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Hypothermia: Cold-water Safety Resources

Survival in Cold Waters: Staying Alive
A detailed and essential guide to cold-water hypothermia, written by Dr. Chris Brooks of Survival Systems Ltd. and published in 2003 by Transport Canada.
 
"Cold Shock and Swimming Failure"
Dr. Brooks’ February 2008 article about these two stages of cold-water immersion in Sea Kayaker magazine.
 
What We Have Learned: 10 Years of Pertinent Facts about Drownings and Other Water-Related Injuries in Canada, 1991–2000
A recent report by the Canadian Red Cross.
 
"Problems and Complications with Cold-Water Rescue."  
An analysis of the 1988 University of Victoria rowing team deaths by Dr. Gordon Giesbrecht and Dr. John Hayward.
 
The Efficacy of Sponsons on Canoes and Kayaks
A 2004 report on the usefulness of kayak sponsons by the United States Coast Guard.
 
Immersion Wear for Kayakers  
An online discussion from Sea Kayaker magazine about wetsuits and drysuits for paddlers.
 
Cold Exposure Survival Model
A computer model created at Defence Research and Development Canada used to predict functional and survival times of hypothermia victims.
 


Selected Bibliography for Further Reading

Brosseau, Danny. Preparation Guide for Boating Event. Lifesaving Society, Montreal, QC. 2005.

Broze, Matt, and George Gronseth. Deep Trouble: True Stories and Their Lessons from Sea Kayaker Magazine. Christopher Cunningham, ed. Ragged Mountain Press, Camden, ME, 1997.

Hayward, John S., and Alan M. Steinman. “Cold Water Immersion.” Wilderness Medicine: Management of Wilderness and Environmental Emergencies. Third edition. Mosby-Year Book Inc., St. Louis, MO, 1995.

Keatinge, W.R. Survival in Cold Water: The Physiology and Treatment of Immersion Hypothermia and of Drowning. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, 1969.

Pozos, Robert S., and Lorentz E. Wittmers, eds. The Nature and Treatment of Hypothermia. Croom Helm Ltd., London, 1983.

Wilkerson, James A., and Gordon Giesbrecht. Hypothermia, Frostbite and Other Cold Injuries. 2nd Edition. Mountaineers Books, Seattle, WA, 2006.