Heat Stroke

During very hot and humid weather, it's important to be aware of how heat stroke occurs; its symptoms and signs; how to manage it, and how to prevent it when possible.

People at risk
The most common people who are affected by the stroke are:

• Children - according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children have a lower surface-area-to-body-mass ratio than adults, so that their sweating capacity is lower than adults and they are more vulnerable to heat stress.

• Elderly People
• People who work outdoors
• People with circulation or breathing problems
• People who live or work with inadequate cooling or ventilation

How does Heat Stroke occur?
When the weather is hot, your body works overtime trying to stay cool. Excess heat escapes through sweating, exhalation of warmed air, and increased blood flow to the skin.

But hot weather can overwhelm those mechanisms, which leads to failure of body's heat regulating system causing body temperature to increase rapidly and dehydrate.

Symptoms
• Headache
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Fatigue

Signs
• High body temperature (above 40°C when taken orally)
• Red, hot, and dry skin
• No sweat
• Dry mouth, dry eyes, dry nose
• Increased heart rate and breathing
• Unconsciousness

In children, additional signs are:
• Dry mouth and tongue
• No tears when crying
• No wet diapers for more than 3 hours
• Sunken abdomen, eyes or cheeks
• High fever
• Loss of interest
• Irritability
• Skin that does not flatten when pinched and released