INTROSPECTION

Heatstroke - beat the heat wave!

Finally the time has come to bid adieus to the unusually long and fluctuating winter and its gloomy downcast days and nights; it’s time to welcome the sunshine, the fun-filled vacations, and the scrumptious and delicious fruits of summer! It’s the dichotomy of the seasons and the innumerable lovable characteristic features of each that makes the departure of one and the arrival of another worth cherishing and waiting for! However, as much as we all are pumped up to embrace the season of sunshine, alas! the joy of the season’s arrival is also fused with the dread of one of the most difficult and the deadliest times of the year: the time of heat wave!

Blazing sun, overwhelmingly high temperatures, scorching heat are just a few of the effects of global warming the world is experiencing over the past few years. Talking about our country, we saw a huge number of fatalities over the past years at the hands of the cruel and brutal heat wave. Here we are again, hit by yet another heat wave that has put hundreds of lives at risk. Helpless in the face of the unavoidable climatic and weather changes, we are left with nothing but to prepare and equip ourselves to face the adversity.

With concrete planning and a few key steps, we can try to mitigate the effects of heat wave and save some if not all precious lives. For this purpose, we need to educate ourselves about heatstroke and familiarize ourselves with its symptoms, prevention, and treatment.

Heatstroke is a condition caused by overheating of body. It occurs due to the failure of temperature-regulating (cooling) mechanism of the body as a result of prolonged exposure to or physical exertion in high temperatures. When the cooling mechanism fails, the body temperature rises; the body temperature of the affected person goes up from 98.6 °F (37°C) to around 104 °F (40 °C) or higher. If left untreated, the condition may lead to damage to brain, heart, lungs and kidneys. Heatstroke is the most serious form of heat related injuries and is a medical emergency. Hence, it needs to be responded accordingly.

Who is at risk?

Though all of us need to take care of ourselves and of others, yet a few people are more at risk of getting heatstroke: labourers, aged people, children, sportsmen and all those who work outdoors are more prone to this horrid condition.

Symptoms

Fortunately, these are easy to detect and can alert you about the situation before it’s too late.

The characteristic symptom of heatstroke is high core body temperature, i.e. 40°C or 104°F. Secondly, the affected person’s skin may become red and dry. One of the symptoms that differentiate heatstroke from heat exhaustion is the absence of sweat in heatstroke whereas an individual will sweat profusely when suffering from heat exhaustion. (Heat exhaustion is one level less serious than heatstroke. Heat exhaustion, if left untreated, progress to heatstroke).

Other common symptoms of heatstroke are:

• Dizziness;
• Headache;
• Altered mental state (for example, confusion and disorientation;
• Rapid pulse; and
• Nausea and vomiting.

The person can even lose consciousness and, if left untreated, heatstroke may lead to coma and ultimately death.

Treatment

If you find someone showing these signs, call for help without any delay. Dial 115 for Edhi Ambulance or 1020 for Chipa Ambulance or 1021 for Aman Ambulance.

Meanwhile, see that the victim is provided with first aid:

• Shifted to a cool place like under a shade or indoors;
• Asked to lie down with feet elevated;
• Their excessive clothing removed;
• Wet cloth or ice packs are applied at armpit, neck, wrists, and head;
• Sponge or spray cool water on their body;
• Fanning to cool down their body temperature; and/or
• If the person is conscious, let him have sips of water.

Prevention

As it goes, “prevention is better than cure”. There are a few steps we can take to avoid getting heatstroke. While the obvious step is to try and minimise going outdoors to avoid heat exposure, yet, it is not always a practical and a long-term solution. Therefore, we need to take a few measures to protect ourselves amidst our activities outdoor:

• Stay hydrated! Drink plenty of water; fluids help maintain the electrolytic balance in the body and replace the water lost from body due to sweating.
• Wear loose-fitted and lightweight clothes. Breathable clothes like cotton should be preferred during summers.
• Wear cool colours. Avoid wearing colours like orange, yellow, red, etc.
• Cover you head with a cap or round brimmed hat while outdoors.
• Use sunscreen.
• Take cool showers.
• Take frequent short breaks in the shade and cool yourself. Sit near a fan or somewhere aerated.
• Try not to do much strenuous activity during the hottest hours of the day. Try to shift such tasks to early morning or evening.
• Minimize caffeine intake.
• Avoid heavy exercise.
• Make your body used to of heat slowly and gradually instead of entering in heat and staying there for long.
• Park your car under shade. Also cool down your car before sitting into it by opening the doors and turning on the air-conditioner (A.C).
• Please don’t leave anybody in a parked car even if the windows are open or the car is parked in shades.
• Try to hand water bottles to people on road. Hawkers, beggars, labourers, anybody you see, give them a water bottle. Handing out one bottle to someone might not be a big deal for us but it might be no less than life saving act for someone who might be thirsty for long, but had no resource to get water from.
• Furthermore, please don’t forget to tend to animals, especially birds; this season is as much difficult for them as much as it is for us. Caring for them doesn’t require much even! Simply place water in small pots and put them on roof, or gallery, or out in the open.

While enjoying the beauty of summers, keep these points in mind to avoid any unnecessary nuisance! Happy Summers!