How Hypothermia contributes to Sudden Infant Death

The weather over here these days is very hot and inconsiderate, to make matters worse, the electricity has not been good enough to enable the smooth running of a cooling system. I realized my Son picked after his father in so many things including the lack of heat tolerance, so he sweats a lot.

I am trying all I can to keep him out of heat, and even get an electronic fan as soon as possible, but this reminds me so much of when I first had my child and I was always covering him up being scared of the cold.

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Heat can significantly cause sudden infant death in infants, this syndrome is common amongst infants below one year of age. Sudden infant death syndrome has remained an unexplainable situation sometimes even after the complete performance of an autopsy.

There has however been evidence to show that, the risk of SIDS increases in hot environments. There was a case of a twin who died as a result of SIDS and was found to be covered in serious sweat.

Infants can exchange heat with the environment through radiation, convection, conduction and evaporation.
Radiation is between the body and surrounding surfaces.
Convection is the movement of air around the body and over the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract.

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Conduction is thorough materials that come in contact with the surface of the skin.

Evaporation is through respiratory water loss or sweat.

Losing body heat is dependent on the room, the air humidity, clothing insulation, the velocity of airflow, and radiation temperature. When a heat load is excessive, it overcomes the response brought by thermoregulatory responses and that is when hyperthermia comes along.

The temperature of the environment where delivery is taking place is a significant factor to consider, as it could pose significant risks to the development of the child.

It is advisable as well that breastfeeding is done within the hour of delivery, as this would provide the infant with the required calories for body heat. Mother and baby should also be kept together following the days after and breast milk supplied as much as the baby wants it, as this would help the baby get used to the temperature of the environment more.

An alteration in the body's heat balance in an Infants body, which is when the body heat produced and gained overshadows the heat loss of the body, is what is referred to as hypothermia and heat stress.

Hypothermia is a medical term that describes that a body temperature is higher than usual, it occurs usually as a result of, heavy wrapping, high temperature, covering of the infant's head, and fever. As a parent, it is important to watch out for signs of overheating in your child.

How then can we as parents detect that, our infant may be going through overheating and quickly help them out of the dangerous situation? While reading through to help me become a better Mum, I found certain tips.

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• Feel their skin to be sure it is not red or flushed.

• Confirm they are not sweating, although a child can experience overheating without necessarily sweating.

• Acting restless.

• Feeling nauseous.

• Feeling dizzy.

Keeping a baby under an ideal temperature during hot weather can be difficult, but we must make sure it happens. Make sure not to take your infant out under direct sunlight, especially during the peak of the sunny day.

Try to keep your baby's room as cool as it is required for your baby, do not make the mistake of leaving your baby in the car alone. During cold weather, parents try to overpack their babies with several thick clothes and blankets and this can also lead to overheating.

The same way you would dress yourself up is how you should also dress your baby, a single layer of blanket is just fine. Make sure not to place your baby too close to fireplaces, or heating vents.

Parents need to significantly watch out for hyperthermia in infants because these little ones' sweat glands have not properly developed and aside from the risk of SIDS, they could also pick up rashes, heat cramps, heat stroke, and heat exhaustion. Reporting a case of hypothermia in infants to medical experts and treating it on time is highly significant to avoid any form of complications.

For Further Studies

http://www.cmnrp.ca/uploads/documents/Newborn_Thermoregulation_SLM_2013_06.pdf

https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/63986/WHO_RHT_MSM_97.2.pdf

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9051231/

https://www.healthline.com/health/baby/baby-overheating#treatment

https://www.happiestbaby.com/blogs/baby/baby-overheating

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22111-hyperthermia

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Hi, I am Tobi, a writer, speaker, relationship blogger, and lover of good music. I love making friends and learning from people. If you want to hear me speak about relationships and general life issues, you can find my YouTube channel where you can watch any episode for free, please do not forget to subscribe, friends. I sincerely appreciate every love I get from here, Kindly do well to keep them coming.