Excessive Heat and Cold How your body can KILL you. Excessive heat and outside water.
Excessive Heat:
Heat Exhaustion If you stay in the sun for too long, it is not just sunburn that you will have a problem with - there is also Heat Exhaustion with: Headaches, dizziness, confusion, loss of appetite, feeling sick, excessive sweating and pale clammy skin, cramps in arms, legs and stomach, fast breathing or pulse, high temperature 38⁰ or above. being very thirsty.
The symptoms are usually the same in both adults and children but children may become floppy and sleepy. Should this happen, they need to be cooled down.
Follow these 4 steps:
Move them to a cool place
Get them to lie down and raise their feet slightly
Get them to drink plenty of water, sports or rehydration drinks are ok
Cool their skin, spray or sponge them with water and fan them
Cool packs around the armpits or neck are good, stay with them until they are better. They should start to cool down in about 30min.
Heat Stroke: Should the above not appear to be working, try the following 4 items.
Feeling unwell after 30min of resting in a cool place and drinking plenty of water
Not sweating even while feeling too hot
High temperature of 40⁰ or above
Feeling confused
Dial 111 or 999
To try to stop all of the above:
Drink plenty of cold drinks, especially when exercising
Take cool baths or showers
Wear light coloured loose clothes
Sprinkle water over skin or clothing
Avoid the sun between 11.00am and 3.00pm
Avoid excessive alcohol
Avoid extreme exercise
Dehydration Means that your body loses more fluids than it takes in. If it is not treated it can get worse and become a serious problem. Babies, children and the elderly are more at risk.
Symptoms of dehydration in adults and children include:
Feeling thirsty
Dark yellow and strong smelling pee
Feeling tired
Dry mouth-lips-eyes
Feeling dizzy or light headed
Peeing little, and fewer than 4 times a day
Dehydration can happen more easily if you have:
Diabetes
Vomiting or diarrhoea
Been in the sun too long, (heatstroke)
Drunk, or too much alcohol
Sweated too much after exercise
A high temperature of 38⁰ or more
Taking medications that make you pee (diuretics)
Reduce the risk. Keep cool, drink, but NOT ALCOHOL
Outside Water Outside water is defined as cold if it is below 15⁰. Most of the water around this country and in the rivers, clay pits, reservoirs etc is below this.
This temperature seriously affects your breathing, movement and brain function actions and reactions.
Average UK sea temperatures are 12⁰c, rivers can be colder, even in summer.
Cold water shock happens when a body is quickly and totally immersed in cold water. This includes the head being totally immersed.
Cold water shock causes blood vessels in the skin to close, this increases the resistance of blood flow. The heart has to work harder and your blood pressure goes up. Cold water shock can therefore cause heart attacks, even in the young and healthy.
You may not be able to even swim or breathe. All of this is involuntary and cold water shock likely causes more deaths than hypothermia.
Most people who are susceptible to cold water shock DIE in the first minute of immersion.
If the head goes below the surface of the cold water, your body involuntarily instigates an inward gasp of air, so if your head is submerged, this will be a quick intake of WATER.
There are more areas, a course will give you a lot more information. Please do not be a part of the news. There have been a lot too many already this year.