A recent news article gave a vivid account of Mallika Sherawat after a
series of shooting sessions during filming of “pyar Ke side Effects” – a
film starring her and Rahul Bose. The filming involved a under water
kiss in a scene between the two stars. The article elaborates that it
wasn’t Rahul Bose bad breath that had caused the calamity.
It turned out that Mallika had complained of feeling cold. One of the
concerned crew thought a ‘drink’ would be just the right thing to warm
her up., Mallika, apparently, obliged and had a drink. After the next
under water sequence she felt faint and swooned.
This very interesting episode highlights a lesser known effect that
alcohol has on the human body. Alcohol has on being consumed, enters the
blood stream. It makes blood circulation more efficient. More blood
reaches the extremities resulting in the skin temperature increasing and
giving a feeling of warmth. This peripheral warmth needs to be kept
entrapped to be effective. For instance, if brandy is being given for
medicinal purpose, one must ensure that the body is well covered, for it
to have its desired effect. Entrapped warmth givers a feeling of well
being to a person suffering from cold.
The reverse will happen if the body is not adequately covered. In an
exposed body, any increase in skin temperature will actually result in
loss of body heat to the environment. For a person feeling cold this
loss of body heat can be crucial and in an extreme case could result in
hypothermia.
Hypothermia is a medical condition that occurs when the body cannot
produce enough heat to stay warm and its temperature falls below 35 C.
It can be recognized by the following symptoms.
-
Feeling very cold and shivery
-
Numbness of the fingers and toes.
-
A slow pulse rate which becomes
irregular
In this condition help can be
provided to the affected person by doing the following things :
-
Wrap a blanket around the person.
-
Place hot water bottles between
legs and armpits.
-
Make the person lie down to
maintain normal circulation.
-
Give sips of warm
liquid.(Definitely non alcoholic)
It the person shows signs of exhaustion and mental confusion or becomes
unconscious, seek medical help and call for an ambulance.
Mallika was lucky that she probably encountered only the first stage of
incipient hypothermia. Aviation personnel on long haul flights may
disembark at a destination which is much colder than their place of
departure. It you have been caught by surprise and are inadequately
protected – make sure you don’t rush to the bar, tempting as it may
appear, having had to abstain from alcohol while on duty.
Also, keep this effect of alcohol
on the human body in mind, in case you ever land up in a survival
situation. Administering alcohol (in any form) to a person feeling
cold and not adequately covered can be dangerous.
GP Capt R S Raghav is a
retired Fighter Pilot and retired from IAF after completion of 31
years of distinguished service in several capacities among which his
tenure as Chief Flying Instructor at Air Force Acadamy is worth
mentioning. at AirForce Acadamy and training
uished service ngs :. He is a keen aviation enthusiast and
presently working as Flying Instructor, training young aspiring
commercial pilots at Pink City Aviation Services Pvt.Ltd. Jaipur.