Q: What is "Paradoxical undressing"?
Answer: Relatively unknown phenomenon but 20-50% of hypothermia deaths are associated with paradoxical undressing. In moderate to severe hypothermia, as the person becomes disoriented, they may begin undressing their clothing, which, in turn, increases the rate of heat loss.
Rescuers usual first thought is - victims of hypothermia have been subjected to a sexual assault.
Several explanations have been proposed including cold-induced malfunction of the hypothalamus. Another explanation is that the muscles contracting peripheral blood vessels become exhausted, loss of vasomotor tone and relax, leading to a sudden surge of blood to the extremities, fooling the person into feeling overheated.
Wedin B, Vanggaard L, Hirvonen J (July 1979). ""Paradoxical undressing" in fatal hypothermia". J. Forensic Sci. 24 (3): 543–53