Alcohol causes dilatation of arterioles and a sensation of warmth. Would you rec

Question

Alcohol causes dilatation of arterioles and a sensation of warmth. Would you recommend that someone who is stranded in the snow drink alcohol to keep warm? Why or why not? A condition called hyperthermia (heat prostration) can result when the body's homeostatic mechanisms are no longer adequate to counter the effect of high external temperatures. On the basis of what you know about vasoconstriction and vasodilation as methods of temperature regulation in the body, describe the skin color of someone who is in the first stages of hyperthermia.

Explanation / Answer

Ans.1. Alcohol cause dilation of the atrioles and cause the sensation of warmth . But i will not recommend the alcohol consumption to keep warmth for the people that stranded in the snow.

As we know alcohol is a vasodilator. But it actually does not provide the warmth but it give a sensation or feeling being warm. So it does not prevent us from hypothrmia. But it also lowers our core temperature.

Alcohol is a vasodilator and dilates capillaries under the skin surfaces. When we drinks , volume of blood brought to skin surface get increased making us feel warm. It also destroys our body defense against cold temperature. Because that blood will rapidly cool down. It also make us sweat , and decrease the core temperature further. The rapid drop often occurs without the drinker dealing it, because his skin is warm which is doubly dangerous to drink alcoholin cold weather.

Ans 2.Vasoconstriction and vasodilation works antagonistically when regulates the body temperature. Vasodilation & vasoconstriction and body temperature are under direct control of the hypothalamus.

When it detects that body temperature is too high, it sends signals which cause blood vessels or cappilaries in skin to dilates. And more blood is supplied to the tissue under the skin means that more heat is lost and as more heat is lost temperature of body get decreased.

But when body temperature is low, hypothalamus send signal which cause vasoconstriction. It cause blood vessels suppling the capillaries in the skin to contract. So it reduces blood flow in the surface tissue under the skin. As a result less heat is lost. And body temperature get rise.

In the first stage of hyperthermia ,pale or blue color occurs . It is because of vasodilation.

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