₦airaland Forum

Sequel to this latest story about a 7-month-old baby currently in critical condition.

[url=m.theherald-news.com/2015/07/28/joliet-baby-trapped-in-hot-car-for-two-hours-in-critical-condition/azbcxjf/] Joliet Baby Trapped In Hot Car For Two Hours In Critical Condition [/url]

I decided to do a little research on temperature and throw more light on certain issues. Even though I haven't heard of such death cases in Nigeria, I still see parents leaving their wards in vehicles with the glasses all up and I felt the need for this piece.

Parenting is a huge responsibility and therefore parents should be adequately furnished with requisite information.

Its quite lengthy but definitely worth it.

1. Body Temperature Vs Room/Ambient Temperature

Pretty much everything your body does, whether physical (like muscle contractions) or chemical (like some stages of digestion), produces heat as
a byproduct. You’re constantly generating it, and constantly losing it to the environment.

The hypothalamus, an almond-sized chunk of the brain that rests deep within its squishy confines, acts as the body’s thermostat and tries to keep the amount of heat created and the amount lost close to each other and maintain normal body temperature.

Normally, this is easy enough. Heat seeks equilibrium, a state where everything is the same temperature as everything around it.

Usually, the environment around you is cooler than your body, so your little thermostat can just dump the excess heat into it with thermoregulatory processes like sweating (where the heat is lost by evaporation) and increasing bloodflow through capillaries close to the surface of the skin (where the heat is lost through radiation, convection and conduction ).

When the environment is warmer and closer to our body temperature, the heat doesn’t transfer as readily or quickly via radiation, convection, and
conduction. You’re stuck hanging on to some of your excess heat for longer, and you feel hot and uncomfortable.


If the ambient temperature goes higher than your body temp, heat’s quest for equilibrium means that you’ll take on EXCESS HEAT from the environment.


If you spend enough time in a situation where the heat you generate or absorb from the environment exceeds the heat you’re getting rid of, your core temperature will rise and you can suffer from heat illnesses.

NB: The average internal body temperature is 37 Degrees Celsius which is equivalent to 98.6 Degrees Fahrenheit. However, no person always has exactly the same temperature at every moment of the day. It varies by about 0.5 degrees celsius or 0.9 degrees fahrenheit.


2. Parked Vehicles Vs Rising Temperature

A vehicle's windows act like a greenhouse, trapping sunlight and heat. Cars parked in direct sunlight can reach internal temperatures up to 131°F - 172°F (55°C – 78°C) when outside temperatures are 80°F – 100°F (27°C – 38°C).


When the outside temperature is 83° F, even with the window rolled down 2 inches, the temperature inside the car can reach 109° F in only 15 minutes.

Within the first 10 minutes the temperature in an enclosed vehicle will rise an average of 19 degrees or 82 percent of its eventual one hour rise.

In warm weather, a vehicle can warm to dangerous, life-threatening levels in only 10 minutes. Very young children (age 4 and under) are particularly susceptible to hyperthermia.


According to the Medical College of Wisconsin, Children’s bodies have greater surface area to body mass ratio, so they absorb more heat on a hot day (and lose heat more rapidly on a cold day). Further, children have a considerably lower sweating capacity than adults, and so they are less able to dissipate body heat by evaporative sweating and cooling.

The Centers for Disease Control report that very high body temperatures can cause damage to the brain and other vital organs, as well as heat stroke and
death.

Heatstroke occurs when the body temperature reaches 104 degrees Fahrenheit; essentially, the body becomes unable to control its temperature: the body’s temperature rises rapidly, the sweating mechanism fails, and the body is unable to cool
down. Body temperature may rise to 106 degrees F or higher within 10 to 15minutes.

A body temperature of 107 degrees is lethal. In many cases of hyperthermia, the child’s body temperature is reported to be 108 degrees, even an hour after they are discovered.

It is important to note, however, that most thermometers will only measure temperatures up to 108° F. Therefore it is likely that the body temperatures of these children were well above 108° F.


