Our bodies are designed to adjust to variations in heat and cold. However, if the body becomes
overwhelmed, heat and cold related emergencies can happen. Several factors that affect how
much heat or cold the body can take are air temperature, humidity, wind, clothing, the
number of breaks a person takes from exposure to the elements, the amount of hydration,
the intensity of the activity, and even their age; because we know the very young and the
very old are very susceptible to the heat and cold extremes. A person’s health condition,
their medications that they take, and even alcohol and drug consumption.
Dehydration is a major contributing factor for heat and cold related emergencies.
Dehydration can be defined as inadequate fluid in the body's tissues. It can be caused by
not drinking enough fluids, or it can be caused by vomiting, it can be caused by diarrhea,
or certain medications, when people take in alcohol, or too much caffeine. Remember high
caffeinated drinks like coffee or black tea, pop, and caffeinated energy drinks, these
can all dehydrate our bodies in a hurry. It's especially important to drink more water when
we're consuming these types of beverages. Some early signs and symptoms of dehydration
could include: dark colored urine, fatigue, weakness, maybe
a headache, dizziness, really thirsty, maybe you've got dry lips or a dry mouth.
The most important thing is to recognize the signs of dehydration early and drink water
or some other type of electrolyte replacing fluids. Some of these fluids like skim milk,
sports drinks. These can all help avoid an emergency situation.
Now, in heat, early signs of dehydration tend to be more obvious because we sweat. We naturally
get thirsty and therefore we desire to drink more fluids.
In cold weather, however, we don't often feel the need to drink more fluids. In cold weather,
the body doesn't get as hot, and sweat evaporates more rapidly in cold air. We get "fooled"
into thinking that we are not losing fluids and don't need them because we don’t feel
thirsty. The truth is, we need as much or even more fluid in cold weather to stay properly
hydrated. This is especially true when working hard outdoors in cold weather or participating
in active cold weather sports like maybe snow skiing or ice hockey, maybe even just sledding.
These kinds of things can all dehydrate us if we're not careful.
When dehydration becomes serious, a person may become disoriented. They might even have
sunken eyes, and then eventually they may even become unconscious. “Tenting” of
the skin is a common sign of serious dehydration. This is where you kind of pinch the skin on
your hand and then you let go. If the skin stays like a tent, that's a perfect sign of
a person's dehydration unless they are very old which is more common. A dehydrated person
that has that kind of skin tenting should be looked at and treated for dehydration.
If a person shows serious signs of dehydration, be sure to call EMS right away. If conscious,
give them cool water or skim milk or another type of decaffeinated sports drink. Monitor
the person and care for any life threatening conditions until help arrives.
Now let's take a look at heat related illnesses.
They include heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Heat cramps are the most
early stage of heat related illness, and are normally easy to correct. The signs could
include painful muscle spasms, which are usually found in the legs or the stomach. This is
pretty common, especially during outdoor sports or other activities in the heat of the summer.
We care for those heat cramps by moving the person to a cool place to rest. Just have
them drink some water or some other type of electrolyte containing fluids; and gently
massage their sore muscles while they stretch their muscles.
Heat exhaustion is a more serious condition than heat cramps, but does not usually become
an emergency if treated early enough. Heat exhaustion occurs when a person is exposed
to a hot environment, where fluids are lost through sweating and they are not replaced.
The signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion could include things like: heavy sweating,
maybe they're dizzy or they've got a headache, maybe they're feeling nauseous or even vomiting,
maybe they've got those muscle cramps we talked about. Their skin is normally pale and moist,
sometimes even bluish, but it also can be flush.
If you see the signs of heat exhaustion: be sure to move the person to a shady or air-conditioned
place where the air is circulating well and they can cool down. Maybe you loosen their clothing.
Try to apply cool, wet cloths especially to the forehead or face. Spray them with water
and then use a fan.
If the person is conscious, give small amounts of cool water, you can even give them ice
chips, or any other hydrating drink. The person should not drink large amounts of water too
quickly, as this can always lead to vomiting which kind of defeats the purpose as they
then get rid of fluids.
If the person doesn't feel better soon, or doesn't show signs of improving in about 5-10
minutes, or they even get worse, be sure to call 911 or your local emergency medical services.
A life threatening heat related condition is called heat stroke. At this point, the
body has progressed past heat cramps exhaustion. The body is so overwhelmed with heat that
it can no longer cool itself. The body temperature rises quickly, sweating stops, and the brain
and other vital organs begin to fail. Heat stroke includes the following signs and symptoms:
Hot, red, dry or moist skin. A person's skin may still have some moisture on it from previous
sweating, but the body has stopped sweating at this point. Extremely high body temperature
over 103 degrees Fahrenheit or 39.4 degrees Celsius. They usually will have a rapid heartbeat
and their respirations are very fast. Confusion usually starts to set in, and they may even
have nausea, dizziness, seizures, or even become unconscious.
If you see signs and symptoms of heat stroke, the priority is to get advanced medical care
and cool the body as quickly as possible. Call 911 or your local emergency medical services
number. Move the person to a shady or air-conditioned place where the air is circulating. You can
cover the person's body in towels soaked in ice water or cool water. And then cool the
person by even immersing their body in water up to the neck. A bathtub works great for
this, but if you only have a nearby stream or creek use caution but that works as well.
Spray the person with cold water and fan them down. Use a hose. If conscious and able to
swallow, have the person slowly drink cool water, eat some ice chips, or drink other
cool hydrating fluids.
Monitor the person for responsiveness and signs of breathing. And if the person is unconscious
and not breathing normally, this is a life threatening condition, so start CPR.