Heat Stroke - Some Information

Heat Stroke or Hyperthermia happens when the body produces or absorbs more heat than it can dissipate.We lose water from our body daily sweat, tears, urine and stool. We replace this by drinking water and other fluids. Heat Stroke, since the temperature of the body rises when you experience this, is different from fever because the body temperature only rises from the body's set-point while Heat Stroke keeps the body's temperature rises uncontrollably. The opposite of Hyperthermia or Heat Stroke is Hypothermia which the body's temperature lower's uncontrollably.

Many cases of heat stroke are reported during summer since summer is the hottest season of the year. Especially now that we are experiencing Global Warming. In the Philippines, as a tropical country, summertime is from early March to May. That's the normal period of the summer season. However, now that we are experiencing climate change and we have global warming, summer seems to extend it's time and has even started it's season earlier than expected.

What are the symptoms of a person suffering from Heat Stroke? I have here some points from a certain website and this is very useful to detect one.

• thirst
• less-frequent urination
• dry skin
• fatigue
• light-headedness
• dizziness
• confusion
• dry mouth and mucous membranes
• increased heart rate and breathing

 Election period in the Philippines is during May and many cases of heat stroke have been reported especially those who do campaigns. Celebrity Kris Aquino, sister of the presidential candidate Noynoy Aquino, admitted she almost had heat stroke when she did a campaign for his brother. She immediately stopped her campaign because she already felt dizzy. An article from a newspaper also wrote that a pedicab driver fell dead on the street because of heat stroke. There's even one news that a cameraman who covered a news about heat stroke died after he felt dizzy and fell down. The cause? Heat Stroke.

How can Heat Stroke be treated? According to the article i read, Dehydration and Heat Stroke, the first aid to heat stroke is to drink lots of fluid to lower down the body's temperature. Observe the body until the temperature reaches down to at least the normal point.

But the question about heat stroke is; can we prevent heat stroke since we can't prevent today's global warming and today's weather condition is getting hotter and hotter everyday? The answer is, yes!

Here are some tips on how to prevent heat stroke especially now that's summer. Take a look.

• Drink plenty of fluids during outdoor activities, especially on hot days. Water and sports drinks are the drinks of choice; avoid tea, coffee, soda and alcohol as these can lead to dehydration.
  
  
• Wear lightweight, tightly woven, loose-fitting clothing in light colors.
  
  
• Schedule vigorous activity and sports for cooler times of the day.
  
  
• Protect yourself from the sun by wearing a hat, sunglasses and using an umbrella.
  
  
• Increase time spent outdoors gradually to get your body used to the heat.
  
  
• During outdoor activities, take frequent drink breaks and mist yourself with a spray bottle to avoid becoming overheated.
  
  
• Try to spend as much time indoors as possible on very hot and humid days.

Heat Stroke can be prevented if we do these tips. Some medical experts even suggest to do outdoor chores not during the peak of the day. You can do it instead during late afternoon like 3 pm because, according to them, 10 am to 3pm is the hottest time of the day.

additional read: http://www.umm.edu/non_trauma/dehyrat.htm
image source: http://www.elcosh.org/record/document/670/4.jpg