Heatstroke. Overheating of the body Emergency first aid for overheating

Heatstroke (hyperthermia, overheating)- a painful condition that develops with an increase in body temperature. Unlike fever (for example, with SARS and influenza), heat stroke develops acutely. General overheating of the body with an increase in internal temperature to 40-43 0C occurs very quickly.

The most susceptible to heatstroke are young children and people with chronic diseases central nervous system, vessels and heart, respiratory system.

Causes of heat stroke:

exposure to extreme heat environment(open sun, hot weather, bath, sauna, work in a hot shop, etc.);
violation of heat transfer mechanisms:
depletion of compensatory mechanisms;
difficulty sweating;
slowing down of blood circulation;
high humidity, which prevents the evaporation of sweat from the surface of the body;
lack of air circulation in a closed room;
too warm clothes and so on.

In response to the action of high temperature, a person begins to sweat. With insufficient renewal of fluid and salts in the body, dehydration and a violation of the electrolyte composition of the body occur. The blood thickens, blood circulation is disturbed, which leads to a further increase in body temperature. There is a pathological acceleration of the processes of catabolism (decay) in the tissues and organs of the body. As a result, toxic metabolic products accumulate, which cause intoxication. With an increase in the internal temperature of the body above 40 0C, the destruction of enzymes, hormones, muscle damage (including the heart), the function of the kidneys and liver is disturbed, and cerebral edema develops.

Heat stroke symptoms

The first symptoms of overheating of the body occur on initial stage thermal shock, when the compensatory heat transfer mechanisms are still working properly. Therefore, these signs are easily reversible upon cessation of exposure to heat:

skin redness;
shortness of breath (increased breathing);
palpitations (increased and increased heart rate);
thirst, dry mouth;
the appearance of headache, dizziness, staggering when walking;
feeling hot, profuse sweating.

With continued exposure to high temperature or direct sunlight and insufficient fluid intake, decompensation phenomena occur:

flashing flies before the eyes;
noise in ears;
nausea and vomiting;
disturbance of consciousness from a short-term faint to a coma is possible;
sometimes delirium, hallucinations, convulsions develop;
pulse quickens to 140 beats per minute;
breathing is irregular, shallow, weakened;
skin dry, hot.

Attention! If first aid is not provided to a person in time, the pulse slows down, breathing becomes intermittent, loss of consciousness and death occurs.

What is dangerous?

Mortality in heat stroke reaches 20-30%. In some cases, death from complications and intoxication with heat stroke can occur after normalization of body temperature.

What to do with heat stroke?

Remove or remove the victim from a hot room, steam room, from a sunny place at the first sign of overheating.
Undress the person, moisten the skin with cold water, put a damp towel or ice pack on the head. Cooling is especially effective in places where the pulse beats, the forehead, temples, heart, and liver.
Restore fluid balance in the body as soon as possible. For drinking use plain or mineral water without gas, cool tea, compote. Salt solutions for dehydration well restore the water-electrolyte balance: Regidron, Hydrovit, Oralit, Chlorazole. You can prepare a saline solution for drinking yourself by diluting 1 teaspoon of salt with a slide (9 g) in a liter of water.
When vomiting, soldering is done in small portions (30-50 ml) every 3-5 minutes. Children are soldered from a spoon.
If the measures provided are ineffective or alarming signs of severe hyperthermia appear, urgently call an ambulance.
In the absence of a pulse and breathing, start chest compressions and artificial respiration until the doctor arrives.

What can't be done?

Give alcoholic drinks.
Give drinks containing caffeine.
Give antipyretics, such as aspirin or paracetamol, and other medicines: heart remedies, drugs for pressure, pain, etc.

Nota Bene!

By following simple safety rules, heat stroke is easy to avoid:
Dress and dress your children according to the weather conditions.
In summer, it is preferable to wear clothes made of natural fabrics in light colors and loose fit.
In the heat, in the steam room, with active physical work, drink a sufficient amount of liquid, do not tolerate thirst.
Wear a hat in the sun.
When the first signs of overheating develop, immediately take rescue measures, as the symptoms of heat stroke develop rapidly.

Created from:

Vertkin A. L., Bagnenko S. F. Guide to the ambulance medical care- M.: GEOTAR-Media, 2007.
Guide to Primary Health Care. - M.: GEOTAR-Media, 2006.

Heat stroke is pathological condition, which is caused by a general overheating of the body when exposed to external thermal factors. The main reason for overheating of the body is a violation of its thermoregulation.

Overheating can occur in factories with high temperature air or in conditions where heat transfer from the surface of the body is difficult; in areas with a hot climate.

Overheating of the body at elevated ambient temperatures is facilitated by an increase in heat production, which occurs during muscular work, including in waterproof clothing, immobility and high air humidity.

With difficult heat transfer, heat stroke in a young child is a fairly common phenomenon, since the body's thermoregulation system has not yet been fully formed. Also, adults with disorders in the function of sweating are most often overheated.

