Prevent overheating
“He must have sunstroke!” This saying usually refers to someone who is acting a little weird. But did you know that the expression comes eerily close to the truth when you carelessly deal with heatstroke? Reason to protect your body during hot summer days.
When the body gets heated, the body temperature rises. Normally, the body responds efficiently to this. You sweat and get thirsty. You then drink a cooling drink or take a cold shower and thus get rid of the heat.
Overheating
When you have sunstroke, you are overheating. Again the body temperature rises. This time, however, you won’t be able to sweat out the heat. Your perspiration system is supposedly failing and your temperature remains high.
First stage heat stroke
A body temperature above 40 degrees is one of the main symptoms of heat stroke. Headaches, dizziness and nausea are also a signal from the body that you should get out of the sun.
The skin can react in two ways: hot, dry and red or clammy and cold, while perspiring profusely. Other symptoms may include a rapid heart rate, dilated pupils and shallow breathing. Muscle pain is also a common phenomenon.
Do you recognize heatstroke in the first phase? Then find the coolness and have a drink. Preferably a sports drink. This way you can calmly catch your breath. After this experience, do not immediately go back into the bright sun!
Second stage heat stroke
The second phase is a lot more dangerous and less easy to treat yourself. You may start to behave confused and bizarre. If you do nothing about the situation, or rather: if you are not helped, you run the risk of losing consciousness and having epileptic seizures.
Ultimately, heat stroke can kill you. In that case you will go into a shock: a state in which more and more organs fail, until death follows.
If you recognize heatstroke in the second phase in someone, immediately seek professional help. Until the emergency personnel arrive, you must remove the victim from the sun and actively cool down. This can be done with a fan or a blanket soaked with water (not ice cold). Do not let the victim drink as long as he/she is not conscious!
Prevention Tips
It does not happen quickly that someone ends up in the second stage of heat stroke. In addition, an increased risk of heat stroke mainly applies to babies and the elderly. Still, it’s important to be careful when going out in direct sunlight.
Heatstroke can be insidious; without realizing it, you may have sunstroke. And who wants to have their holiday or day off ruined by a sunstroke? You can prevent heatstroke by using the following tips:
- Wear light clothing in the sun and protect your head.
- Drink enough. Have a sports drink or broth. At high temperatures you sweat a lot and you also lose salt.
- Do not torment yourself in high temperatures with high humidity.
- Take a refreshing, cooling shower often.
Get used to the heat
A tip that deserves special attention is the following: let the body get used to high temperatures. Many people tend to go out in the sun as naked as possible on the first warm (holiday) days.
However, the body has to get used to the abrupt transition. So don’t go straight into the blistering heat from our cold frog country for days. Prepare your body by, for example, taking a tanning bed before going on holiday, or not going outside for too long the first few days. And have a siesta between 12 noon and 3 pm.
With these tips in hand you can enjoy a delicious and responsible summer holiday, without overheating.
