Writing Characters Who Are Exposed To Cold And Hypothermia

Writing characters who are exposed to cold and hypothermia

Because I know many people live in countries without cold winter and I’ve read way too many otherwise amazing fics where the MC faints after an hour in 20 F° (about - 6.5 C°), all this while clad in heavy clothing, sweaters, scarfs and winter coat.

Hypothermia

While everyone reacts differently to different temperatures, there are some rules and symptoms of hypothermia. Symptoms, in order as hypothermia progresses:

Shivering, which may stop as hypothermia progresses

Slow, shallow breathing

Confusion and/or memory loss

Drowsiness or exhaustion

Slurred or mumbled speech

Loss of coordination, fumbling hands, stumbling steps

A slow, weak pulse

In severe hypothermia, a person may be unconscious without obvious signs of breathing or a pulse

Body temperatures of different stages of hypothermia:

Mild: 89-95 F° (31-35 C°)

Moderate: 82-89 F° (27.5-31 C°)

Severe: lower than 82 F° (27.5 C°)

Keep in mind that some people are more sensitive to cold due to their age or physique. People with increased risk of hypothermia include:

The elderly, infants, and children without adequate heating, clothing

Underweight people

People who are outdoors for extended periods

People in cold weather whose judgment is impaired by alcohol or drugs

Treatment

Everyone with hypothermia needs immediate medical assistance, but until that arrives the character can be helped with the following actions:

Moving them to a warm, dry place if possible, or sheltering them from the elements

Removing wet clothing

Covering their whole body and head with blankets, leaving only the face clear

Providing skin-to-skin contact (fanfic material™)

Providing warm drinks if the person is conscious, but never caffeine or alcohol

Carrying out CPR if the breathing stops

If the shivering stops even though the character hasn’t returned to a warmer place, that’s actually a very bad sign and means that the person’s heat regulation systems are shutting off.

Another thing to note is that when a person faints from the cold, their body temperature is already so low that they must be warmed up immediately, otherwise they die.

Consider. A human wakes up in a strange medical bay, with an alien doctor standing over them. Turns out their shuttle crashed, and the alien ship only just managed to teleport the, on board in time.

By some miracle, the doctor explains, they escaped with only minor injuries. Some burns, a few scratches and “several small wounds. We’re not sure what caused them.”

“Wounds?”

“Small holes in your ear lobes. Possibly they were old wounds and unrelated to the accident, but either way, our doctors were able to heal them for you. There’s not even any scarring.”

The human pauses. Thinks for a minute. “Wait… you unpierced my ears?!”

i’m finally back with another name list! this time it’s beautiful uncommon names + their meanings, enjoy!

Keep reading

Literally none of my story ideas come with a plot, ever. WITHOUT FAIL, it’s always just an Aesthetic, like two and a half characters, some very, very vivid settings, and a weird concept. Never plot. Not even an inkling of a plot. My brain tosses me this cool stuff and is like welp i’ll be back in 4-5 business months 

Literally none of my story ideas come with a plot, ever. WITHOUT FAIL, it’s always just an Aesthetic, like two and a half characters, some very, very vivid settings, and a weird concept. Never plot. Not even an inkling of a plot. My brain tosses me this cool stuff and is like welp i’ll be back in 4-5 business months