Danger of sunstroke and heat collapse

When too much sun hits the health

07/22/2013

Those who spend too much time in the sun can get a sunstroke, heat-collapse or heat-stroke. Especially babies should therefore be protected from the sun. Professor Peter Sefrin, a doctor at the German Red Cross, explains in the „Pharmacy magazine“, what differences there are and what to do in an emergency.

Beware of heat collapse and sunstroke
The so-called sunstroke develops when the head and neck area are exposed to too much solar radiation. As Professor Peter Sefrin reports to the newspaper, especially infants and people with light hair are affected. Direct sunlight heats the head, causing the brain to swell. „Increasing intracranial pressure irritates the meninges, as evidenced by headaches, nausea and neck stiffness“, explains the expert. Affected individuals should be promptly brought to a cool, shady location and stored flat with the head elevated. Neck and forehead could be cooled with wet towels. „In children, a hospital admission is usually necessary“, explains Sefrin. A few hours later, it could come in small children to fever and sudden vomiting. Even then, the emergency service should be called.

With heavy fluid and mineral loss, it could come to heat collapse, according to Sefrin. Especially with physical activity increase the fluid requirement. If the body is still not supplied with liquid, rise the body temperature and the vessels widened, so that the blood sack in the legs. As a result, the blood pressure may drop and the patient may lose consciousness. When suspected heat collapse, the person in. Should „shock position“ brought with raised legs and then the fluid loss can be compensated.

With heat stroke ice cold showers can be life threatening
As Sefrin explains, the heat stroke is even more dangerous. The body temperature rises by a heat accumulation to over 40 degrees. Affected persons were the first to experience weakness, dizziness, drowsiness and nausea. Then it should be acted quickly, opened in the restrictive clothing and the body with wet towels cooled. Ice cold showers, however, are taboo, since in the worst case, they could trigger unconsciousness and fighting and put the person in a life-threatening condition. „The unconscious person must be placed in the stable side position and the rescue service must be notified immediately“, explains the expert.

Avoid heat and direct sunlight
Especially with babies, parents should make sure that the children are neither overheated nor exposed to direct sunlight. Because in addition to a sunstroke also threatening sunburns. Like the initiative „Sunscreen? Sonnenklar!“ informed, applies for babies under the age of 12 months, a general sunbathing ban. Only in the second year of life are the little ones with sufficient sun protection from time to time in the sun. However, children's sunscreen with a high sun protection factor also has a limited effect, especially since the midday sun between 11:00 am and 3:00 pm is very intense and should therefore be avoided by two-year-old children. The little ones do not yet have fully functional natural sunscreen, so with each sunburn, the risk of skin cancer increases in later life years. (Ag)

Also read:
Germany threatens the heat collapse
What to do in the heat?

Credit: Hartmut910