In addition to sunstroke where one suffers from too much exposure to the sun, there are other ways of overheating a human body during the summer months. Heatstroke is one of them and perhaps the most dangerous because the body thermostat in the brain is disturbed, body temperature can be dangerously high and urgent medical attention is usually required.
Sunstroke, heat rashes, heat edema, heat cramps, heat congestion, heat exhaustion, heat faintness and heat stroke are all conditions that can occur when overheating due to hot weather and high temperatures. If you lose more moisture than you take in, you dry out. And if your body contains too little moisture to evaporate through the skin, your body temperature rises.
Dehydration and a rise in body temperature can cause far-reaching health problems. And the warmer it is outside, the greater the chance of such heat problems.
Occurrence of overheating
In the brain there is a temperature control center, the so-called hypothalamus. If your body temperature rises too much, your hypothalamus tries to bring it back to 37 degrees, which can happen in two ways:
– By sweating more, with the sweat on the skin cooling as it evaporates.
– By increasing the blood flow through the skin and widening the blood vessels so that the heart can pump more blood around.
If there is a lack of moisture you will stop sweating and the blood flow in the skin will decrease which will result in an even worse heat release and the body temperature will rise.
What is a heat stroke
Heat stroke or heat stroke is an extremely dangerous form of overheating in which the body thermostat in the brain is completely disturbed, the body temperature can be dangerously high and urgent medical attention is required.
Situations in which a heat stroke can occur include heavy physical work in humid hot air, falling asleep in the full sun (e.g. on a beach), a baby being left in an overheated car or an elderly person dressed too warmly in the sun etc.
Symptoms of heat stroke
– There is a high body temperature (sometimes as high as 41 degrees or higher).
– There is abnormal behaviour, headache, hallucinations, confusion, fear, chance of coincidence (insult).
– There is red skin but one does not sweat.
– There is a fast heartbeat and difficult breathing.
– There is nausea, fatigue, feeling limp.
– There is possible loss of consciousness and unconsciousness.
What to do
If there is (presumably) a heat stroke you should do the following where cooling has the absolute priority because a heat stroke can result in very serious and irreparable heat injury.
– Call or have someone call 112.
– Take the victim to a cool environment.
– Do not give the victim anything to drink or eat (this is up to a doctor to determine).
– Let the victim rest and make no effort.
– Take off as much clothing as possible (if necessary).
– Cool the victim as much as possible with cool (not cold) water in the neck, armpits and groin area.
– Prevent the victim from shaking.
Useful Spanish words
In case of a heat stroke or overheating it is easy if you know a few Spanish words. Below is a short list of some Spanish words with the Dutch translation behind them.
heat stroke Infarto de calor
warm = Calor
dizziness = Mareo
nausea = Las náuseas
headache = Dolor de cabeza
fever = Fiebre
vomit = Vómito
respiration = Respiración
heart rate = Latido del corazón
symptoms = SÃntomas
confusion = Confusión
excessive sweating = Sudoración excesiva
convulsions = Convulsiones
diarrhoea – Diarrea
Source: SpanjeVandaag
