Summer heat can make us
ill. What’s the difference between heat
exhaustion and heat stroke?
Heat exhaustion occurs when a person loses too much body
fluids (both water and salt) through sweating.
Heat exhaustion can affect anyone out in the heat and humidity. Some health factors increase a person’s risk
of heat exhaustion: being elderly,
working in a hot environment and having high blood pressure.
Symptoms of heat exhaustion:
sweating heavily, feeling weak and exhausted, becoming confused and
dizzy, feeling nauseated, having clammy, moist skin, a pale or flushed
appearance, muscle cramps, fast and shallow breathing. As the person becomes heat exhausted, his
body temperature may rise.
Treatment for heat exhaustion includes having the person
“rest in a cool, shaded or air-conditioned area…drink plenty of water or other
cool, nonalcoholic beverages…and take a cool shower, bath or sponge bath.” CDC.gov, Heat Stress, http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/heatstress/
More next time about the dangerous heat stroke.
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