adminHEATSTROKE is a medical problem caused by prolonged exposure to high temperatures or by doing physical activity in hot weather. You know you have heatstroke when you have the following: High body temperature. A body temperature of 40 degrees Celsius or higher is the main sign of heatstroke.
- A lack of sweating. In heatstroke brought on by hot weather, your skin will feel hot and dry to the touch. However, in heatstroke brought on by strenuous exercise, your skin may feel moist.
- Nausea and vomiting. You may become nauseated or even vomit.
- Flushed skin. Your skin may turn red as your body temperature increases.
- Rapid breathing. Your breathing may become rapid and shallow.
- Racing heart rate. Your pulse may significantly increase because heat stress places a tremendous burden on your heart to help cool your body.
- Headache. You may experience a throbbing headache.
- Confusion. You may have seizures, hallucinate, or have difficulty speaking or understanding what others are saying.
- Unconsciousness. You may pass out or fall into a state of deep unconsciousness.
- Muscle cramps or weakness. Your muscles may feel tender or cramped in the early stages of heatstroke, but may later go rigid or limp.
- Heatstroke can occur in these situations:
Exposure to a hot environment. In non-exertion heatstroke, the condition is caused by a hot environment that leads to a rise in body temperature, without strenuous physical activity. It occurs most often in older adults and in people with chronic illness.
Strenuous activity. In exertion heatstroke, the condition is caused by an increase in body temperature brought on by physical activity in hot weather.
Heatstroke treatment centres on cooling your body to a normal temperature to prevent or reduce damage to your brain and vital organs. To do this, your doctor may take these steps:
Immerse you in cold water. Your doctor may put your body in a bath of cold water or ice water to quickly lower your temperature.
Use evaporation cooling techniques. These use evaporation instead of immersion to lower your body temperature. In this technique, cool water is misted on your skin while warm air fanned over your body causes the water to evaporate, cooling the skin.
Pack you with ice and cooling blankets. Another method is to wrap you in a special cooling blanket and apply ice packs to your groin, neck, back and armpits to lower your temperature.
Dr Tendai Zuze can be contacted at Highland Clinic on 020-66364 or [email protected]
Online Reporter