The winter season is over and it’s time for the scorching heat to take control. Down South, the summers have already set in and soon the hot season will spread to other parts of the country. Heatwave condition is a common phenomenon during summers. When average maximum temperatures are above 40℃ and departure from normal is 4℃ to 5℃, such a condition is termed as ‘Heatwave’ in meteorological terms. Places like Tamil Nadu and Rayalaseema have already started experiencing this condition.
With summers, the condition of ‘Heatstroke’ becomes obvious. It is a condition when our body overheats. This usually happens due to prolonged exposure to high temperatures or exerting more under the sun. When this happens, the body temperature rises to 40℃ or more.
Doctors advise that the condition of Heatstroke should be treated with utmost importance. Ignoring this could lead to brain, heart and kidney damage. Delayed treatment might increase the risk and complications, sometimes even leading to death.
What are the symptoms of heatstroke?
The major symptom is body temperature reaching 40℃ or higher. Other symptoms include change in mental state or behaviour such as irritation, agitation, ambiguity, speech defect, coma.
Heatstroke is all a result of excessive sweating due to heavy physical exertion. This makes one feel Nauseatic.
Another symptom is skin turning reddish as body temperature increases. High body temperature leads to rapid and shallow breathing. It also leads to high heart rate and severe headache.
First aid for Heatstroke:
Take the person immediately inside the house. Remove layer of clothes and make the body light. Cool down the person by putting him under the shower. Use a garden sprayer and use a sponge with cool water. Put ice packs, wet towels on the person's head, neck and armpits for cooling the body.
What are the causes of Heatstroke?
Heatstroke can occur due to exposure to extremely hot weather. There are mainly two types of heatstroke-
1. Nonexertional (classic) heatstroke leads to a rise in the body temperature. Prolonged exposure to hot and humid weather is the main cause of this stroke. Older adults and people with chronic illness are more prone to this stroke.
2. Exertional heatstroke is caused by an increase in the body temperature due to performing intense physical activity.
Conditions could get even worse due to-
Wearing excessive clothing as this prevents sweat from evaporating at a faster pace and cooling occurs very slow. Second reason is high consumption of alcohol, and the most important is not drinking enough water.
What are the preventive measure for Heatstroke?
1.One should not wear tight fitted clothes and try to keep body light.
2.Apply sunscreen with good SPF levels.
3. Drink bottles and bottles of water as appropriate amount of water can keep the body hydrated.
4.Visit a doctor for proper medication; One should not start taking medicines without a proper course as prescribed by the doctor.
5.Don’t let anyone sit in a parked car. This is a very common cause of heat stroke deaths in children. Under the sun, the temperature in your car can rise more than 6.7℃ in less than 20 minutes.
Image Credits – Pinterest
Any information taken from here should be credited to Skymet Weather
