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Now, what about hypothermia and heat loss through the head?
If the hypothermia victim is not shivering, they are at rest, and the heat loss through the head remains about 7%. But, this is important, if they are shivering, the percent of heat loss via the scalp can increase to upwards of 55%, so protecting the head well is a very important part of treating the hypothermia patient. And as you can imagine, the primary defense against the cold and hypothermia is vasoconstriction of the peripheral circulation, this shunts blood to the core, reduces circulation to the skin, and increases the percent of heat loss through the scalp.
The difference is that the shivering hypothermia patient is indeed exercising, but they do not vasodilate the peripheral circulation; the shivering muscles increase metabolic demand and cardiac demand so the patients do increase their cardiac output; therefore, they do increase cerebral circulation; therefore, they do increase the percent of blood loss through their head.
Treatment of the hypothermia victim:
Remove from the cold.
Get them dry and keep them dry.
Insulate from the ground.
Hypothermia wrap:
Re-insulate with dry insulation.
Cover and protect the head from further heat loss.
Cover and protect the hands and feet from frostbite.
Surround with a windproof and waterproof layer.
If conscious, feed warm, sweet liquids.
If unconscious, evacuate and handle very gently to prevent ventricular fibrillation.
As a S&R diver, it has always been accepted, whether fact or myth, that 1/3 of your heat loss in water is through your head. Of course heat loss is 32 times faster in water than air. Most dive physiology information comes from the Navy.