Let’s see if we can shed some light on this…
BACKGROUND
If a person is suffering from hypothermia one of the things that the body does in order to protect the vital core organs is to restrict bloodflow to the extremities. This starts with less blood being pumped to the feet and hands, as the condition worsens the bloodflow is further restricted and the arms and legs become affected. In severe cases the bloodflow is shut down completely.
ALCOHOL
Alcohol is a vasodilator, that’s to say that it opens up the blood vessels. Although this is one of the goals in treating a casualty with hypothermia it needs to be done is a slow and controlled manner. Giving the casualty alcohol to drink allows too much blood to circulate, this causes two primary problems. First is that it directs blood away from essential organs including the brain. The other thing it does is to cool the blood, instead of the blood being concentrated in the warm core of the body it starts to flow to the surface where it cools down. See also the effects of coffee.
COFFEE
Caffeine is a diuretic, as is alcohol. Diuretics are chemicals in the body that promote the production of urine, in a cold casualty this diverts energy away from the essential task of keeping the body warm and can promote dehydration (a common condition with hypothermic casualties). One of the effects of hypothermia is cold diuresis, and as such the casualty is already producing urine at an enhanced rate. Loss of fluids leads to vasoconstriction and this creates greater volume pressure in the blood stream leading to further heat loss.
Caffeine is also a hypertensive – it increases blood pressure. This happens because the caffeine causes blood vessels to become constricted and so the heart has to work harder to force blood around the body (see tobacco).
TOBACCO
Like caffeine, tobacco is a vasoconstrictor, it constricts blood flow and induces temporary hypertension. In a hypothermic casualty this will further reduce bloodflow to the periphery and thus increase the risk of injury from frostnip and the various stages of frostbite.
NOTE
The above is only a summary, it is not a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment.
" I mean, its obvious on why all of those things are BAD for you but how does it affect a person in a state of being cold? "
Coffee and alcohol are *good* for you in reasonable doses. (Cigarettes are harmful, even in very small doses--in fact there is a very non-linear dose/response relationship such that low dose smoking is way worse than what one would expect linearly)
Alcohol is bad during hypothermia because it dilates blood vessels in the skin causing you to lose heat. You feel warmer because your skin is heated, but your core temperature drops.
Cigarettes, I would presume would significantly increase the risk of gangrene if you got frostbite--they increase the risk of gangrene even under non-frostbite conditions.
Alcohol tends to bring your blood supply to your skins surface (flushed face) and away from your core, your bodies reaction to hypothermia is the opposite in trying to protect it's core temp by keeping blood away from the extremities, so alcohol would tend to cool you faster, cigarettes would have no effect if anything it stops blood flowing to the skin, about coffee I dont know.
For village idiots still bitter about the science teachers who gave them the Fs they deserved 30+ years ago, being addicted to on-line recycling of fossil fuel industry lies about science are an alternative to being addicted to alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine.
Not an expert on hypothermia, but my hunch is that booze, cigarettes and coffee do not help the body retain heat, and retaining heat (through warm clothing, calories, fluids, and rest) is key to preventing hypothermia.
Well alcohol can affect your bodies ability to regulate itself temperature wise.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34301...
Cigarette smoke caused an additional decrease in body temperature in mice
http://igitur-archive.library.uu.nl/diss...
Wrong section. This is the why hasn't the Earth warmed up and fried when Algore said so category.
I'm studying hypothermia at school and I'm trying to find good reasons on why alcohol, caffeine and cigarettes are so bad for you in stages of hypothermia. I mean, its obvious on why all of those things are BAD for you but how does it affect a person in a state of being cold? You don't have to tell me a straight answer. Even if you can just direct me to a site on where to find more information on the subject, that would be great. :)
That you!
