Be alert, heat stroke! my country continues to have widespread hot weather with red warnings in many places

Recently, my country has continued to experience widespread high-temperature weather, and many places have issued high-temperature red warnings.

Heat stroke incidents occur frequently under continuous high temperatures: many people in Zhejiang were diagnosed with heat stroke, decoration workers in Nanjing suffered from heat stroke, and West China Hospital in Sichuan admitted 3 cases of heat stroke in one day... "Individuals die from heat" are extremely rare No joke. So, what exactly is heat stroke? What is the difference between heatstroke and heat stroke? How to identify? How to prevent it?

* What exactly is heat stroke?

According to the "First Knowledge of Experts on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Heat Stroke in China" first published in the online version of the "Journal of PLA Medicine" in 2019: "Heat Stroke" is caused by thermal damage factors acting on the body. Fatal diseases refer to the imbalance of heat production and heat dissipation in the body caused by exposure to hot environments or strenuous exercise. Heat stroke usually occurs in summer when high temperatures are accompanied by high humidity.

When the temperature is too high, the water and electrolyte balance in the human body will be destroyed, causing a series of physical discomforts such as dizziness and chest tightness. This situation is called heat stroke. "Heat stroke" is a severe heat stroke in the classification of heat stroke. The symptoms of mild heatstroke are nausea, dizziness, fatigue, etc. At this time, you should be vigilant and stay wherever it is cool. Severe heat stroke can also be divided into three stages: heat cramps, which are caused by loss of electrolytes due to excessive sweating, and symptoms such as body twitching and unconsciousness; more serious ones evolving into heat exhaustion, where the high temperature persists and organ dysfunction; and finally, The most severe form of heat stroke is heat stroke. The temperature of the internal organs exceeds 42°C and cell dysfunction occurs.

Heat stroke refers to the disorder of human body temperature regulation caused by high temperature, excessive accumulation of heat in the body, resulting in damage to nerve organs.

Usually characterized by high fever, body temperature above 40°C, dry and hot skin without sweating, mental disorder, organ failure, etc. Without timely and proper treatment, the mortality rate of heat stroke ranges from 20% to 70%, and can be as high as 80% for patients over 50 years old.

Healthy young people who do strenuous exercise in summer, such as officers and soldiers, athletes, firefighters, construction workers, etc. who participate in summer training. It is common in young people, pregnant women, the elderly and infirm, or individuals with chronic underlying diseases or compromised immune function. It is usually caused by passive exposure to the thermal environment, causing an imbalance between the body's heat production and heat dissipation.

Many people think that heat stroke is only related to high temperature, but this is not the case.

The human body’s feeling of heat does not entirely depend on temperature, but is also related to meteorological factors such as humidity. When the air humidity reaches 80% to 90%, sweat is difficult to disperse. At this time, even if the air temperature is only about 32°C, the human body will feel uncomfortable. When the relative humidity drops to 30%, the human body's high temperature resistance can even reach 38 to 39°C.

In addition, under the same conditions of temperature and humidity, the better the ventilation environment, the higher the human body's tolerance to high temperatures will be. In addition, personal physique, direct sunlight, working environment and other factors will also have an impact on how much heat the body dissipates and whether the body's regulatory functions are in good condition.

Don’t fall into a misunderstanding. Not only manual workers who have been exposed to the sun for a long time will suffer from heat stroke. Elderly and frail city residents who have been exposed to the hot environment for a long time will suffer from heat stroke. There is also a possibility of suffering from this disease.

* How to prevent and treat

Special groups such as the elderly, children and outdoor workers are at high risk of "heat stroke". Please try to do the following when preventing:< /p>

Avoid going out during high temperature periods. In particular, try to minimize going out during high-temperature hours at noon and avoid prolonged direct sunlight. If it cannot be avoided, pay more attention to physical changes and carry heatstroke prevention and cooling medicines with you when necessary.

Enhance ventilation and maintain a suitable room temperature. During high-temperature periods, the air conditioner can be turned on appropriately to adjust the room temperature, preferably around 26°C. Keep indoor ventilation as much as possible, and do not stay in air-conditioned rooms for long periods of time. Otherwise, excessive temperature differences between indoors and outdoors will weaken the body's tolerance and resistance to high temperatures.

Protect yourself when exposed to direct sunlight for a long time. In the hot summer, you must be prepared to prevent heatstroke during outdoor activities: such as using sun protection and shade, drinking more salt water, etc., resting more and trying to maintain a regular life. Also do not work in a closed high temperature environment for a long time.

In a high-temperature and high-humidity environment, if symptoms of heat stroke such as rapid heartbeat, dizziness, headache, shortness of breath, etc. occur, move to a cool, ventilated place to rest as soon as possible.

Once the following symptoms appear, it means that heat stroke symptoms are likely to be life-threatening: dizziness, throbbing headache, nausea, extremely high body temperature (oral temperature greater than 39.5°C), red, hot and dry skin without sweating, Afraid of cold, rapid and heavy pulse, confusion, slurred speech, unconsciousness, etc.

The following measures can be taken for treatment:

Cooling: Move the patient to a cool place. You can use a cool wet towel or ice pack to apply cold compress to the head, armpits and thighs; you can wipe it with cold water. If conditions permit, the patient's body can also be soaked in cold water.

Monitor body temperature: Keep working hard to help the patient cool down until the body temperature drops to 38°C.

Call for help: Dial 120, 110, etc. in time to seek more guidance and help.

Sometimes, patients' muscles will twitch involuntarily due to heat stroke. When this happens, prevent the patient from harming themselves. Do not put anything in the patient's mouth and do not try to give him/her fluids to rehydrate him/her. If vomiting occurs, turn the patient onto their side to ensure a clear airway.

After completing the above self-rescue measures, you must go to the hospital as soon as possible so that the patient can receive professional treatment.

Information source: China Meteorological Network