Статьи

All hunters are at risk to frostbite something or get heat stroke. Most of outdoor type people know what does it mean to be cold but not much of them have been overheated. I’m one of the so called «lucky person». I happened at the beginning of 2000s, in the mid of August. It was very hot. We were invited for a hunt in Boguta ( the mountains near Almaty). Thus my friend and I took the invitation, asked the local guy to join us and drove there. Our physical condition and equipment quality left something to be desired but it was compensated by our youth and the game’s abundance. There was the opportunity to finish hunting in the first day but we missed from 200 meters distance. We went on along the gorges, met one more male and missed once again from 150 meters. It became clear later that there was the problem with gun’s optic. It was about 6 pm and we were not far from the camp. None of us had water or meal because we didn't expect that hunt should take much time. I even didn’t put on the cap. We got sunburned and tired when was lucky to get one male while the wounded one ( unfortunately my) left. It’d escaped down along the ravine. My guess is that, in the extremity of the moment I followed the wounded one. Moreover it was my first goat. The guys stayed to cut meat and I followed the bloody track. It led me almost to the bottom of the canyon. I felt tired and dehydration while looking for the Ibex (anyone who had been in Bogut mountains knew that there was a terrible shortage of water there). At last I found it and that made me to feel happy once again. I didn't have knife and did as Samson did before, put it on my back. It wasn’t heavy but I could carry up it just 200 meters. I almost lost my consciousness, circles appeared in front of eyes, and blood gushed from the nose... It was dark when I could left that ill-fated gorge. I could tell by my friends eyes that I looked awful. I was dirty by my and goat's blood and its shit. Telling the truth I didn’t care about it because I felt sick and wobbly. I even didn’t remember how I went to the car. I just remember as I constantly thought about the bottle of beer which was in the car and imagined how I’d drink it… Thus I got heat stroke. It was provoked by heat, dehydration, hight physical activity, emotional waves and my own stupidity. Mechanisms of human thermo regulation Let's start from the beginning. The normal temperature of humans internal organs is less than 37C degrees. Deviation limits are 35-42 degrees. If the temperature is less than 35, we feel sick but can function ( in the definite circumferences). If temperature is more than 42 degrees, protein coagulates and we die. It seems that our body has to have the system which should have to alert us when something is going wrong. Its aim is to analyze body's condition helping us to survive. And we have such system. We use it every day and don't pay attention. The nerve ends in our skin and tongue send us signals when temperature changes. They are so called peripheral receptors. The inner temperature is more important for a human being than the surface one. At the end of XVIII century the scientists discovered that our thermode is located in hypothalamus of the brain. The brave physiologist implanted the real thermo sensor in his brain to prove the importance of brain receptors more then skins ones. He had eaten 10 kg of ice cream to low the inner temperature of his body. The subsequent reaction proved the hypothalamus receptors role. Let's come back to periphery. There are two kinds of receptors - the first one react to the heat from 36 degrees and higher, the next one are responsible for reducing of the temperature form 35 to 13th degrees. These receptors switch on the local reaction of our body. If you wash your hands in the mountain river, they will became red. They will send blood to the upper skin layers to neutralize the action of cold water but the inner temperature don't be changed. You know that we can’t live if our temperature is more than 42 degrees but we can stay some time in sauna when the temperature is more than 100 C there. It needs just few minutes to boil eggs in such temperature. Sweating prevents us from overheating. It cools the skin and the whole body. That's the reason why we are sweating after climbing the top of the mountain. It's just chemical reaction. Our body being active makes in five time more heat than in normal condition. It’ very important to have clothes with extra ventilation. It'd be better if it’s done from quick-drying materials ( some synthetic fabrics dry in 20 times faster than the natural ones), has a good coefficient of moisture removal. You can be hot but the cold wind which is normal in the highlands and wet cloth can cause hypothermia (hypothermia). Sweating is not the only way how our body deals with overheating. Our body uses the next processes such as electromagnetic radiation (not much), thermal conductivity – the process of transferring energy (heat) from one object to another (we talk about objects that are in direct contact), forced convection – heat transfer in a mobile environment, when you stay on the wind, a thermal cloud is not created around you, and heat loss passes very quickly. But sweating plays the main role. This process is controlled by adrenalin. This hormone is released when the inner temperature rises or you feel stress that's why you are sweat when are afraid. Heat emission can increase in 20 times thanks to sweating! If it's hot a man can lose 10-12 liters of moisture, especially in conditions of forced convection. It helps to accelerate evaporation. Do you remember that nice feeling when you walk and the air blows with a light, cool breeze. Don't hesitate and take off all extra clothes when you are climbing, Let’s allow convection to make the thermo regulation process more fast. If there is not wind but it's hot, pour water on you and it will help. It will evaporate and cool your skin. In the worst case, physical exertion, dehydration and lack of cooling will lead to heat stroke. 