Medication question

I believe it's haldol. I was going to say ativan, but that's a pill.

If her body temp is that low she would most likely be lethargic or unconscious- and if she wasn't they would not give her anything to calm her down, her body is already in a compromised state- if her temp drops too low she will go into cardiac arrest and die-

If her body temp is simply a little low- she wouldn't need to be in a hospital to begin with and if she was acting that wild bet your booty they call in psych for her- but they still wouldn't give her anything to calm her-

JSDR said:

I believe it's haldol. I was going to say ativan, but that's a pill.

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Nope- Haldol is an antipyschotic and ativan can be given IV but they still would not give this as she would not be in the condition you describe if she were truly hypothermic.

Ah, I missed the low body temperature. Thanks for the clarification, sheadakota.

No problemo- I live to serve

I'm no expert (and it sounds like you need to research your character's condition well first), but I do know that when you are writing, it is okay in some instances to simply not name a solution that is administered as long as your other facts are straight.

If:

1)Your character's condition is legitimate and well-researched.

2) Her reaction is legitimate and well-researched.

3) Your portrayal of all of this is well-written and convincing to the reader.

You can simply state that, "when the nurse handed me the pill, I took it without thinking. She was the only one who was listening." blah blah blah. Or whatever works for the story.

You slide a bit in and the reader suspends disbelief and doesn't notice it.

I think most medical professionals would think twice about giving somebody in that condition any kind of knock-out drugs - low body temp and its effect on the body should be monitored, and they'd be reluctant to knock her out in case they miss symptoms, e.g impaired mental function, numbness, pain, things that the patient needs to report - major indicators of severe hypothermia include slurred speech, confusion, amnesia, stupor and inability to walk, so the doctor needs the patient awake and as alert as possible.

From my scant experience on the wards and in A&E, we would normally take the patient somewhere isolated and restrain only when absolutely necessary. A mild sedative might be administered but in this case, where respiration and pulse are already slowed, that would probably be a very dangerous move.

The bottom line is if your character is hypothermic- she will not be agitated.

sheadakota said:

The bottom line is if your character is hypothermic- she will not be agitated.

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Ditto.

As an EMT, we're going to be trying to keep them conscious and responding. It's a bitch to do, and frequently requires an EMT dedicated to just doing that. Hypothermia causes you to want to sleep, and that's the danger point. In the field, we're trying to do everything we can to prevent her body from slowing down into death.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

In psych hospitals, an injection would be used only in the most extreme cases to calm down a hysterical patient. Pills work much slower and a person in need of such intervention would likely not be in a condition to swallow a pill. If the patient is less hysterical, a pill under the tongue (for certain meds) will work, but nothing works as quickly as an injection.

justkay said:

In a hospital setting....

What would you give someone to calm them down, quickly. I have a character, not thinking clearly because her body temperature is so low. She's hysterical, in a panic and she's in danger of hurting herself or worsening her condition.

Would they administer pain medications? Morphine? Demerol? She's not in pain - per se - the point is to knock her out so she doesn't hurt herself.

Any ideas?

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The closest scenario that I've often seen to this is the rigors (extreme shivers) that some people get as they come out of anaesthesia. Operating rooms are cold so that the surgeons don't faint, because the surgical gowns, gloves, masks etc leave only your eyeballs to lose excess heat. The patient on the other hand may have had their belly open exposing guts to the cold air worsening their hypothermia. You use a variety of warming methods (warmed IV fluids, blankets, heating pads etc) but some people still get rigors depite that.

In that case, the anaesthesiologist often will give narcotics for pain, but not enough to knock them out (at least not intentionally) because they don't want the patient to dehiss the wound or splint their respirations so much that they desaturate their oxygen. Also the patient then will also often be restrained with a special and normally very effective way of short sheeting them.

However the transition from the OR to the Recovery Room is the only scenario that I can think of that matches your scenario. It's not the cold that makes the patient panic. They just happen to be cold and panicked. The choice between demerol and morphine depends upon too many variables. Either might be used. They might even use something like a few particular antihistamines or benzodiazepines, also warm blankets, lots of warm blankets.

Ditto warm blankets. Hospitals always have these. I've been the victim of them multiple times.

Also, even ER's often (except in busiest times) have rooms they can put you in and turn off the lights. These, plus warm blankets work well. I've been in one with a child who had a skull fracture (singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star as we watched the monitor lights) and again with a migraine. They are quieter than you'd expect.

justkay said:

In a hospital setting....

What would you give someone to calm them down, quickly. I have a character, not thinking clearly because her body temperature is so low. She's hysterical, in a panic and she's in danger of hurting herself or worsening her condition.

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Which is more important to the plot: hysteria or hypothermia. You can't get both.