What's New - Hypothermia and frostbite   Hypothermia and frostbite   Hypothermia is when the core of the body drops below 35C. This can happen very quickly if the child has been in water below 8C or has been playing outside, over-exertion in poor weather conditions like skiing/boarding can cause hypothermia. Signs of hypothermia: shivering, very cold to touch, blue finger tips or lips, the child often becomes confused or apathetic. How do I treat hypothermia? You need to warm up the child gently, remove cold wet clothing, WARM not HOT bath, dry them thoroughly, then put warm dry clothes on, wrap a dry warm towel or put a hat on, as 1/3 of the body heat is lost through the head, keep the room warm but not over heated. Stay with the child and check their temperature regularly (about every ½ hour). You can give warm drinks and high calorie food like chocolate but not if the child is sleepy. Frostbite is when extremities are exposed to very cold weather. They become numb to touch or can have pins and needles. Later signs are white hard skin, like a blister. How do I treat frostbite? Bring the child into a warm environment, remove gloves/socks as they may be cold and wet. The tips of the toes/fingers may be very tender, warm dry socks/gloves and warm slowly by putting under their armpits or yours. Don’t use hot water/hot bottles or direct heat like radiator/heaters.     Return To Previous Page