Temperature Regulation

A normal, healthy human is able to maintain a constant body temperature of approximately 98.6F despite the temperature of the environment. In a hot environment, the body sends a signal to the brain via the spinal cord to say the body is overheating, the brain then sends a signal back down the spinal cord and tells the body to cool itself by perspiration which evaporates and cools the skin. In cold weather, the body senses the lower temperature and our brain tells us to put more clothes on to warm ourselves up.

Most people with complete spinal cord injuries do not sweat below the level of the injury and many quadriplegics cannot even sweat above the injury (even though they may sweat due to autonomic dysreflexia). With loss of the ability to sweat or vasoconstrict within affected dermatomes the patient becomes poikilothermic and needs careful control of their environmental conditions. Therefore, if a high paraplegic or quadriplegic is in an outside temperature over 90 F, especially when the humidity is high, the body temperature will begin to rise. Likewise in a cold environment, the body may not be able to get the messages through to the brain that the body is cooling down, and if left untreated, the person will soon become hypothermic.

One of the best ways for a person with a spinal cord injury to cool down is to have a cold wet towel wrapped around the back of the neck. The skin should also be damped down to allow the water to evaporate from the skin, and hence cool the body down. It's a bit like artificial sweat really, but it does work. If I go on holiday, I take a water spray with me and spray my head and shoulders with cold water if I think I'm getting to hot.

Some of the symptoms of overheating that I as a C5/6 Quadraplegic suffer from, are a headache, nasal congestion, tiredness and reduced concentration. The way I treat overheating is to drink plenty of cold fluids, eat regularly, place a cold wet towel on the back of the neck, and spray the face with a water mist. For the nasal congestion, I use a nasal decongestant, and its surprising how effective this can be at cooling the body down. The most obvious is also to sit in the shade!

If I get too cold, the only thing I can do is sit by the fire and put plenty of clothes on, and drink warm fluids to bring my core temperature back up to normal.

Of course, if I sit in front of the fire too long, I get too hot and we have to start from the top again!

Support : Types of Paralysis : Vertebral Column : Spinal Cord : Myotomes & Dermatomes : Autonomic Dysreflexia : Spasticity & Spasms : Temperature Regulation : Respiratory System : Pressure Sores : Spinal Cord Injury Research