Facts You Ought to Know about Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke
Most of us spend some time outdoors on those hot sunny days, and many times we don't pay attention to how thirsty we are in the midst of having so much fun. Other times some people get stuck working out in it and that they don't keep themselves properly hydrated. This article is going to focus on what heat exhaustion and heat stroke are and what you can do to prevent and treat these said problems.
Heat Exhaustion
What causes the body to experience heat exhaustion, is the inability to sweat enough to keep your body cool. Most people who experience this are either working out in the heat, or there are exercising and whether that's to hot.
Some of the symptoms that you can expect include:
Headaches, dizziness, weakness, fatigue, nausea, and even irritability I have noticed.
Skin that is cool to the touch, moist, pale, or has a flushed appearance.
Heat Stroke
Many times if you're not careful heat exhaustion can turn into a full-blown heatstroke. If this happens you are going to need emergency medical treatment. What happens in heatstroke is that your body completely stops sweating and your temperature continues to rise, often to temperatures well above 105°F.
Some of the things that indicate heatstroke are as follows:
Uncharacteristic behavior, confusion, delirium and unconsciousness.
Skin that is red, hot, and dry even in places that are normally moist like in the armpits.
Things You Can Do to Prevent Heatstroke and Heat Exhaustion
Try not to do anything that is too strenuous during the hottest times of the day.
Make sure that you were close fitting for the weather, and those would be a light colored and loose fitting which help to reflect the sun off of you.
Try to stay away from sudden extreme temperature changes, an example would be getting into it an extremely hot car. Take the time to air it out before you enter.
If you are on medication that makes you have to pee a lot, i.e. a diuretic, then try to talk to your doctor about lessening your dosage on days that are extremely hot.
Make sure that you keep yourself hydrated, especially if you're working out in the weather. When I was working construction on hot days I would go through more than a gallon in an eight hour time frame. The importance of hydration is critical.
If you are exercising out in the hot weather, drink more water than you think is necessary. As an example if you are running out in it then you should drink a minimum of the couple water 15 minutes before you start running and then drink another cup after a couple of miles. Obviously if you feel you need it Drink water more often than that.
Home treatments
If you start feeling the symptoms of heat exhaustion, then you need to get out of the sun and find some shade. If there is someplace with air-conditioning this is preferable. I experienced it once and my foreman doused my head with cool water and kept applying a cool wet rag to the back of my neck. If you feel sick or nauseated, then make sure that you lie down in a cool area.
If the person's temperature rises up above 102°, then you need to make sure to try and get the temperature down as quickly as possible and call for help.
a. Make sure that you apply cool water not cold to the person's whole body. This includes areas like the groin the neck and the armpits. Don't try to submerge the person in pure ice water.
b. If you can get the persons temperature to drop down below a 102°, be sure that you don't keep on trying to cool the person and over cool them. Once a person reaches a temperature of 98.6 it is time to stop the cooling process.
d. Never try to give medicine like acetaminophen or aspirin to somebody in order to try to get the temperature to drop. This is not the case of a fever like from a sickness.
d. Pay attention to signs of heatstroke that were mentioned earlier.
e. If the person quits breathing, then you need to immediately start applying CPR and holler for help just as loudly as you can.
As you can see heatstroke and heat exhaustion are nothing to fool around with. It can often become a life and death matter in just a matter of a few moments. When I was working construction this was taken very seriously and you should take it seriously too. Don't fall victim to this as it can kill.
Heat Exhaustion
What causes the body to experience heat exhaustion, is the inability to sweat enough to keep your body cool. Most people who experience this are either working out in the heat, or there are exercising and whether that's to hot.
Some of the symptoms that you can expect include:
Headaches, dizziness, weakness, fatigue, nausea, and even irritability I have noticed.
Skin that is cool to the touch, moist, pale, or has a flushed appearance.
Heat Stroke
Many times if you're not careful heat exhaustion can turn into a full-blown heatstroke. If this happens you are going to need emergency medical treatment. What happens in heatstroke is that your body completely stops sweating and your temperature continues to rise, often to temperatures well above 105°F.
Some of the things that indicate heatstroke are as follows:
Uncharacteristic behavior, confusion, delirium and unconsciousness.
Skin that is red, hot, and dry even in places that are normally moist like in the armpits.
Things You Can Do to Prevent Heatstroke and Heat Exhaustion
Try not to do anything that is too strenuous during the hottest times of the day.
Make sure that you were close fitting for the weather, and those would be a light colored and loose fitting which help to reflect the sun off of you.
Try to stay away from sudden extreme temperature changes, an example would be getting into it an extremely hot car. Take the time to air it out before you enter.
If you are on medication that makes you have to pee a lot, i.e. a diuretic, then try to talk to your doctor about lessening your dosage on days that are extremely hot.
Make sure that you keep yourself hydrated, especially if you're working out in the weather. When I was working construction on hot days I would go through more than a gallon in an eight hour time frame. The importance of hydration is critical.
If you are exercising out in the hot weather, drink more water than you think is necessary. As an example if you are running out in it then you should drink a minimum of the couple water 15 minutes before you start running and then drink another cup after a couple of miles. Obviously if you feel you need it Drink water more often than that.
Home treatments
If you start feeling the symptoms of heat exhaustion, then you need to get out of the sun and find some shade. If there is someplace with air-conditioning this is preferable. I experienced it once and my foreman doused my head with cool water and kept applying a cool wet rag to the back of my neck. If you feel sick or nauseated, then make sure that you lie down in a cool area.
If the person's temperature rises up above 102°, then you need to make sure to try and get the temperature down as quickly as possible and call for help.
a. Make sure that you apply cool water not cold to the person's whole body. This includes areas like the groin the neck and the armpits. Don't try to submerge the person in pure ice water.
b. If you can get the persons temperature to drop down below a 102°, be sure that you don't keep on trying to cool the person and over cool them. Once a person reaches a temperature of 98.6 it is time to stop the cooling process.
d. Never try to give medicine like acetaminophen or aspirin to somebody in order to try to get the temperature to drop. This is not the case of a fever like from a sickness.
d. Pay attention to signs of heatstroke that were mentioned earlier.
e. If the person quits breathing, then you need to immediately start applying CPR and holler for help just as loudly as you can.
As you can see heatstroke and heat exhaustion are nothing to fool around with. It can often become a life and death matter in just a matter of a few moments. When I was working construction this was taken very seriously and you should take it seriously too. Don't fall victim to this as it can kill.