30% of such cases end in death. The best variant in such situation is wiping with warm water (cold water causes vasoconstriction and makes the situation worse). Usually it takes about a week when your body will acclimatize to sweat enough. You sweat will became less salty during this time, because we lose salt when sweating and you need to regulate salt balance as well. Being active we lose more moisture than can drink, that’s why we need to drink water even we don’t want to. Thus we can handle the heat and the mountains if have enough water and salt. Coldness Hunting season starts in the fall and goes on during winter time. It very cold in the highlands at that period. The frost catches us by tenacious hands, doesn’t allow to move and confuses our consciousness. Each one hundred meters above the sea level reduces temperature in one degree. It’s easy to account that if temperature near the foot of the mountain is 10 below zero Celsius, it will be minus thirty on the altitude about 3 km. The human being can tolerate such temperatures if have warm, dry clothes and highly calorated meal,only the air convection can cause inconvenience. The American researcher Paul Syple, when being in Antarctica, established empirically the relationship between wind power and heat transfer. Noways it's known as wind and cold index. The temperature -29C with the wind 4-5 m/sec is felt like - 44C, if the wind is 6-7 m/s we feel it like -66C, that's enough to get frostbite to an open area of skin in 30 seconds. When we lose heat, our legs and hands suffer first fr because the extremities are the greatest heat transfers (due to the large area and saturation of capillaries). One more danger is to freeze to the favorite rifle in the cold it you take it by naked hands. It happens because of the thin water coat which always exists on our skin. The military recommend to urinate on the hands in such case. By the way you want to go the bathroom more often when you are cold. It happens because vessels narrow, and excess fluid is removed. Mountain hunting is a real stress for our body! You go, sweat, lose moisture and is overheated, then you have to seat and wait for the trophy, at that moment you can be cold and feel dehydration. Your organism tries to struggle while the temperature don’t reduce lower than 35-34 degrees. The vessels narrow but if the temperature is below 10 degrees they began to expand. You feel a lot of pain, it happens because of slow removal of metabolites-products of metabolism. The skin turns from light to bright red. The expansion process can be activated by physical activity, especially when you rub your limbs or adrenaline can also help. You can chafe the cold skin by snow but doctors recommend to do it with wool cloth. Once I happened to be in the mountains on the altitude 3000 masl in the rubber boots and wet socks. After the sunset the temperature dropped below minus twenty. My foot became cold. I realized that should have to do something otherwise, I’d end up with frostbite. Fortunately I had extra woolen socks. I took off boots. My extremities were cold and lost sensitivity. I squeezed insoles then rubbed feet by woolen sweater and put on dry socks. It helped! How painful it was! Thousand of needles digged into my skin when I made a step. In case of significant cooling our organism begin to contract of muscle fibers. Trembling is one of the way to heat. Though we have such protective mechanisms the cases of hypothermia happen very often. The most unpleasant consequence of such cooling is the lost of hands sensibility when you can’t even light a match. I advice you to make a fire before going to the hunt it can safe your life. The Polish climber died last year on the Khan tengri mountain. He lost the plastic cover of his boot because of the lost hands sensibility. Hypothermia has another symptoms such as weakness, apathy, heaviness in the body, drowsiness. Trembling ends when the body temperatures drops lower than 32 degrees, the energy is over. A man lose consciousness when his temperature is 30 degree. When a body cools to 20 degrees, the heart stops. Fortunately it happens quite rare, but most of us have heard about frostbites cases (feet or face). It occurs when our temperature drops below zero, ice crystals form in the cells, cell membranes are torn, and the tissue dies. It’s better treat these cases in the hospital. It’s a painful procedure and doesn't take a toll. I’ve got frostbite my fingers when being young and it still bother me. I lose their sensibility when it became cold. Fords and crossings are even more dangerous in the cold season. Mountain river water makes you cold in 25 times faster. It's dangerous to ford the river without any insurance. A body cools in 20 times faster when we are in the wet clothes than in a dry one. Always have an extra outfit and moisture-wicking thermal underwear. In the conclusion I want to write all thoughts in the form of thesis. 1. Physical activity when you hunt during the hot season can provoke the heat stroke. You need to use light, breathable clothings. Don’t forget to wear a cap, drink much more water and don’t be shine to take off clothing if you are hot. It helps to make better convection. If there is any possibility you should to sponge yourself by wet fabric. It’ll fast the heat emission. 2. You lose not only moisture but salt too when you are sweating. Its volume can be to 3 teaspoons per day. Don't forget to restore the mineral balance. 3. Use suitable clothings. Don’t forget to put on underwear when it’s cold. It’ll reduce the heat loss. One more advice: If it’s cold but you have to climb and then spend some time without any movement, you should have to put on the cotton T-shirt between the underwear and a main clothing. Take it off after the ascend. It’ll help to reduce the heat loss. 4. You’ll need much more calories when it’s cold. Take extra food and don’t forget about warm drink. You’ll sweat when climbing in winter not less than in summer. 5. It's obligatory to use suitable outfit, such as breathable, wind and waterproof clothing for the mounting hunts. 6. Be careful with your extriemities when hunting in the frost. Low temperature blocks nerves fiber’s sensibility and you could not feel how have got a frostbite.