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Hypothermia is a dangerous abnormal lowering of the body temperature. Prolonged hypothermia is life-threatening.
Humans are warm-blooded creatures, and their core body temperature is maintained through homeostasis (stable state of the internal environment of the body). With hypothermia the homeostatic mechanisms fail to maintain the production of necessary heat level, and the entire body then cools.
The abnormally low body temperature may be caused by a prolonged stay in the cold air, in cold and wet weather or in cold water (i.e. with catastrophes, getting lost in the wilderness, with long-distance swimming, paddling, with a ship sinking etc.). Hypothermia may occur not only in winter, but also when being exposed to the wind and rain in the spring, summer or autumn.
Hypothermia becomes a threat with the exposure to cold water below 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15.5 degrees Celsius) or the exposure to cold air below 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius).
When the body temperature drops below 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35.5 degrees Celsius), hypothermia may start to set in.
Prolonged abnormally low body temperature can lead to incapacitation, frostbite in limbs and even to death as the core body temperature drops below 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.5 degrees Celsius).
In the modern world Hypothermia thankfully does not occur too often, but it was often noted to be a major Psoriasis Risk Factor and a psoriasis trigger.
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