Goodhealth-108

The most severe form of heat illness, heatstroke is a life-threatening medical emergency. The body loses its ability to regulate its own temperature. Body temperature can soar to 106° F (41.1° C) or even higher, leading to brain damage or even death if it isn’t quickly treated. Prompt medical treatment is required to bring the body temperature under control.

Factors that increase the risk for heatstroke include overdressing and extreme physical exertion in hot weather with inadequate fluid intake.

Heatstroke also can happen when a child is left in, or becomes accidentally trapped in, a car on a hot day. When the outside temperature is 93° F (33.9° C), the temperature inside a car can reach 125° F (51.7° C) in just 20 minutes, quickly raising body temperature to dangerous levels.

What to Do:

Call for emergency medical help if your child has been outside in the sun exercising for a long time and shows one or more of these symptoms of heatstroke:

• flushed, hot, dry skin with no sweating
• temperature of 105° F (40.6° C) or higher
• severe, throbbing headache
• weakness, dizziness, or confusion
• sluggishness or fatigue
• seizure
• decreased responsiveness
• loss of consciousness

While waiting for help:

• Get your child indoors or into the shade.
• Undress your child and sponge or douse him or her with cool water.
• Do not give fluids.

An Ounce of Prevention

To help protect kids from heat illness:

• Teach kids to always drink plenty of fluids before and during an activity in hot, sunny weather — even if they’re not thirsty.
• Make sure kids wear light-colored, loose clothing.
• Make sure your kids only participate in heavy activity outdoors before noon and after 6 PM.

Teach kids to come indoors immediately whenever they feel overheated.

Also called: Sunstroke

Your body normally cools itself by sweating. During hot weather, especially with high humidity, sweating just isn’t enough. Your body temperature can rise to dangerous levels and you can develop a heat illness. Most heat illnesses occur from staying out in the heat too long. Exercising too much for your age and physical condition are also factors. Older adults, young children and those who are sick or overweight are most at risk. Drinking fluids, replenishing salt and minerals and limiting time in the heat can help.

Heat-related illnesses include

* Heatstroke – a life-threatening illness in which body temperature may rise above 106° F in minutes; symptoms include dry skin, rapid, strong pulse and dizziness

* Heat exhaustion – an illness that can precede heatstroke; symptoms include heavy sweating, rapid breathing and a fast, weak pulse

* Heat cramps – muscle pains or spasms that happen during heavy exercise

* Heat rash – skin irritation from excessive sweating

Heat exhaustion is a more severe heat illness that can occur when someone in a hot climate or environment hasn’t been drinking enough fluids. Symptoms may include:

• dehydration
• fatigue
• weakness
• clammy skin
• headache
• nausea and/or vomiting
• hyperventilation (rapid breathing)
• irritability

What to Do:

• Bring your child indoors or into the shade.
• Loosen or remove your child’s clothing.
• Encourage your child to eat and drink.
• Give your child a bath in cool (not cold) water.
• Call your doctor for further advice. If your child is too exhausted or ill to eat or drink, intravenous (IV) fluids may be necessary.

If left untreated, heat exhaustion may escalate into heatstroke, which can be fatal.

Heat rash also known as prickly heat and miliaria (isn’t just for babies). Though it’s most common in infants, heat rash affects up to a third of adults living in tropical climates and can plague anyone during hot, humid weather.

Heat rash develops when your sweat ducts become blocked and perspiration is trapped under your skin. Symptoms range from superficial blisters to deep, red lumps. Some forms of heat rash can be intensely itchy or prickly.

Most often, heat rash goes away on its own. Severe forms of heat rash may need medical care, but the best way to relieve symptoms is to cool your skin and prevent sweating.

Symptoms

Adults usually develop heat rash in skin folds and wherever clothing causes friction. In infants, the rash is mainly found on the head, neck, shoulders, chest and back, but it can also occur in the armpits and groin.

Causes

• Immature sweat ducts. Because a newborn’s sweat ducts aren’t fully developed, they rupture easily, trapping perspiration beneath the skin. This happens most often in hot weather, but it can occur anytime infants are dressed too warmly. Newborns who have high fevers or are in incubators can also develop blocked sweat ducts.
• Tropical climates. Hot, humid weather is particularly conducive to miliaria, especially when you first move to the tropics from a temperate region. Once your body becomes acclimated — often over a period of several months — the problem usually disappears.
• Physical activity. Intense exercise, hard work or any activity that causes you to perspire extensively can lead to heat rash.
• Certain fabrics. You may develop heat rash if you consistently wear clothing that doesn’t allow perspiration to evaporate normally.
• Medications. Certain prescription medications have been linked to heat rash, including bethanechol, which treats bladder problems; clonidine (Catapres), a high blood pressure drug sometimes used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); and the acne medication isotretinoin (Accutane, Amnesteem).
• Bacteria. Some bacteria normally found on the skin, such as Staphylococcus epidermidis, secrete a sticky substance that may block sweat ducts.

• Other factors. Overheating in general — bundling up too much in winter, sleeping under an electric blanket — can lead to heat rash. So can using heavy creams and ointments, which block the sweat ducts. Heat rash can also occur in people who are confined to a hospital bed for long periods.