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Woman survives fall into icy ravine as her body drops to 25C

telegraph.co.uk — A woman survived nine hours in sub-zero temperatures after falling 30ft into an icy ravine. Mandy Evans became so cold that her body temperature fell from 98.6F (37C) to 77F (25C), bringing her close to death. When rescuers found the 43-year-old, her heart had slowed so much that they first believed she was dead.

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  • paalia, on 03/28/2008, -17/+4It doesn't sound so bad when you first read it... 25c still seems like nice summer holiday weather :)
  • billlyboobs34, on 03/28/2008, -12/+3...But is she hot?
  • br0wnstar, on 03/28/2008, -10/+1Now that's a way to win over your mother-in-law.
  • UltramegaOK, on 03/28/2008, -12/+3I could have warmed her up........
  • Air420, on 03/28/2008, -16/+1Ya something is wrong with those numbers.
  • ashvinrao, on 03/28/2008, -17/+1something.. there are wrong.. it shd be 25F and not 25C
  • palehorse864, on 03/28/2008, -2/+1http://video.aol.com/video-detail/waga-70-degrees- ...
  • thinkerbelle, on 03/28/2008, -1/+14Guys have you read the whole article? Records show that Mrs Evans is the coldest person ever admitted to the hospital with hypothermia and survived. When a person reaches temperatures of 89.6F (32C) it is classed as a medical emergency.
    Symptoms can include hallucinations, delirium, complete confusion and extreme sleepiness. At 82.4F (28C) people will experience severe heart rhythm disturbances and breathing may stop at any time. However, when body temperature reaches about 78.8F (26C) or less, death usually occurs because of an irregular heart beat or respiratory arrest.

    Health Advice and Tips
    http://www.webcontent.com
    • paperclipsNsoup, on 03/28/2008, -0/+1How come it says she's the coldest person to ever to be admitted to a hospital and survive, but then the last line says patients have survived 57.5ºF (14.2ºC)? If they are 'patients' doesn't that generally mean they have been admitted to the hospital?
    • IglooBurner, on 03/28/2008, -0/+0Cool!
  • Linake, on 03/28/2008, -10/+1Normal body temperature is 37 (98.6 F) Celsius, so even if 25 (77) celsius is 12 degrees cooler, I don't think it's immediately life threatening. . . 25 celsius in weather is actually a very nice day.
    Something must be wrong with the numbers.
    • idntunknwn, on 03/28/2008, -0/+1No, you're thinking about it incorrectly. Even when you're outside in 25 Celsius weather, your core body temperature is still 37 Celsius.

      Remember, your body is regulating its own temperature. In order to make your body temperature drop 12 degrees, you would first need to overcome your body's ability to generate heat. Then you would need to make your entire body lose a lot of heat. You would need to be in damn cold weather for a *very* long time.
    • CedEx, on 03/28/2008, -0/+2Just to contrast your thinking that a whole 12 degree C difference is not a big deal. If you were to get a fever that increased your temperature by 5 degrees C, you'd likely die.
  • thisoneisunique, on 03/28/2008, -0/+8what a bunch of stupid comments... and you cannot compare outside temperature with body temperature!!!
    37°C is pretty hot in outdoors temperature, so shouldn't we be sweating all the time and complaining how hot it is? Go talk to a doctor who'll explain to you again how life-threatening low body temperature is - Even 35°C is already considered hypothermia.
    • palehorse864, on 03/28/2008, -0/+2"I have found that humans prefer a body temperature of 21C"
      --Lt. Cmdr. Data

      (Brent Spiner flubbed the line and nobody caught it.)
  • TwineHornet, on 03/28/2008, -0/+2I'm confused. In the middle of the article it says this:
    "Records show that Mrs Evans is the coldest person ever admitted to the hospital with hypothermia and survived. (25C)"
    The last sentence it says this:
    "Patients have been known to survive with body temperatures as low as 57.5F (14.2C)"
    • bizarrocanuck, on 03/28/2008, -0/+0That particular hospital, not the entire world.
    • TwineHornet, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1Okay.. kind of useless to put that in the article, but thanks for the clarification.
  • Anumet, on 03/28/2008, -0/+1People have survived lower body temperatures than this. This woman survived 13,7 C (56,66F): http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/620609.stm
  • DeathfireD, on 03/28/2008, -0/+1A relative of mine slipped on ice and fell outside his house at night and couldn't get. He ended up sleeping in the cold over night till the next day. When the neighbors found him he had a temp of 78.5F and was rushed into intensive care. Hes alive and the doctors said he was one lucky 79 year old to survive in the cold over night like that. Now I'm not saying this is as bad as falling in water, but it's truly amazing what the body can withstand.
  • idntunknwn, on 03/28/2008, -1/+5It's pretty shameful that the common digger doesn't know the difference between outside temperature and body temperature.

    Yes, 25 Celsius would be a nice temperature outside. However, it would be deadly if it was your body temperature. Remember, your body is regulating its own temperature. Even when its 25 Celsius outside, your body temperature is still 37 Celsius.

    In order to make your body temperature drop 12 degrees, you would first need to overcome your body's ability to generate heat. Your body generates *a lot* of heat, so in order to overcome your body's ability to generate heat, you would need to be in a *very* cold environment. When you overcome your body's ability to generate heat, you're pretty fscked
  • juke1, on 03/28/2008, -1/+0hax
  • yujie, on 03/28/2008, -0/+2Sounds like a Cryogenic sleep for long space travel in the future
  • thinkerbelle, on 03/28/2008, -0/+1Hi TwineHornet! As i understand, in the hospital where Mrs. Evans was admitted, she is the coldest person ever admitted with hypothermia and survived. (25C) but patients have been known to survive with body temperatures as low as 57.5F (14.2C)... maybe in the other hospital records... do i make sense?

    Health Advice and Tips
    http://www.webcontent.com
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