Official Hypothermia Thread

[snowman626]

im surprised there are no official hypothermia threads because to me it seems like a good way to go. i would go into the mountains during winter, take off most clothes, get drunk, find a place to crawl up in, and then just pass out and that should be it. for extra measure i could also soak my clothes to speed up the heat leaving body.

if you look up stories of people who almost died via hypothermia, most of them tell tales of feeling sleepy and then just falling asleep. wouldnt this be much better than most other methods that involve a lot of pain and survival instinct stuff you have to overcome?

regarding frostbites... this is only a problem if you get rescued and the frozen body parts start thawing. during winter in the middle of the remote mountains, who will rescue?

the only thing im afriad of is animals finding me while im still half alive and start eating when im too weak to defend myself. any ideas on how to prevent that?

 

[TAW122]

I suppose you could induce hypothermia in a enclosed space, like a tent, vehicle, or something, just an idea (not an expert on the details) that I came up with on the spot. Alternatively, if you are able to simulate such a cold (but controlled) environment away from outdoors, then that could work too. Like leaving your windows open during dead of winter, turning off the heater, cold water in bathtub and with fan blowing and stuff.

 

[Deleted member 4288]

That's my way to go.

Doing this near a river (breathtaking place) this winter. Probably in January when it's the coldest. I think I might get into the water to make it faster, Titanic-style..

Do you think it will be better to get into the water or just sit on the snow and wait? The temperature will be around -10 C. Minimum we get here.

I should have done this last December but I chickened out. But the suffering I experienced this year made me sure I need to end it.

 

[snowman626]

That's my way to go.

Doing this near a river (breathtaking place) this winter. Probably in January when it's the coldest. I think I might get into the water to make it faster, Titanic-style..

Do you think it will be better to get into the water or just sit on the snow and wait? The temperature will be around -10 C. Minimum we get here.

I should have done this last December but I chickened out. But the suffering I experienced this year made me sure I need to end it.

Near a river sounds fantastic and for me theres no better way to go than slowly drifting off to sleep while watching the beautiful nature in front of me.

I think submerging in cold water is a lot tougher than it sounds. I tried sticking my hand in water that is 6 degrees C and couldn't even handle it for more than about 15 seconds, much less -10 C water.

So I think a good way to do it is wetting my clothes either by finding a stream or just bringing a few bottles of water and soaking it. It will still cause the body to lose heat faster, however wouldn't be as fast as submersion in water.

I suppose you could induce hypothermia in a enclosed space, like a tent, vehicle, or something, just an idea (not an expert on the details) that I came up with on the spot. Alternatively, if you are able to simulate such a cold (but controlled) environment away from outdoors, then that could work too. Like leaving your windows open during dead of winter, turning off the heater, cold water in bathtub and with fan blowing and stuff.

I did think about doing it inside a vehicle, however the car would undoubtedly attract attention wherever I park it. A tent wouldn't keep out animals anyway if they wanted to get inside. I think the cold water with bathtub is a good idea if done right, I could unplug the drain just a little while simultaneously keeping the cold water running to ensure the tub's temperature remains cold. But there's just something about doing it in nature that appeals to me much more than dying in a bathtub.

 

[marcusuk63]

Brrrr no thanks i hate anything remotely cold , i`d rather die in the desert.

 

[BPD_LE]

Just for information.
My best friend died in summer (UK) on a night it was raining heavily. She'd drank alcohol, taken benzos, codine and quetiapine. Hid out of sight in the middle of a town centre, fell asleep and died. Body found 12 hours later. It was determined she'd simply fell asleep. Cause of death was hypothermia speeded up by drugs and alcohol. Verdict - Misadventure

 

[Sensei]

I've been thinking about this option too. What I find most attractive with it is that it so easily can be masked as an accident. I was thinking of going downtown an evening with heavy snowfall, bordering on snow storm, and drink hard, or at least appear to do so, in a pub or club together with a buddy. I would walk back home, which I often do, and hidden by the snowfall I would pick up a hidden bottle with 2M2B mixed with strong alcohol to hide the smell, and then simply roll down a slope or into a ditch and fall asleep. I'd say that there's no risk whatsoever that anyone would find it suspicious and investigate it any further. Yet another drunken fool who underestimated the dangers of cold weather. The only problem is that we almost never have heavy snowfall here anymore.

 

[a_strange_day]

the only thing im afriad of is animals finding me while im still half alive and start eating when im too weak to defend myself. any ideas on how to prevent that?

 

[marcusuk63]

I've been thinking about this option too. What I find most attractive with it is that it so easily can be masked as an accident. I was thinking of going downtown an evening with heavy snowfall, bordering on snow storm, and drink hard, or at least appear to do so, in a pub or club together with a buddy. I would walk back home, which I often do, and hidden by the snowfall I would pick up a hidden bottle with 2M2B mixed with strong alcohol to hide the smell, and then simply roll down a slope or into a ditch and fall asleep. I'd say that there's no risk whatsoever that anyone would find it suspicious and investigate it any further. Yet another drunken fool who underestimated the dangers of cold weather. The only problem is that we almost never have heavy snowfall here anymore.

