Reply #6: Heat stroke is a medical emergency - can kill you quickly! [View All]

[Divernan]

I'm forwarding this helpful and important info from an earlier post by DUer nadinbrzezinski

Signs and symtoms of heat injuries

HEAT EXHAUSTION
Symptoms of heat exhaustion include profuse sweating, weakness, nausea, vomiting, headache, lightheadedness, and muscle cramps.

Go to a cooler place, take a shower, drink plenty of liquids, and yes include gatorate or other sports drinks. You are losing electrolytes as well

HEAT STROKE, is a medical emergency... body temps rise, and rise fast... this is a true medical emergency. Different people may have different symptoms and signs of heatstroke. Common symptoms and signs of heat stroke include:

high body temperature,
the absence of sweating, with hot red or flushed dry skin,
rapid pulse,
difficulty breathing,
strange behavior,
hallucinations,
confusion,
agitation,
disorientation,
seizure, and/or
coma.

http://www.medicinenet.com/heat_stroke/article.htm

Please, check on your neighbors. The elderly and kids (or those working outside) are at the most risk. Make sure to drink plenty of water. if you develop a mild dull headache assume you need to drink water to avoid getting into the stroke situation. Gatorade or some other drink with electrolytes are excellent. Caffeinated beverages do not count in this case, really. As temping as a cold beer might be, alcohol will really dehydrate you.

Don't forget your pets. Animals should not be left out in the sun - ideally you can bring them into an air-conditioned setting, but if not, at least make sure they have plenty of fresh water and shade. I'm putting out extra "critter food" for my resident chipmunks, rabbits, squirrels and birds, along with a birdbath full of water, which I change out several times a day because it gets too hot to drink! In this heat animals don't have much energy to go foraging, and they sure have been crowding around to eat.