INDEPTH: HEALTH
Heat Sickness
CBC News Online | July 16, 2004
In the hot, summer weather, we sometimes can go a little overboard on the sun. And the problem isn't just sunburns. Too much sun and too little water can affect our whole bodies and lead to heat illness.
Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are two of the most common forms of heat illness.
Seniors, young children, the handicapped, and people who have heart, lung or kidney conditions are the most susceptible to heat illness.
Heat exhaustion is a relatively mild form of heat illness. It often occurs when physical exhaustion – from exercise, for example – combines with extreme heat and dehydration. A person suffering from heat exhaustion may be pale, dizzy, nauseated, sweating profusely and cool to the touch. In more severe cases, vomiting and fainting can occur.
Resting in a cool room and drinking water can usually relieve heat exhaustion, and cold, wet towels on the skin can help as well. If a person is vomiting and can't keep water down, it may be necessary to give fluids intravenously. Because heat exhaustion can sometimes lead to heat stroke, a person suffering from heat exhaustion should seek medical help.
Heat stroke, sometimes called sun stroke, is a much more severe illness in which the body's temperature control mechanism fails. Heat stroke is a medical emergency and must be treated immediately.
Because the condition impairs the body's ability to sweat, a person who has not been exercising who suffers from heat stroke will have flushed, warm and dry skin. A person with heat stroke who has been exercising may still be sweating, but in both cases, the person will have an elevated body temperature, greater than 41 C.
Heat stroke can also cause confusion, disorientation, aggressiveness or even unconsciousness.
Someone with heat stroke has to get to hospital immediately. While transporting the person to the ER:
- remove most of the person's clothing;
- cool the person by fanning and spraying with cool water;
- if conscious, offer the person sips of cool, salted water.
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