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Not in the mountains, but in your own home. “Urban hypothermia” most often affects older people

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Cases of hypothermia are becoming more and more common, not in the mountains, but in the city, and not while walking in the cold, but while sleeping in your own cold house. It most often affects older people. The police recently helped Mrs. Eugenia – they lit her stove and brought fuel.

Mrs. Eugenia has a roof over her head, but it's cold under it. She is not overflowing and she lacks strength, but the 85-year-old fortunately has enough determination to ask for help.

– The senior woman called the police asking for help and informed them that she had run out of fuel. The police did not leave her alone, they came and visited her – informs the subcommand. Malwina Trochimczuk from the Municipal Police Headquarters in BiaÅ‚ystok. – He made some trees, I had it for three days – says the woman.

The police lit the stove so that the sick senior woman could warm herself and cook something. Even if this did not solve Mrs. Eugenia's problem permanently, intervention could have prevented the disaster.

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A sick 85-year-old woman needed helpKMP Białystok

They die of hypothermia in their own homes

– Urban hypothermia. Elderly people, living on the verge of the social minimum, are the group that is most sensitive to this and the most forgotten in all this – points out Dr. Sylwiariusz KosiÅ„ski from the Mountain Medicine Laboratory of the Jagiellonian University Medical College.

READ ALSO: She warmed her hands with candle inserts. His peers called him “caveman”

Dr. Sylwiariusz Kosiński, a specialist in hypothermia rescue, usually talks about hypothermia when an operation in the mountains takes place. And indeed, hypothermia can occur very quickly, especially in strong winds, when the body loses more heat than it produces. However, you can also lose your life by freezing at home every day.

– Sometimes, when emergency medical teams enter rooms, they find elderly people curled up in a corner, in the case of so-called urban hypothermia. This process usually occurs very slowly. We cool down within, for example, two weeks to the point of cardiac arrest or to unconsciousness earlier, says Dr. KosiÅ„ski.

Winter is a particularly difficult time for homeless people. The services appeal not to be indifferentGrzegorz Jarecki/Fakty po Południu TVN24

A hair's breadth away from tragedy

The situation in Krakow could also have ended tragically. It's good that someone reacted and notified the Krakow police that a drunk woman was taking care of a child. It turned out that she wanted to spend the night in the garbage shelter with her eight-year-old daughter.

– The girl was scared. She claimed she was very cold. She was already cold. Fortunately, she was not in a condition that would pose a threat to her life at that moment – says Kom. Piotr Szpiech from the Municipal Police Headquarters in Krakow. The family took care of the child. The mother faces five years in prison for endangering her daughter's life.

SEE ALSO: “The demand for heat never ends.” Actions to help people in crisis of homelessness have been launched

A dangerous situation also occurred in Zakopane. – A patrol checking Krupówki Street noticed a man sleeping on a bench. Temperature minus 10 degrees. When we approached this man, it turned out that he was unable to even stand on his own legs, so it was necessary to ensure his safety – says Asp. staff. Roman Wieczorek from the Municipal Police Headquarters in Zakopane.

Since November, when temperatures have been dropping, 11 people have died from hypothermia.

Main photo source: Fakty TVN



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