Sources:
[url=m.mentalfloss.com/article.php?id=50080]Mental Floss [/url]

Human Body Temperature

Extreme Hot and Cold Temperatures
[url=med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2005/07/parked-cars-get-dangerously-hot-even-on-cool-days-stanford-study-finds.html]Parked Cars Get Dangerously Hot [/url]

In Addendum: Some Recorded Cases

Case 1:
In June 2000, a mother in New Jersey left her son in the car with the windows rolled up for two hours. During that time span, she checked on him several times without realizing the temperature of the vehicle was nearing deadly temperatures.

On her final check, she found her son passed out. She rushed him to the hospital, but he later died of heatstroke. An hour after his death, the boy’s body temperature was 108 degrees.

Case 2:
In the summer of 2003, a postal worker in Essex County, New Jersey, forgot to drop his two sons at a day care center.

The boys stayed in the car for approximately two and a half hours. Witnesses alerted the father to the
situation. The father rushed the boys to a medical building, but it was too late.

The boys died from heat exhaustion. The father was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter and was ultimately sentenced to one year’s probation for the death of his two sons.

United States Attorney Christopher J. Christie commented, “It is beyond understanding how anyone could be so careless, so preoccupied as to leave children forgotten in the back seat of a
steaming-hot car. This was a preventable tragedy."

In Summary

~ Do not leave children alone in parked vehicles. It takes only 10minutes for the temperature inside the vehicle to rise and become lethal.

~ Not all children who die in hot cars are left there by adults. Many children climb into unlocked vehicles without their parents’ or guardians’ knowledge. Once in the car, they may become confused by the door handle’s configuration and are unable to open the door from the inside.

Also, children may accidentally lock doors by leaning on a power control device and be unable to get out.

Therefore ensure your vehicle is locked and keep keys away from your child's reach.

Twaci:
Nice one doc!

My money for school fees no waste

Phema:
That was how we lost a family friend's son some months ago.

The father was supposed to drop him off at creche but decided to stop over at the office briefly. He got busy at the office and forgot the baby in the car. Only remembered when the creche manager called some hours later, checking up on the child and asking why they didn't see him that day at the creche. He rushed to the car and the rest was history. First and only child. I was so sad cos his wife was pregnant with this baby at my wedding.

The father hasn't forgiven himself and is a mess up till now. It is terrible.

kinglekan:

This is quite touching though. Parents need to be very careful.

So sad he had to learn the hard way. If it happened in the western world, he would be mourning his only child behind bars.

kinglekan:

This is quite touching though. Parents need to be very careful.

So sad he had to learn the hard way. If it happened in the western world, he would be mourning his only child behind bars.

Phema:
He actually got arrested but was released some days after.

Honestly, when something like this happens, the last thing on your mind is whether you will be behind bars or not. He was very suicidal. People didn't make it any less difficult with their stories of him using his child for rituals.

What that family went through (and is still going through) is horrible.

robosky02:
where hav you been,..... kai...............

Phema:
@Kinglekan; Agreed, he was careless. But parents can also make mistakes atimes. Honest mistakes. He was just very unfortunate that his mistake was a fatal one.

@Onegai; They are still together, though not the 'best' couple around. It's a journey and I hope they make it out stronger.

Twaci:
Around dear

How far na?

robosky02:
just a call away from you. miss you thou

how was the exams?

Twaci:
its on the 14th dear...nervously waiting

Phema:
That was how we lost a family friend's son some months ago.

The father was supposed to drop him off at creche but decided to stop over at the office briefly. He got busy at the office and forgot the baby in the car. Only remembered when the creche manager called some hours later, checking up on the child and asking why they didn't see him that day at the creche. He rushed to the car and the rest was history. First and only child. I was so sad cos his wife was pregnant with this baby at my wedding.

The father hasn't forgiven himself and is a mess up till now. It is terrible.

kevinberry:
Where and what was his wife doing that she have to leave monitoring and taking care of the kid to the man

kevinberry:
Where and what was his wife doing that she have to leave monitoring and taking care of the kid to the man

Phema:
She was painting her nails while watching Telemundo.

kevinberry:
Of course..the reason why the world is so bleeped up is because things that belongs to dogs are being feed to humans and things that belongs to human being feed to dogs

Phema:
Yea right.