Summer Heat - Avoid Heat Stroke

By Chris Biancaniello

With temperatures rocketing, it is important to understand the dangers of heat stroke and the signals your body sends to you. Heat stroke is a type of hyperthermia and is the most severe of heat-related illnesses. While the elderly, children, obese and those with chronic medical conditions may be at higher risk for heat stroke, it can happen to anyone.

Dr. Peter Morelli - Pediatric CardiologistPeter Morelli, MD. ColumbiaDoctors – Pediatric Cardiology, a Pediatric Cardiologist in East Setauket, suffered from Heat Stroke while in medical school during his time in the Air Force. It was August in Alabama with the  temperature in the 90’s and humidity about 90 percent Dr. Morelli was running in a local 10k. He remembers all to well waking up in the local hospital’s emergency room hooked up to an IV and on a respirator suffering from heat stroke.

He has some helpful pointers on how to recognize Heat Stroke, as well as how to avoid it. Heat Stroke occurs when your body’s temperature goes over 106 degrees and body’s organs begin to shut down. Often times you lose consciousness, you can be at risk for kidney failure as well as brain damage.  Heat Stroke is preceded by heat exhaustion; when your body’s core temperature rises, the symptoms are a precursor to heat stroke. Symptoms include, dehydration, nausea, and tiredness. If these symptoms are ignored, Heat Stroke can occur and it can be fatal.

Warning Signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke:

1. “If you feel like you’re not sweating, you may be heading towards heat stroke. If you’re dry, it’s not good.” Sweating is your body’s natural way of cooling you down. Without it your core temperature will rise, which brings us to #2.

2. “Drink before, during, and after exercise. Try and drink a lot and make sure you have salt. You want to replace your sodium you lose when you sweat. That’s why Gatorade and PowerAde have become more popular. Just having some pretzels or salty crackers along with your regular drinking helps. That’s why they used to have salt tablets in the military.”

3. “You lose a lot of heat through your head, if you wear helmets it will keep that heat in. That’s why a lot of football practices right now are without all the pads.”  The more clothing you wear, the more heat is contained. Athletes that play sports like lacrosse and football should be particularly careful because they wear helmets.

4. “As far as activities to do, swimming is a good one if you’re really into endurance sports. Biking is nice as well because you can get the breeze while you’re on your bike, and you can have a water bottle right at your disposal.” While Dr. Morelli would never discourage running, he did say to try and keep it in moderation.

Like most things, the most obvious precautions are the best. Make sure you hydrate, don’t overexert yourself, and if you are doing physical activity; make sure you’re sweating. Weight lifting and running indoors on a treadmill in air conditioning might be a preferable option in the really high heat to outdoor activities, but  try and recognize the signals your body is sending you.