Folks. This bugs me. Like, A LOT.
If the person you just fished out of *insert X body of water here* is still shivering?
Then they’re, essentially, fine.
No need to start flipping out and having emotional breakthroughs until they’ve ceased shivering. Shivering is a natural bodily function; it’s your muscles doing their damnedest to keep warm. It’s only when they’ve given up trying that you should start worrying about core temperatures and loss of limbs. (Frostbite is, of course, an entirely different matter.)
This *incredibly* condescending post brought to you by the fact that I see this fairly often in fic and it always bugs me.
Shivering is a GOOD thing. The shivering ceasing is the BAD thing. Please to write the melodrama accordingly, thank you.
Yes! So if you want good melodrama, leave them sitting there in the cold by the body of water till they’ve stopped shivering and possibly have begun to display a blue tint to lips and the roots of their fingernails. And THEN start with the emotional breakthroughs. 😉
Muerto’s totally right, though, seriously. Shivering is the official first stage of hypothermia, but it’s not a dangerous one. Many of us wind up there once or twice a year. All they need is central heating. And probably a good night’s sleep, because dude, being cold is really tiring.