Thermoregulation
Thermoregulation is the mechanism of maintaining the core body temperature at optimal levels in mammals, irrespective of the ambient or environmental temperatures. This process can be affected by factors such illnesses, injuries and also certain foods, diets, or supplements (Charkoudian & Crawshaw, 2017).
A person living with diabetes should be aware of the ambient environmental temperature since diabetes can adversely affect the process of thermoregulation. In a particular research, it was conclusively stated that there is enough reason to conclude that “Thermoregulation is known to be impaired in individuals with T1D, especially when associated with long disease duration….” (Barone et al., 2017). For the example given in this assignment, the patient has been ill for more than two decades (around 23 years), which qualifies as “long duration” and, hence, there is cause for concern since they are planning to move to a desert biome.
Desert biomes are known to experience drastic temperature changes, with very high temperatures during the day (35 to 500C) and very low at night (below 100C) on average (Cunningham, 2019). Thermoregulatory impairment means it is hard for the body to automatically adjust to maintain the core temperatures due to difficulties in adjusting to these drastic changes. Also, people with diabetes are susceptible to heat and also vulnerable to hot weather. Thus, there is a cause for concern.
Pre-workout dietary supplements also affect the process of thermoregulation. A study on Australian athletes who use supplements revealed that using supplements with “practically significant” (40mg or more) caffeine content has associated thermoregulatory effects (Desbrow et al., 2018). Since Frank has been using supplements with a significant amount of caffeine (120mg), it thus follows that he a reason to be concerned. High caffeine content is also associated with decreased efficiency of thermoregulation, which is likely to get worse in hot climates (Zheng & Hasegawa, 2016). Given that weather in the deserts can alternate from very hot to very cold, then Frank should be concerned about his condition and take necessary precautions.
Skin burns are also known to affect thermoregulation. Skin is the largest organ in the body, and it is directly involved in the process of thermoregulation. The skin helps in regulating body temperatures by mechanisms that either allow heat loss to the environment or maintaining heat. This is achieved through regulating blood supply by vasodilation and vasoconstriction. Also, the skin helps in releasing excess heat to the atmosphere through radiation, convection, and also conduction, which all depend on the surface area of the skin in contact with the environment. The skin is a vital organ which assists in homeostasis. Any significant injuries to the skin, therefore, are likely to affect the body’s thermoregulation. For the radiation and convection, the skin pores play a very vital role. If said injuries damage them, then there is likely to be a problem. A third-degree burn destroys the dermis, epidermis layers, and also inner tissues of the skin. It may also affect bones depending on severity. An 8% burn is not considered severe; hence, the damage is a relatively smaller scale (Leon & Kenefick, 2017).
Nevertheless, this damage affects the skin’s temperature regulatory capability, since the thermal flow into and out of the body is affected due to the decreased surface and area and also pores. Therefore, the person with 8% 3rd-degree burns will experience these effects. Also, burns make the skin more sensitive to heat.
However, it is important to note that the person in question, James, is completely healed of the burns. Therefore, the effects of the burns to his temperature regulation are minimal but present anyways. Consequently, he will also need to factor in that effect while moving to a desert place.
Since all the three persons in the example experience some thermoregulation impairment, they all need to take precautions as they move to the desert, where they will experience drastic temperature changes. They will, therefore, need to put some modifications into considerations.