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Hypothermia is when the body loses too much heat to the water and the core temperature starts to fall. This will cause the diver to begin shivering and will lead to reduced mental abilities, increased nitrogen uptake and decreased nitrogen unloading.

 Your body loses most of its heat through the head, neck and groin area. Thus something like a chicken vest may do wonders for people suffering from hypothermia. Also make sure that your wet suit fits snug as moving water carries a lot of heat away especially from the armpits.

 The normal hypothermia appears in cold water due to insufficient insulation. The body loses most of its heat through the head and neck (50%) and thus a hoody is the perfect choice when diving in colder waters.

 Warm water hypothermia is the lesser of the two and this usually occurs while diving in the tropical regions. Usually the diver does multiple dives per day with little or no insulation e.g. wetsuit. This will cause a slow and unnoticed drop in body temperature and may then grow into acute decompression illness when the diver flies as the body never unloaded enough nitrogen. Even when diving in warm tropical waters always wear a wet suit or a Lycra suit for added warmth. Also ensure that enough liquids are taken to prevent dehydration. The taking of liquids will also help with degassing as the liquid will absorb some of the excess nitrogen in the blood.

The treatment of minor hypothermia is to remove the patient from the water and to cover them with a space blanket or body contact. Encourage the person to drink warm liquids and keep them still. This will help him/her to regain lost heat. After minor hypothermia the diver should not dive for as least a day to ensure adequate removal of nitrogen and return to normal body temperature.