Heat exhaustion and heat stroke - recognize and prevent heat illness

When summer temperatures arrive it’s hard to resist getting outside and enjoying the weather, family and friends. MercyOne family medicine physician, Dr. Patrick Courtney says with a little preparation, you can enjoy your summer and avoid heat illness.

“As both a family physician and as a Scout leader, I have talked about this before and dealt with it at summer camp. But before talking about the illness it’s important to know some science on how our body’s temperature system is supposed to work,” says Dr. Courtney. “We have a temperature control area of our brainstem that responds to getting too hot by sending more blood to our skin and by causing sweating. The evaporation of sweat cools the skin, and since there is lots of blood in the skin, that cools off the whole body. Heat related illness happens when that system can’t keep up and you could experience heat exhaustion and heatstroke.”

Heat exhaustion is the heat system failing, and heatstroke happens after it fails. Heat exhaustion is:

• Heat related dehydration
• Sometimes worsened by physical exhaustion or sunburn
• Includes heavy sweating
• Weakness
• Headache
• Nausea
• Fast heart rate
• Dark-colored urine
• Muscle cramps

Heat exhaustion is a warning sign that needs to be listened to.

Do: 

• Get out of the heat
• Ideally find air conditioning or shade
• Drink water or a sports drink slowly
• Remove tight clothing or extra layers
• Taking a cool shower or bath is one of the fastest ways to cool down the body
• Outdoors, lie down with wet towels over your big blood vessels in the neck or armpits

Heatstroke happens when the body’s heat control center fails, and the body’s temperature rises above 104F. As the body temperature climbs over 102 the skin stops sweating – beginning a vicious cycle. This is the “stroke” in heatstroke showing symptoms of:

• Confusion
• Unconsciousness
• Possible, seizures

“Heatstroke is a medical emergency and deserves a 911 call,” says Dr. Courtney. “The dispatcher will probably encourage a lot of the same stuff as in heat exhaustion while waiting – but don’t try to have a confused or unconscious person drink.”

Preventing heat related illness before it happens is the best choice. People employed in agriculture, construction, and other outside jobs know the risks. Often specific regulations exist to help people work safely. You can create your own set of basic “rules” including:

• Take care of your skin – it’s the blood vessels and sweat glands that do the work and if damaged they can’t work.
• Apply sunscreen SPF 15 or higher
• Wear light-colored, loose-fitting clothing
• Wear a hat if you can
• Stay in the shade when you can from 10-4
• Stay hydrated with water
• Don’t drink soda or alcohol, it can dehydrate you
• Try sports drinks as they’re designed to replace salt and water lost from sweating
• Drink even if you’re not thirsty. When hydrated, your urine is clear to lightly colored
• Listen to weather alerts and take dangerous heat warnings seriously
• Reschedule or modify your plans in dangerous heat conditions

Finally, be aware of how certain medications you take might impact your heat sensitivity. Some chronic medical problems and medicines can make people more likely to have heat illness, especially things that affect the blood vessels and the fluid balance in the body. Your doctor or pharmacist can answer these questions.

Respect the heat, and have a great summer.