Various regions across the country have entered "oven" mode one after another, and temperatures in many places have broken record highs.
Sichuan region went all the way forward and successfully defeated the "Flaming City" - Turpan , becoming the first in the country. The continuous high temperature weather has also brought heat stroke into the public eye and aroused a high degree of discussion.
According to news reports, many people were admitted to hospitals due to heat stroke in Lishui, Zhejiang, Zhengzhou, Henan, Nanjing, Jiangsu and other areas. Even in Chengdu West China Hospital, admitted three transfer cases of heat stroke in one day. Among the patients who were diagnosed, one of them was in critical condition when transferred to the hospital and unfortunately passed away. "Individuals die from heat" has become a reality from an exaggeration.
So, what exactly is heat stroke?
If you want to understand heat stroke, you must first understand what heat stroke is.
Everyone has more or less heard of or encountered heat stroke. For example, during summer military training, students often suffer from heatstroke if they stay under the sun for too long. The human body will experience symptoms such as weakness in limbs, dizziness, thirst, dizziness, tinnitus, etc. with or without elevated body temperature.
If you leave the high temperature environment in time, move to a cool place, and replenish water, you can recover on your own in a short time. This situation is actually a sign of heatstroke.
However, if the warning signs of heat stroke are not detected in time and relevant first aid measures are taken, the body temperature will continue to rise to above 38 degrees Celsius, and there will be a lot of sweating and flushing. In severe cases, the face will turn pale and the blood pressure will increase. Symptoms of dehydration, such as a decrease in the temperature of the body, an increase in pulse rate, etc., are mild heatstroke at this time. Like premonitory heatstroke, if you move to a cool and ventilated place in time and replenish water in time, it can be relieved on its own.
If measures are not taken at this time to help the body cool down and replenish water, the body temperature will continue to rise, and the organs in the human body will feel like they have been boiled, which will eventually lead to damage to the central nervous system and multiple organs. Can cause heat stroke. It can be said that heat stroke is the most serious form of heat stroke.
A person is like a computer. When the computer is in a high temperature environment or used for a long time, the temperature will increase. At this time, the computer will use fans and heat sinks to reduce the temperature to prevent the host from burning due to excessive temperature.
The same goes for the human body. It exchanges heat through radiation, convection, conduction, and evaporation between the skin and the surrounding environment to maintain the body temperature at about 37 degrees and prevent the organs in the body from being damaged by high temperature. However, when the ambient temperature is high, the body's only way to dissipate heat is evaporation, which is very likely to cause an imbalance in the body's heat production and heat dissipation, leading to serious consequences.
Heat stroke is when the human body is in a high temperature environment for a long time, or when the human body performs strenuous exercise, the body will produce a large amount of heat energy. However, the only way for the body to dissipate heat is evaporation, and the high temperature environment causes the evaporation rate to slow down, which makes the body's heat dissipation rate unable to keep up with the heat production rate. Heat accumulates in the body, causing the person's temperature to rise beyond what is normally tolerated. It is a disease that causes damage to the central nervous system of the human body and damage to the functions of various organs of the body, thus endangering life.
Heat stroke can be divided into two categories based on the patient’s environment and physical condition when the disease occurs.
. Exertional heat stroke
As the name suggests, it is heat stroke caused by work. It is more common in people who work and perform high-intensity exercise in high-temperature environments, such as sanitation workers, construction workers, traffic police, firefighters, etc. Exertional heat stroke is the second most common cause of death in young athletes.
This type of people usually have normal physical fitness. The main reason why heat stroke can occur is because exercise and labor produce too much heat, which the body cannot discharge in time, causing heat to accumulate in the body, causing damage to the central nervous system and internal organs. Such people will experience hyperhidrosis, hypotension, , and even purple patches on the skin due to disseminated intravascular coagulation in the body, as well as rhabdomyolysis, hypocalcemia, Acute renal failure and other diseases.
. Classic heat stroke
is also called non-laboratory heat stroke, which is heat stroke that occurs without high-temperature labor or strenuous exercise. It is mainly seen in obese, frail elderly people, or those with chronic diseases. , people with low immunity .
Due to poor physical fitness and various reasons, these people's body temperature regulation system is much weaker than that of ordinary people, and their body's evaporative and heat dissipation function is very poor. Therefore, during hot periods, such people may also suffer from heat stroke in a resting state.
Once they suffer from heat stroke, the body may not sweat, but the core temperature will be as high as 41 degrees or even higher. Then through medical examination, there will be mild coagulation disorder , and the blood calcium value will be normal and mild. acidosis and other diseases.
What are the signs of heat stroke?
① High body temperature : At this time, the patient's core temperature is measured, that is, the body temperature is measured through the anus. It is often greater than 40 degrees Celsius, which is also the main sign of heat stroke.
② Abnormal mental state : The patient will be confused, unable to speak clearly, have a bad temper, get angry easily, and even experience epileptic seizures and coma.
③ Nausea and vomiting : gastrointestinal dysfunction due to high fever, dehydration, etc. will manifest as nausea, vomiting, etc.
