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February 8, 2008
Q. What's one of the strangest, most inexplicable times anyone might choose to disrobe?
A. “Paradoxical undressing” is well known to mountain rescuers who in freezing weather will encounter sufferers of hypothermia who refuse warming blankets and may even have removed some of their clothing, says “New Scientist” magazine. In fact, 20 percent to 50 percent of deaths from hypothermia involve paradoxical undressing of some kind. One theory is that the fine blood vessels near the skin's surface contract to slow heat loss, then as contracting muscles become exhausted, blood rushes to the skin and causes a deep flush and sense of overheating. Now in the confusion of the moment, the victim disrobes to try to cool off. Or maybe the brain's overstressed hypothalamus goes awry.
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