normal (soft).
Frostbite-is a common injury caused by exposure to extreme cold or by contact with extremely cold objects. It may also occur in normal temperatures from contact with cooled or compressed gases. Frostbite occurs when tissue temperature falls below the freezing point (0°C/32°F), or when blood flow is obstructed. Blood vessels may be severely and permanently damaged, and blood circulation may stop in the affected tissue. In mild cases, the symptoms include inflammation of the skin in patches accompanied by slight pain. In severe cases, there could be tissue damage without pain, or there could be burning or prickling sensations resulting in blisters. Frostbitten skin is highly susceptible to infection, and gangrene (local death of soft tissues due to loss of blood supply) may develop.
Hypothermia-The sensation of cold followed by pain in exposed parts of the body is one the first signs of mild hypothermia.As the temperature continues to drop or as the exposure time increases, the feeling of cold and pain starts to diminish because of increasing numbness (loss of sensation). If no pain can be felt, serious injury can occur without the victim's noticing it.Next, muscular weakness and drowsiness are experienced. This condition is called hypothermia and usually occurs when body temperature falls below 33°C. Additional symptoms of hypothermia include interruption of shivering, diminished consciousness and dilated pupils. When body temperature reaches 27°C, coma (profound unconsciousness) sets in. Heart activity stops around 20°C and the brain stops functioning around 17°C.
Youtube link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M07_HlGUZk
Other Links:http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/phys_agents/cold_health.html
http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/phys_agents/cold_general.html
I like how you made it specific on which parts of the body are at the biggest risk of freezing such as ears, toes, fingers and nose. I also thought it was beneficial that you mentioned that those areas of the body do not have major muscles so there is no heat being produced. I found it interesting how in order to preserve heat the body will go to its internal organs to reduce the flow of blood. I didn't know that if the eyes were expose to freezing temperatures that the corneas could freeze. I find this interesting because in the book the prisoners seem to not have goggles so they could be at risk of their corneas freezing. I enjoyed how you mentioned Chilblain and how it is caused when you warm your toes suddenly after being exposed to cold temperatures.
ReplyDeleteI like how you present the different types of conditions you can get from the freezing weather like hypothermia or frostbite and I find the science behind it really interesting. Its weird how you can get frost bitten by compressed gases, I never knew that. This post really made me think about the pain that they must have had in their feet. It also made me wonder how many of the people in these Gulags died of these different types of freezing injuries. I also had never heard of cornea freezing and I wonder if that ever happened in the gulags.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting how you had images of the different type of conditions people exposed to the cold for too long experience. It really gives us a visual image of the type of horror people at gulags could have suffered. The video although sad also opened my eyes to the harsh conditions at the labor camps. It was also helpful that you added how the different cold injuries come about and the vulnerability of the hands and feet. Because of there likely contact with cold surfaces and that they lose heat more rapidly hands and feet really need to be taken care of in cold weather. I found it most interesting that even eyes can suffer freezing from the cold.
ReplyDeleteI found it surprising that there are so many scenarios that can come about when the body comes into contact with freezing temperatures. It gives us an idea about what the conditions were like in the gulags and I would assume that many of the prisoners experienced some sort of effect from the cold. You said that the hands and feet get cold quicker. If the prisoners were working all day in those cold conditions, then the freezing cold temperatures must have affected them quite a bit. It is interesting how the body has some ways to help keep the body warm like reducing the flow of blood. Its cool how your body knows what to do and does it without you having to do anything. All of these conditions make them think of the TV shows where someone freezes in ice and unfreezes in the future and they come back alive. I think that your body would shut down and die before you could come back to life in the future, but its a cool concept.
ReplyDeleteIt's really crazy how almost all of the people in the the labor camps were dealing with one of these because of the extreme cold. I learned that the cornea's of the eyes can freeze if not protected by goggles. I did not know that and that's pretty interesting. I learned that hypothermia can lead to death as the body temperature drops below 30˚C. The body will go into a coma and then the heart will stop around 20˚C and then the brain stops at about 17˚C. I really liked how your blog explained all the different types and gave pictures to see what each one could look like.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you separated the different effects of cole intro a freezing and non-freezing sections. I did not realize there were so many different effects that restult from the cold. I also liked how you first gave some general information about the body and cold, and then went into specific effects. It was interesting learning which parts of the body were most easily effected and why. Your video was great because it connected the effects of the cold on your body to prisoners in gulags, similar to Ivan.
ReplyDeleteGreat job Ramon, that was an interesting and informative post. You did some good research and collected some good facts. I did not know how many different injuries you can get in the cold. Its crazy how each can effect the body. It must have been unbearable for the men in the labor camps.
ReplyDeleteI like how you put pictures of all the different injuries you are describing, and talked about all the different scenarios that can happen when you are in freezing weather for too long. I didn't know how many types of injuries can occur from the cold and how damaging they can be. This blog really gives a perspective of what the prisoners in the gulags must have been facing. People in gulags probably experienced these injuries a lot since they had to work outside every day. Overall good job on your blog.
ReplyDelete