How Babies Survive Cold
March 1 -- A 13-month-old girl wanders outside in bitter cold, clothed only in a diaper. Her heart stops, her toes and mouth freeze solid. Hours later, she's revived.
Miracle? No, just physics, say doctors.
"Babies have a smaller volume to a larger surface area," explains Kenneth Storey, a biochemist at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario. "That means their body temperature falls more quickly, bad things happen sooner, and that is good."
Quick Cooling Is Key
Chilling the body faster seems like it can't possibly be "good." But Peter Cox, clinical director of the critical care unit at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario, Canada explains the advantage has to do with the body's three-step reaction to cold.
If a person is out in the cold and inadequately protected, his or her body will first try and generate more heat through shivering to maintain its interior at a normal 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. If the body can't stay warm, it will start trying to decrease heat loss by decreasing blood flow to extremities and cooling. Finally, if heat loss continues, the body slows its metabolism to minimize its need for fresh blood flow and oxygen supply.
The sooner the body reaches the final step, the better chance the organs won't become starved for oxygen if a person is exposed to cold for a long period. For example, a body with a core temperature of 68 F requires only 20 percent of its oxygen intake.
"Because children have a larger surface area and cool more quickly, the body begins to slow its metabolism — and its supply demand — more quickly," Cox says. "So a balance is maintained earlier."
Shivering, something adults are more likely to do than babies, also prolongs the time before a body slows its metabolism, and therefore decreases the chances for revival from a cold coma. Finally, Meridith Sonnett, a pediatrician at Babies and Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian Hospital, points out that the young organs of babies may be easier to bring back to life.
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