It’s easy to overdo it in the sun, especially if you’re having fun and staying active. Sweat can cool your body down for a while, but as temperatures climb, it’s impossible for your body to fight off overheating on its own. Prepare for your next outdoor outing with these heat stroke prevention tips.
Causes and Risk Factors for Heat Stroke
Though heat stroke can happen to anyone who misses the signs of exertion and overheating, it’s more likely to happen in certain situations. If you live in a hot or humid climate, you may be more prone to heat stroke.
Heat stroke also often affects those who do not drink enough water, as dehydration can worsen or speed up the effects of heat stroke. Though you can get heat stroke from relaxing in the sun, it is far more common during physically demanding activities.
Prevent Heat Stroke
It’s important to be in touch with your body and aware of the weather if you want to avoid getting heat stroke. Heat stroke is often preceded by heat exhaustion or heat cramps. Unless you take the right preventative measures, these maladies can turn into heat stroke. Use these tips to prevent heat stroke and keep your family safe this summer.
- Use sunscreen: When your skin becomes overheated and burnt, your body loses one of its main defenses against heat stroke. It’s difficult for your body to cool itself to the appropriate temperature if you’re sunburnt, so don’t skip the sunscreen.
- Avoid peak sun hours: You may already know that the sun tends to hit its peak between 10 A.M. and 2 P.M. These are the hours during which heat stroke is most common. Try to stay out of the sun or minimize your physical activity during this time frame.
- Drink extra water: Even when you’re not at risk for heat stroke, you should be drinking a lot of water. Take your body weight and divide by two. That’s how many ounces of water you should be drinking on any given day. When you’re spending a lot of time outside, you should be drinking even more water.
- Stay away from tight or dark clothing: Tight or dark clothing can increase sweating and raise your body temperature. Wear loose-fitting, light-colored clothing when you’re out in the sun.
- Cool or room temperature bath/shower: If you start showing signs of heat exhaustion, a shower or bath can cool you down. Skip a cold bath or shower, which may shock the body. Instead, stick to a lukewarm or cool shower.
- Skip the heavy/fatty foods: If your body is working hard at digesting heavy, slow-digesting foods, it’s harder for it to maintain homeostasis. Stick to light foods, fruits, and vegetables.
- Pace yourself: Don’t push yourself too hard. No amount of bragging rights is worth getting heat stroke!
Heat stroke is a very real threat this summer, but you can protect yourself with these simple preventative tips.
http://www.top10homeremedies.com/how-to/how-to-prevent-heatstroke.html
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heat-stroke/basics/prevention/con-20032814
http://www.safekids.org/preventing-heatstroke http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra011089