Alcohol causes blood vessels to dilate, resulting in blood rushing to your skin and your body core temperature decreasing rapidly, so definitely get drunk if you are going to do it

 

[Sensei]

Alcohol causes blood vessels to dilate, resulting in blood rushing to your skin and your body core temperature decreasing rapidly, so definitely get drunk if you are going to do it

Good point. The main reason I'd use alcohol is to make it more convincing that it was an accident and to lose consciousness faster.

 

[Nnana]

I find this method interesting and I would go far in the woods or the water if I could. But living in a tropical country, that would be hard as hell as the coldest here is 20 C. Good luck to me trying to die by hypothermia here hehe.

 

[Farmmaa]

This will also be part of my plan.
Drive to a remote area... which is easily done where I live …. park vehicle where it won't be noticed as being abandoned for a few days at least, and then hike in to the bush from there. I'll go about an hour before sunset so I have time to find the perfect secluded spot, but where searchers can eventually still recover my body. My method of choice is an opioid OD but I don't want to be found with a needle in my arm, so will use either sublingual or anal administration. It's not as effective or as fast acting, but much easier to look accidental. I will add a bit of the powder to an empty pop bottle to make it look like it was laced.
Then, curl up, get comfy and fall asleep.
I should have at least 12 hours to myself since no one will be out in the mountains at night.
The drugs will knock me out so that I don't have time to get uncomfortably cold ( I hate cold ), and in the off chance that they don't kill me, hypothermia should.

I used to spend a lot of time hiking with my pup, so it won't seem that out of the ordinary to my family for me to be in the bush.... will take a back pack, granola, water bottle so it just loos like a hike gone bad.

 

[Quarky00]

I'm considering this in case of emergency (I have another plan but circumstances may change abruptly).

Reading this insightful comment, I don't think sub-zero or wet conditions are critical, though obviously preferable (hasten process and make it certain):

I have tried this. -20c and i went and tried to sleep in my car with the windows down a bit to stay out of the wind. Lost feelin in my feet and hands before my roommate noticed my shoes and keys were gone but car was on driveway. I dont really remember them coming out to get me or anything, just the pain when my hands started to feel again. it hurt worse warming up than it did getting cold, and that is very painful for the first while.

Main factors are cold and time. Your body is 36c ish and bringing it down even to 30 can be very dangerous. If you go outside in 4-10c, you could die in a few hours if you were naked. If you went out wet in that temperature, you could pass out in 2-30 mins. So anything below freezing will speed the process up. Therefor there is no reliable timeline. Too many factors from what you wear, your weight, the temperature, humidity, wind.

Hypothermia has a pain threshold that is a good indication if its working. When you start, its painful, shivering and tensing up. After a while, you stop shivering and it just hurts a little. Then you start to feel warm. A lot of hypothermia victims are found naked because they thought they were sweating and probably delirious. Then you fall into exhaustion. If you don't get delirium, and save yourself by going inside, you can expect to drift off to sleep pretty painlessly from here.

This is a bad way to try, very long process and SI is stronger with the pain. I had to drug myself pretty heavily.

It appears SI and being found are problems, that one can overcome. As this is my backup, instant, plan - my main worry is that the weather would not be that cold. I'd still estimate this to be enough(?):

35F/3C + Alcohol + Valium @ 24h

Sure, there are instances of people surviving worse, but it's abnormal, statistically speaking I think (I may be wrong) that it looks grim (which is good). I don't know if this is true: "If you go outside in 4-10c, you could die in a few hours if you were naked." Not naked but lightly dressed - hope it would do.

 

[Quinlor]

freezing here!

 

[Mooseman]

Tried this in cold garage. Around 0 celcius and got drunk and sleeping pills. Problem is you don't know what you are doing but automatically want to sleep and end up going inside where it's warm. Was in cold for about 3 hrs and must of had mild hypothermia since when I woke up inside my bed and got up was shivering. About 5 hours inside. You also need to dump and piss which I did in bucket so I would not go inside. Had to clean after that.

Thinking of going into woods to try but may have same problem and stumble back to where people are. Frostbite is also a problem if too cold which is horrible way to live if found early or give up too soon.

We also have the hybrid coyotes here that have breeded with wolves and are bigger. They probably would find me.

 

[Azizw126]

Beginning of this year i tried it in my back yard. It was - 17 and i sat on 3 feet snow around 3 am (was not planning to ctb) but i wanted to know if this could be a good method or not. I was not drunk and the shivers was freaking uncontrollable with sharp uncomfortable headache. i felt confused, disoriented and the most powerful sleepiness i have even had.
I didn't feel severe pain except the headache and aching muscles. All of sudden i staggered my way inside and sat beside portable heater for hours.
I strongly believe that with alcohol it will be way more comfortable.
The only thing about it that it takes long time which gives more chances to abort the whole process.

