How to avoid heatstroke during the hot weather

The Philippines is a tropical country, which temperature reaches 40 degrees Celsius in some areas. With the world becoming hotter, heatstroke would happen more likely when people are not too educated about its existence and how it can be managed and prevented. The alarming part is that a person who sees someone else having a heatstroke might have no idea it is happening, and it could lead to death.

How does one know he’s having heatstroke?

According to Mayo Clinic, “heatstroke brought on by hot weather will make the skin will feel hot and dry to the touch. While heatstroke brought on by strenuous exercise, makes the skin feel dry or slightly moist.”

• Exposure to a hot environment leads to the rise of body temperature. This typically happens after exposure to hot and humid weather for prolonged periods.

• Strenuous activity. Exertional heat stroke happens when the core body temperature was brought on by intense physical activity during hot weather conditions. This is most likely to occur if one is not used to high temperatures.

This requires emergency treatment, and when left untreated, it can quickly damage the brain, heart, kidneys, and muscles with the risk of serious complications or death. It could alter someone’s mental state and behavior causing slurred speech, confusion, agitation, irritability, seizures delirium and coma. Other symptoms like body temperature reaching 40 degrees Celsius, nausea and vomiting, racing heart rate, rapid breathing, flushed skin, and headache.

So, what circumstances could trigger the chances of a person having a heatstroke?

Clothing choices

Heatstroke could be brought on by wearing clothes that do not allow air to pass through the skin to help cool the body and to allow sweat to evaporate easily. Tight leather clothes are not advisable to be working during hot weather to look good. Wearing loose-fitting or lightweight clothing will help the body stay within the normal temperature.

Water intake and substances

The body sweats every day, and more so when one adapts to a physically active lifestyle. It needs regular replenishment and rehydration to function at its best while maintaining a normal temperature. Taking in enough water helps the body keep the oxygen it needs for healthy blood flow, normal blood filtration as a function of the kidneys. The bottom line, the whole body needs water as fuel to survive.

Some substances also affect the body—diuretics that could come from beverages, and medications make someone urinate more, leaving the body with less water. Sugary and alcoholic drinks will interfere with the body’s ability to regulate temperature. Very cold drinks cause stomach cramps, so this cannot be a part of the remedy.

Strenuous physical activities

Take it easy on any workout regime during the hottest times of the day. If workouts cannot be eliminated just in the case of athletes, drinking replenishing fluids and resting in cool spots, or changing workout schedules to match the cooler times of the day would be ideal. Airconditioned gyms are also ideal to keep people safe.

Acclimation

Imagine an athlete who is based in an area with a cold climate, and suddenly went to a tropical country like the Philippines. It is necessary that they take time to get used to the weather to get the body conditioned to do workouts. Not getting used to the heat makes the body susceptible to heat-related illnesses. It is advisable that they take several weeks to get adjusted to hot weather.

The good thing? It is preventable.

• Never leave anyone in a parked car. Children cannot be left in the car during hot weather—not even if parents think of a quick trip to a grocery store. When a car is parked in the sun, the temperature inside can rise 11 degrees Celsius in just 10 minutes. This needs to be a rule regardless—if the car is parked under a tree.

• Allow the body to adjust. The sun is always exciting, and the thought of having a ripped body while enjoying the beach is bliss, at the same time, being fit is not a short-term goal, and being tanned is way better to happen in weeks or months instead of a one-day process of staying out and getting burned by the glaring sun. Wearing sunblock with a minimum of SPF 15 protects a person from skin cancer brought by too many Ultraviolet rays due to sun exposure.

• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! Helping the body replenish lost electrolytes by drinking a good amount of water and beverages that would put your body’s sodium level back to normal is imperative to making sure that health is not compromised while having fun under the sun or treating the body to a good calorie-burning workout.

How to help a person who seems to be having a heat stroke

While awaiting professional medical treatment, help cool the overheated person by getting them indoors or into a shady area. Remove excess clothing that prevents sweating. Do every possible means of cooling the body by putting them in a cool tub of water, spraying water using a garden hose, fanning while misting with cool water, ice packs, and cold towels on the head, neck, groin, and armpits.

It’s summertime and it’s amazing that people could now go to the nearest beaches and do more physical activities. It’s surely fun to be around other people, socialize, enjoy the sun, and have a more active life. It just so happens that awareness of the body’s limits needs to be exercised. Sunscreen is necessary to prevent skin damage and awareness of the body’s daily water intake helps the body stay healthy.

Hot weather condition affects people’s body and mind. Road rage is more frequent in places with hot weather. Although summer has a lot of perks, heatstroke is only one of the many things people should still be careful of. Things that are preventable can just affect people unnecessarily. Imagine experiencing heatstroke when hydrating is a controllable behavior, and working out can be regulated so as to make sure the body’s normal functions are not severely altered.