Life Preservation by the Cold

[ParanoiA]

Not sure if this is the right place for this thread or not, so feel free to move it if I've posted in the wrong place.

 

I was reading something a few months ago, can't remember what it was, but it was fiction, I remember that. A character was fatally wounded, a gunshot or something, in some cold climate. The character supposedly dies, but the freezing temperature preserves him enough that once he's found he's actually resuscitated momentarily and then dies for good.

 

So, I was wondering if that sort of thing is remotely possible. Is there a "perfect wound" of sorts that would allow this scenario? In my mind, it seemed no different than a patient flat lining and then "coming back" a few minutes later - only in this case, the minutes were separated by hours, made possible by the freezing cold.

[ecoli]

the premise makes sense... Cold at that temperature could prevent bacterial infection, which is the real problem when it comes to long term wounds. Also, cold could cause vasoconstriction which could prevent bleeding to death, but probably only if the proper medical treatment was received shortly afterwards.

[Mr Skeptic]

Freezing temperatures can preserve your life for quite a while. In CPR practice, the common saying is that you are not dead until you are warm and dead. Hours may be a bit long if he can't breathe, but people can be half-frozen and under water for half an hour and still be revived. If he was just floating face up, he could still be getting enough oxygen. I don't know about a gunshot wound though.