 

[Mooseman]

Beginning of this year i tried it in my back yard. It was - 17 and i sat on 3 feet snow around 3 am (was not planning to ctb) but i wanted to know if this could be a good method or not. I was not drunk and the shivers was freaking uncontrollable with sharp uncomfortable headache. i felt confused, disoriented and the most powerful sleepiness i have even had.
I didn't feel severe pain except the headache and aching muscles. All of sudden i staggered my way inside and sat beside portable heater for hours.
I strongly believe that with alcohol it will be way more comfortable.
The only thing about it that it takes long time which gives more chances to abort the whole process.

Yea I felt nothing once I got enough alcohol.

 

[snowman626]

Problem is you don't know what you are doing but automatically want to sleep and end up going inside where it's warm

well i plan on doing this in the wilderness where i have to at least take a greyhound bus to get back home, so im not going back into the house

i felt confused, disoriented and the most powerful sleepiness i have even had.
I didn't feel severe pain except the headache and aching muscles.

sounds like a good way to go. put on some peaceful music, smoke some weed, think about the good life memories, and slowly drift off

 

[Mooseman]

You could also handcuff yourself to a tree or vehicle while drunk so you don't wonder off.

 

[UpandDownPrincess]

That's my way to go.

Doing this near a river (breathtaking place) this winter. Probably in January when it's the coldest. I think I might get into the water to make it faster, Titanic-style..

Do you think it will be better to get into the water or just sit on the snow and wait? The temperature will be around -10 C. Minimum we get here.

I should have done this last December but I chickened out. But the suffering I experienced this year made me sure I need to end it.

I would not get wet because I think that would make it harder to fall asleep. If you curl up in the snow, you'll be wet soon enough anyway.

 

[Wren]

I'm sure getting drunk helps tremendously, but I'm not into drinking, don't enjoy the effects much, and never even had enough to experience a hangover later. So I'm afraid of messing it up.
Could a bottle of whiskey do the trick? What if I throw up all of it or get sick enough to reconsider?

 

[Epsilon0]

I have seriously considered this method. My problem with it is that there are too many variables that could go wrong. Being found and frostbite being the main ones. I am afraid I would wake up in a hospital with no hands, which would make any future attemps all the more difficult.

Also, I have experienced real cold, and it is painful. Like unbelievably painful. And I don't want to suffer.

 

[Throwmyselfaway]

I've thought about this. I've come close scuba diving in springs without a wetsuit. It took forever to stop shaking. It wasn't horrid though

 

[Notcutoutforlife]

Suddenly paying very close attention to the local weather, hehe. Damn London ain't cutting it at the moment but really getting attracted to this method (despite hating the extreme shivers), just seems a lot easier that the carbon monoxide method In terms of prep etc - It's just finding an undisturbed place!

 

[whiteowls96]

From some of the experiences I've read the later stages of hypothermia are actually pretty peaceful. You get a warm, sleepy, euphoric feeling right before you die. I remember reading one reddit thread that referred to hypothermia as the "sweet death".

 

[LMLN]

From some of the experiences I've read the later stages of hypothermia are actually pretty peaceful. You get a warm, sleepy, euphoric feeling right before you die. I remember reading one reddit thread that referred to hypothermia as the "sweet death".

Maybe in the later stages. And I'm sure if you are drunk it helps. But I would hate to survive, and loose fingers/toes etc.

 

[whiteowls96]

Maybe in the later stages. And I'm sure if you are drunk it helps. But I would hate to survive, and loose fingers/toes etc.

The thing is that once you hit the later stages the only way you survive is if someone finds you

 

[one4all]

I don't find this as a quick or pleasant method.
I guess it would depend on where this would occur, as to a possible outcome. A symptom of hypothermia is "In moderate hypothermia shivering stops and confusion increases " so you could do something to make some one aware something is wrong.

 

[willitpass]

i actually tried that once... went into a river in the middle of winter. i do recall feeling sleepy and wanting to just lay there, but it was also the worst feeling of painful pins and needles i've ever experienced and it was difficult to breath due to how cold it was. while it was not as painful as my previous method, i wouldn't say it's anywhere close to painless

 

[whiteowls96]

i actually tried that once... went into a river in the middle of winter. i do recall feeling sleepy and wanting to just lay there, but it was also the worst feeling of painful pins and needles i've ever experienced and it was difficult to breath due to how cold it was. while it was not as painful as my previous method, i wouldn't say it's anywhere close to painless

It all depends. There are plenty of people who have died completely painless deaths from passing out in the cold and were unconscious for all the worst parts of hypothermia.