Heat stroke occurs when heat exhaustion is left untreated and the victim's core body temperature continues to rise. Heat stroke is a severe emergency that can lead to coma, irreversible brain damage and death. Learn to recognize heat stroke and treat the victim aggressively to prevent further injury.
Heat disorders are a group of illnesses caused by prolonged exposure to hot temperatures, restricted fluid intake, or failure of the body's ability to regulate its temperature. The general term used for heat disorders is hyperthermia (pronounced hi-per-THUR-mee-uh). The three most common forms of hyperthermia are heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and heat cramps.
Types of Heat Stroke
Exertional heat stroke
People who have exertional heat stroke are usually people who are exercising in excessively warm conditions. Their bodies cannot manage the stress of the physical activity and the hot environment together.
Classic heat stroke
People with classic heat stroke are usually elderly, very young (infants and toddlers) or debilitated people who are in warm environments for too long. The elderly are especially vulnerable to the heat. Elderly people are more vulnerable to the heat because as the body ages, it is is less able to handle heat and cool itself off.
Causes
Working or exercising in hot conditions or weather without drinking enough fluids is the main cause of heat stroke. You can get heat stroke by not replacing lost fluids over days or weeks, or you can bring it on in a few hours by exercising strenuously on a hot day without drinking plenty of liquids first.
Liquids help to cool us down by allowing the body to produce sweat. However, liquids are also necessary for bodily functions, such as keeping up blood pressure. You can lose large amounts of body fluid in the form of sweat without noticing any effects, but at a certain point the body will reserve the remaining fluid for vital functions, and stop sweating. The body's core temperature shoots up, and cells start dying.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?
After prolonged exposure to hot conditions, the following symptoms of heat exhaustion may develop:
1.Profuse Sweating
2.Fatigue
3.Muscle cramps
4.Nausea and vomiting
Prevention and protection from heatstroke is quite easy. The very first thing to remember is that heatstroke can be caused by rapid dehydration. Water cools down the body and without it, the heat from the sun or any heat source will trigger the rapid rise of the body temperature. Because the body needs water to cool down, it’s just logical that we can prevent dehydration and heatstroke by drinking water. It’s not enough that we just drink the recommended eight glasses of water on a hot day.
If you’re going out in the sun, always bring with you bottled water to drink from time and time or any sports drink. Even if you’re under the sun, having a constant water supply will prevent heatstroke. However, be cautious since there are also known cases of heatstroke caused by sunburn. Water and a powerful sun block should do the trick.
