Heat Exhaustion or Hyperthermia

I Almost Ended Up in the Hospital!

Heat exhaustion or hyperthermia is basically the result of your body's system failure to cool you down. Would you know what to do or how to avoid it?

How does heat exhaustion happen?

Well, one time I went hiking along with my nephew up on our local hiking trail.

This time we chose to go up a very steep trail with no shade in sight.

It was 3:00 in the afternoon and the sun was very hot. We had light clothing on, but even that did not keep us cool.

We had no sun umbrella and no real sun hat. Just a basic baseball cap, which I think made my head heat up even more.

It seems to me that I was asking for it (hyperthermia that is).

We were going up the trail and about halfway from reaching the top, where I felt I had to sit down or I would fall.

At one point I believe I was on the verge of a heat stroke.

I felt very hot, especially in my upper body and my head. The worse thing was we had no water.

What made it worse was that we had not had a drink or even water for the past several hours.

We had not even realized it until then.

Therefore I was dehydrated. That means my body was begging for water due to not drinking enough.

I managed to sit down behind a little bush to keep me from getting hotter than I was.

This could have ended up real bad. Because we were far from everything and the only help we could have gotten in a quick manner was by way of a helicopter.

As my nephew started to use his cell phone to call for help, I was feeling better and we started walking back down.

Oh! That was close.




Usually when you are hot, the body starts to sweat in order to keep the temperature normal and at a constant.

Heat exhaustion begins to take over, when your body shuts down and can not afford anymore sweating.

So your body temperature starts to rise and that makes you feel dizzy, confused along with a bad headache.

How is heat exhaustion (hyperthermia) different than a fever?

When you have a fever, your body is ordering the heat control centers of your body to raise the temperature so it can fight potential invaders better.

In the case of heat exhaustion, your body temperature rises regardless of what the heat centers think.

If your body temperature rises above 104F or 40C, your life could be in great danger.

Please consult with your doctor immediately or call the emergency number in your area.

What can you do to avoid hyperthermia?

• Drink plenty of water

• Always carry a bottled water or two

• Wear sun protective clothing with mesh design to keep you cool

• Wear a sun hat with air circulation design

• Use a sun umbrella

• Avoid the sun during the hottest hours of the day

These should help you stay away from heat exhaustion.

Please submit your own story.

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