Friday, May 1, 2009

Heat Stroke

By Ian Kleine

Heat stroke is a quite dangerous response of the body against the overwhelming and powerful heat of the sun. This also occurs when the body's natural cooling mechanism, the sweat glands, are overpowered and fail to function in the proper context that the body requires of it. Another term for this condition when it is caused by overexposure to the sun is called sunstroke.

In this situation, the skin turns hot (often with the burning sensation), reddened and severely dry and tender. The pulse has a considerable increase in rate, often pulsating strong and fast. Further development to this condition would have the victim rendered unconscious, with internal body temperatures reaching as high as 41 degrees Celsius, equivalent to that of someone who has a very, very high fever.

There are signs to look out for when a person is experiencing heat stroke. Often, the presence of nausea, dizziness, tingling sensation everywhere, deliriousness and confusion, and finally, fainting occurs.

The effect of high heat can cause severe damage to the internal organs and turn your blood acidic. Heatstroke, when left untreated, can lead to brain damage, body shock, and usually failure of the kidneys and of the heart, especially with those who have current medical conditions like diabetes or those that have a history with stroke.

The effect of heatstroke in the body's sweating mechanism is that it causes the body to sweat so much that the natural salts and salt reserves are depleted at a rapid rate. By which, in this case, the nervous system sends a signal to stop sweating to preserve what little salt is left in the body. This leads to instant, hot, dry skin. The good question to ask a person with this condition is if they're feeling hot. If they say yes, and you notice that no sweat is developing; then it might be a good idea to consider the thought that heat stroke might have taken effect.

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