Hyperthermia
Three life-saving steps to avoid heat stroke.
Rob Lamberts, MD
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Hyperthermia
It’s July. To many folks that means happy things like picnics, camping, and scaring the cat with firecrackers (which I deny completely). To those of us living in my home state of Georgia, however, it means one thing: heat. For us, July is a month of hot cars, high electricity bills, and humidity. Not only is the financial cost of the heat high, the physical cost can also be very high.
This article will cover the problems people can have when they get overheated. The body is meant to run at a specific temperature, and getting too hot can make you sick? Before talking about the problems of overheating, I first need to explain how the body regulates its temperature.
What Is Normal Body Temperature?
Most of you probably know what normal body temperature is: 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (see my episode about fevers for more). But this is only a partial truth. Different parts of the body operate at different temperatures, and the whole body changes its normal temperature based on the time of day, age, hormones, and a host of other factors. But even with all of these factors, the body does its best to keep its temperature close to 98.6 for the most important organs.
What Is Hyperthermia?
The temperatures for your vital organs is what is known as the core body temperature. The chemical reactions in and the physical qualities of your heart, liver, kidneys, and brain all work best around the 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. If the core temperature gets too cold, a condition known as hypothermia, the vital organs stop working well and a person can die. Conversely, if the temperature gets too high, a condition called hyperthermia, the vital organs also stop working well and put the person’s life in danger.
How Does Your Body Fight Hyperthermia?
So when you get too hot, your body does several things to cool you off and keep the core body temperature close to normal:
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It increases the blood flow to your arms and legs, which let off heat and cool the body.
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It makes you sweat. When the sweat evaporates, it takes heat from your body and cools you down. You feel cooler when sweat evaporates on your skin for the same reason you feel cold when you get out of the shower before you’ve dried off.
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It slows you down. Moving muscles burn energy and let off heat. When you get too hot, your body makes you feel more tired in an attempt to slow you down so you stop making so much heat.
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If all else fails, your brain gets the message: get out of the heat, you idiot! You feel terrible getting so hot.
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Humidity, Dehydration, and Medication Can Worsen Hyperthermia
All of these strategies together can keep your core body temperature near what it should be. But sometimes things don’t go as planned. If the humidity is high, sweat’s ability to cool you off is severely hindered. Likewise, if you get dehydrated and can’t make enough sweat, your cooling ability will suffer. Some people have to keep active outside, even when it is quite hot, risking becoming overheated. Certain blood pressure pills and other medications can decrease sweat, or decrease blood flow to the arms and legs.
Stage 1: Hyperthermia
So what happens when you do become overheated? There are several steps to the process. The first stage is simply hyperthermia, where the body is over the ideal temperature, but still below 101. In this stage, your body is taking whatever steps it can to lower your temperature.
Stage 2: Heat Exhaustion
Heat exhaustion is the next stage, where the temperature is between 101 and 103. During this stage, nausea, headaches, dizziness, and general weakness increases in severity. This rise in temperature is different from having a fever, where the body is trying to heat itself up to help fight off infection; in hyperthermia, the body doesn’t want to be this hot, and with heat exhaustion the body starts to suffer for it.
Stage 3: Heat Stroke
A person can become combative and eventually unconscious if not treated for heat stroke.
Heat stroke is the last stage, with temperatures exceeding 103 degrees. The symptoms become worse, and the blood pressure drops due to dehydration and failure of body organs. A person can become combative and eventually unconscious if not treated for heat stroke. As I said before, severe hyperthermia can kill.
There are a number of reasons a person develops hyperthermia, and eventually heat stroke, including:
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Exposure to high heat for extended periods, especially if the humidity is high.
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Significant physical exertion in a hot environment, such as athletes practicing or playing during the summer. Inadequate hydration before heat exposure or not taking in enough fluids to keep up with fluid loss through sweat.
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Certain medications that decreases the body’s ability to cool itself down.
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How to Avoid Hyperthermia
So what should you do to avoid hyperthermia? Here are my quick and dirty tips on avoiding this dangerous problem:
Tip 1: Keep hydrated
Any fluid intake will help you fight dehydration, but sports drinks that have sodium, potassium, and other electrolytes can replace what you lose from sweating. Be aggressive in this area, taking frequent breaks to drink, even if you don’t feel particularly thirsty. Don’t worry if it’s not cold; what really matters is that it’s wet.
Tip 2: Don’t do too much
Our bodies are all built the same; we have no he-man heat-resistant mutants out there. Everyone needs to cool off, and everyone needs fluids. If it’s really hot and humid out, don’t show your macho coolness by getting yourself sick and having to go to the ER with hyperthermia. Chicks aren’t impressed by that kind of stuff. Make sure the other people around you in the heat are careful as well.
Tip 3: Look for warning signs
Headache, nausea, and dizziness are signs that the body isn’t handling the heat well. If you or someone with you starts to feel this way, get to a cool place, stop exertion, and get lots of fluids. Since hyperthermia can confuse people, some folks won’t realize they are sick until they get really bad. Pay attention to those around you.
Get Someone Who Is Confused or Passing Out to the Emergency Room
Get to the emergency room immediately for any confusion or passing out. Hyperthermia is very dangerous and can kill.
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If you have topics that you want me to cover, send them to housecalldoctor@quickanddirtytips.comcreate new email , or you can submit them to me on twitter (@housecalldoc) or my Facebook page.
Let me once again remind you that this podcast is for informational purposes only. My goal is to add to your medical knowledge and translate some of the weird medical stuff you hear, so when you do go to your doctor, your visits will be more fruitful. I don’t intend to replace your doctor; he or she is the one you should always consult about your own medical condition.
Overheated Girl image courtesy of Shutterstock