④ Accelerated breathing and accelerated heart rate : The increase in body temperature leads to accelerated blood circulation, accelerated breathing and accelerated heart rate.
⑤ Red skin and increased skin temperature : Blood circulation is accelerated and blood vessels dilate to help the body dissipate heat. Red skin will appear and the surface temperature of the body will increase.
⑥Headache.
Heat stroke is a fatal emergency, and its mortality rate can be as high as more than 50%. Early diagnosis, implementation of rapid cooling measures, and other supportive care can reduce mortality in patients with heat stroke.
So when someone around us has the above symptoms, how should we deal with it?
) Dial 120 for help
Call the helpline in time, so medical staff can deal with the patient's condition early and delay the development of the disease.
) Move the patient to a cool and ventilated place to cool down
Help the patient to get away from the heat source and transfer to a cool and ventilated place. You can take off his clothes to increase the contact area between the skin and the surrounding environment, which helps to cool down the body. If there are facilities and conditions, you can also use cold water, fans, etc. to quickly cool down the patient; you can also wet a towel with cold water or use an ice pack and apply it to the neck, armpits, and thighs to help cool down.
) Replenish water
If the patient is conscious and can drink water, you can give him some light salt water to relieve the patient's symptoms of dehydration.
) Treatment of convulsions
Severe patients will have general muscle twitching. At this time, we can use softer things, such as mattresses, to cushion the patient's body to prevent injury, and and when the patient convulses, do not deliberately Use hands or ropes to restrain the patient to remove dangerous objects around to avoid injury to the patient.. If vomiting occurs, his head should be turned to one side to prevent vomit from entering the trachea and causing to suffocate .
Global climate warming , high temperature has become a situation that humans must face, and high temperature can easily cause the human body to suffer from heat stroke.
So, how can we prevent heat stroke?
. Avoid going out in hot weather, keep the environment ventilated, do sun protection, and wear loose clothing.
In hot weather, we should try to avoid outdoor activities. When the temperature at home is also high, turn on the fan or air conditioner to cool down in time. If you must go out, you must take sun protection measures, apply sunscreen, and wear sun-protective clothing . Try to wear loose and light-colored clothes to avoid wearing tight clothes in hot weather, which will affect the body's heat dissipation, or wear darker-colored clothes, because dark-colored clothes will absorb a lot of heat and increase the possibility of heat stroke.
. Scientifically replenishing water
In the latest version of the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents, it is pointed out that adult men should drink 1700 ml of water every day, and adult women should drink 1500 ml of water. However, for outdoor workers, the body evaporates more heat than normal people, so they can increase the amount of water they drink appropriately according to their own conditions.
Also, don’t wait until you are thirsty to drink water. When your body sends you a message that your mouth is dry, it means that your body is dehydrated. So, drink some water whenever and wherever you think of it.
Don’t drink water too hard. Drink water in small amounts and multiple times. If possible, drink some light salt water or sports drinks . Do not drink drinks containing alcohol and high sugar content. These things will not quench your thirst, but will aggravate the body's water shortage.
. Adapt to the environment
For people who need to work in a high temperature environment for a long time, they must not be too hasty. They should limit the time of outdoor work and adapt to the hot weather little by little. If the temperature is too high, outdoor work should be avoided. And for people who like to exercise outdoors, try to choose to do physical exercises in the morning when the temperature is relatively low, or you can do indoor exercises to exercise.
. Get adequate rest
If a person does not rest well, the body and brain will be in a state of tension, resulting in reduced immunity. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure adequate sleep, keep the brain and body in a relaxed state, and enhance the body's immunity.
In particular, parents must be careful to avoid locking children or others in cars during hot weather. When the weather is hot and the car is exposed to the sun, the temperature inside the car can reach over 70 degrees Celsius, and the car is in a sealed state after closing the door. If you are accidentally locked in the car, it is very likely to cause heat stroke, or even Directly suffocated to death.
The increasingly hot weather has also brought more and more challenges to human beings. I hope that in this hot summer, everyone can do a good job in preventing and cooling down the heat, so that everyone can spend it healthily and safely, so that the "heat will kill people" The phenomenon is getting less and less!
Reference:
. "Expert Consensus on Diagnosis and Treatment of Heat Stroke in China" PLA Medical Journal, Volume 44, Issue 3, March 28, 2019
. "Research Progress on the Pathogenesis, Prevention and Treatment of Heat Stroke" Li Daibo, Zhou Huan, Liu Lebin Journal of Preventive Medicine of the People's Liberation Army, Volume 35, Issue 12, December 2017
. "The Mechanism and Research Progress of Liver Tissue Damage in Heat Stroke" Yue Dong, Ni Jun, Zhang Jing, Chinese Disaster Rescue Medicine, June 2022, Volume 10, Issue 6
. "The pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment process of exertional heat stroke" Song Qing's 2013 Beijing Medical Association Emergency Department Academic Annual Meeting Compilation
