What is heatstroke?
Heatstroke is a condition where the body’s core temperature rises to more than 40 degrees Celsius quickly, caused by being in a place with a very high temperature, especially in a hot and humid place, or by exercising so much that the body cannot cool itself down in time. This disease can have adverse effects on the heart, nervous system, and kidneys, because if heatstroke occurs, the blood flow to various organs will decrease.
Risk factors that cause heatstroke
- Children and the elderly have less ability to cope with changes in body temperature.
- Being in a place or area with high temperatures or sudden changes
- Some medications that affect body hydration, such as diuretics, psychiatric medications, or vasodilators, etc.
- Chronic diseases such as heart disease, lung disease, obesity , etc.
Types of heatstroke
Heatstroke can be divided into two types as follows:
Classical Heat Stroke
It occurs when being in a hot climate, causing the body’s cooling process to not work efficiently, resulting in the body being unable to adapt, resulting in a build-up of high temperature inside the body, eventually leading to heatstroke.
Exertional Heat Stroke
It occurs when the body is heavily used outdoors for a long time until the body cannot cool itself down quickly, causing the core body temperature to rise. This type of heatstroke has other symptoms such as difficulty breathing, nausea, vomiting, etc.
Symptoms of heatstroke
- The body temperature increases to more than 40 degrees Celsius.
- Headache, nausea, vomiting
- Low blood pressure, rapid breathing, rapid heartbeat
- Sweat glands are not functioning properly, so no sweat is produced even though the body temperature is high.
- The body turns red because the body temperature has increased.
- There are abnormal neurological symptoms such as delirium, slow speech, slurred speech, confusion, seizures, and loss of consciousness, etc.
Who is at risk of heatstroke?
- Young children and the elderly
- Motorcyclists and bus drivers without air conditioning
- People with chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, etc.
- Professionals who have to work in high temperature areas, such as soldiers who have to undergo outdoor training, construction workers, farmers, traffic police, etc.
- People who exercise outdoors and overdo it
- People who drink alcohol
Complications of heatstroke
Heatstroke can cause many complications, such as:
- Central nervous system or cerebral edema, resulting in confusion, convulsions, and loss of consciousness.
- Cardiovascular system: When the body becomes dehydrated, it can cause low blood pressure and irregular heartbeats, which can lead to death.
- The muscular system may result in rhabdomyolysis.
- Lungs are at risk of developing respiratory conditions.
- Kidneys are at risk of acute renal failure.
Complications depend on the duration and severity of the condition in each person. If assistance is delayed, the symptoms will become more severe and the risk of death will increase.
Diagnosis of heatstroke
- Blood test to look for damage to คาสิโนออนไลน์ UFABET ฝากถอนรวดเร็ว เริ่มต้นเล่นง่าย the central nervous system by looking at potassium, sodium, gas and waste levels in the blood.
- Urine test, the color of urine tends to be darker when the body temperature is higher.
- Muscle function tests: Your doctor will look for muscle damage caused by heatstroke.
- X-rays to look for damage to internal systems that may be affected by heatstroke.