What is the most appropriate treatment for heat exhaustion?
A bath of cold or ice water has been proved to be the most effective way of quickly lowering your core body temperature. The quicker you can receive cold water immersion, the less risk of death and organ damage. Use evaporation cooling techniques.
The best cooling method is to immerse the athlete in a tub of cold water. If a tub isn't available, a tarp, shaped like a taco and filled with cold water, could be tried. (This is known as tarp-assisted cooling.) Less effective cooling methods include cold-water dousing, cold showers, fans and ice packs.
Treatment for Heat Exhaustion
Drink plenty of fluids, especially sports drinks to replace lost salt (avoid caffeine and alcohol). Remove any tight or unnecessary clothing. Take a cool shower, bath, or sponge bath. Apply other cooling measures such as fans or ice towels.
Treatment for heat stroke
Get the person to a shaded area. Remove clothing and gently apply cool water to the skin followed by fanning to stimulate sweating. Apply ice packs to the groin and armpits.
Lay the person down and elevate the legs and feet slightly. Remove tight or heavy clothing. Have the person sip chilled water, a decaffeinated sports drink containing electrolytes or other nonalcoholic beverage without caffeine. Cool the person by spraying or sponging with cool water and fanning.
- Stay hydrated. Staying hydrated is key to maintaining a healthy body temperature, particularly during exercise. ...
- Get used to the heat. ...
- Maintain a healthy weight. ...
- Wear appropriate clothing. ...
- Be extra careful if you're sick. ...
- Use the buddy system. ...
- Mind the temperature and time.
Cooling by evaporation is the most effective method in the field under normal conditions; patients with heatstroke should initially be treated with evaporative cooling.
When treating severe heat illness, cooling is the first priority.
Cool with ice packs or cold water immersion. If the athlete does not quickly improve or is unable to drink fluids, then the athlete should be immediately taken to the nearest emergency facility. Call 911 or your local emergency number. Begin cooling immediately with cold water immersion; don't wait for help to arrive.
Heat exhaustion is a precursor to the more serious, life-threatening type of heat-induced illness, heat stroke. First Aid treatment for heat exhaustion is aimed at cooling the body in order to prevent heat stroke where brain damage, as well as damage to other vital organs, even death, can result.
What is the best way to prevent heat exhaustion and heatstroke?
- Drink plenty of water!
- Check on friends and neighbors at high risk for heat-related illness.
- Find airconditioned places to cool off (shopping malls and libraries)
- NEVER leave kids or pets in a closed, parked vehicle.
- If you go outside, remember: A hat. Sunscreen (spf 15 or higher) ...
- Know who is at high risk: Infants.
- Get Plenty to Drink. Sweating removes needed salt and minerals from the body. ...
- Stay Cool Indoors. The best way to beat the heat is to stay in an air conditioned area. ...
- Wear Light Clothing and Sunscreen. ...
- Schedule Outdoor Activities Carefully. ...
- Pace Yourself. ...
- Use a Buddy System.
- Call 911 right away-heat stroke is a medical emergency.
- Move the person to a cooler place.
- Help lower the person's temperature with cool cloths or a cool bath.
- Do not give the person anything to drink.
For hot-weather training and competition, recovery drinks should include sodium, carbohydrate and, if necessary, protein to help the recovery process. Tailoring a plan for your athletes to stay hydrated should be done long before the target event, giving their body enough time to adapt before competition.
Casa emphasized that the key is to "cool first, transport second." A player suffering from exertional heat stroke should not be removed from the ice bath until his temperature is adequately lowered. Once the body has cooled, the player should be transported via EMS to a medical facility or hospital for follow-up care.
If you avoid heat stroke, recovering from heat exhaustion usually takes 24 to 48 hours.
Confusion, slurred speech, or unconsciousness are signs of heat stroke. When these types of symptoms are present, call 911 immediately and cool the worker with ice or cold water until help arrives.