Degrees of overheating of the body and causes of heat stroke

According to the nature of changes in the activity of the respiratory, cardiovascular systems, heat exchange distinguish 4 degrees of overheating:

First degree or stable fixture. Occurs at an ambient temperature of approximately 40°C. Heat transfer under such conditions corresponds to the heat load, while the body temperature does not rise. The patient's complaints are mainly associated with a feeling of warmth, drowsiness, lethargy, unwillingness to move;
Second degree or partial adaptation. Occurs at an ambient temperature of approximately 50 °. Heat builds up in the human body. Body temperature rises to 38.5°C, systolic pressure rises by 5-15 mm Hg. Art., and the diastolic decreases by 10-20 mm Hg. Art. Minute and systolic volumes of the heart increase, as well as an increase in the volume of absorbed oxygen and released carbon dioxide. There is an increase in the pulse by 40-60 beats. The patient has profuse sweating, a sharp hyperemia of the skin, a feeling of heat appears;
The third degree or failure of the device. Occurs at a temperature of about 60 ° C or more. The patient's temperature rises to 39.5-40°C, systolic pressure rises by 20-30 mm Hg. Art., there is a decrease in diastolic pressure by 30-40 mm Hg. Art. The heart rate rises to 160 beats, the systolic volume of the heart decreases. The volume of absorbed oxygen and released carbon dioxide increases due to increased pulmonary ventilation. The patient's skin is sharply hyperemic, sweat flows in drops. Feeling worse, intense thirst, palpitations, sensation of heat, pressure in the temples, headache, restlessness;
Fourth degree or lack of adaptation (heat stroke). There is a sharp violation in the work of the central nervous and cardiovascular systems.

The degree of overheating of the human body depends not only on the air temperature, but also on the duration of its exposure. Therefore, heat stroke can occur even at air temperatures up to 40 ° C, if you are in such conditions. long time.

Heat stroke can be expected:

during military marches, which are made in warm weather with long transitions, full gear (especially in the subtropical and tropical zones);
in workers of hot shops during hard physical work for a long time and at high temperature in the room; during excavation, mining, construction work, which are carried out in hot weather in areas with high humidity;
during long hiking trips, if their participants do not have a sufficient level of training.

Essential in the pathogenesis of heat stroke are disorders in the water and electrolyte balance due to impaired sweating and the work of the hypothalamic thermoregulation center.

Thus, the causes of heat stroke include:

exposure to high temperatures in the presence of high level air humidity;
wearing synthetic and warm clothing that makes it difficult to release heat from the body;
hot weather. If the body is not accustomed to exposure to high temperatures, then when changing the temperature regime, it is necessary to limit your physical activity for several days;
excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages, since alcohol disrupts the process of thermoregulation;
acceptance of certain medicines(vasoconstrictors, antidepressants, diuretics, antipsychotics).

Those most at risk for heat stroke are:

the elderly, children, pregnant women. In older people, the process of thermoregulation is weakened due to age-related changes in the body; in newborns, thermoregulatory processes have not yet fully developed;
Persons with a genetic predisposition to heat stroke (cystic fibrosis, congenital absence of sweat glands).

Heat stroke symptoms

Heatstroke has an acute onset and a rapid course. The symptoms of heat stroke sometimes resemble a picture of an acute circulatory disorder in the brain.

According to the severity of heat stroke is divided into three forms: mild, moderate and severe.

Light. Symptoms of heat stroke in this case are reduced to adynamia, headache, rapid breathing, nausea, tachycardia. In this case, the body temperature may be normal or have subfebrile values. Skin changes are not observed. At quick creation injured comfortable conditions symptoms of hyperthermia quickly disappear.

Medium severity. This degree of heat stroke is characterized by: severe adynamia, the presence of nausea, vomiting, headache, stupor, uncertainty of movements, short-term loss of consciousness. The victim's skin is hyperemic, moist, breathing is rapid, there is tachycardia and increased sweating. The temperature rises to 39-40°C.

Severe form of heat stroke. Has an acute onset. The patient's consciousness is confused, up to stupor and coma. There are tonic and clonic convulsions. There is psychomotor agitation, hallucinations, delirium. Breathing is shallow, frequent, arrhythmic. The skin is dry and hot. Temperature - 41-42°C. With this form of heat stroke, the mortality rate reaches 20-30%.

First aid for heat stroke

First aid for heat stroke is to place the victim as soon as possible in a cool room or in the shade. It must be laid horizontally and legs raised. Clothing and trouser belt should be unfastened. You need to sprinkle cold water on your face, and cool your head with a damp cold towel or a cooling thermal pack, which is available in any car first-aid kit. The whole body should be wiped with a wet towel. Inhalation of ammonia vapors has a good effect. If the victim is conscious, then he should be given cold water to drink.

If a child has a heat stroke, then the first aid will be the same as described above, but with the condition that after that (for any severity of heat stroke), it is imperative to call an ambulance.

First: Heatstroke and sunstroke are the same thing.

Second: The normal body temperature of a healthy person ranges from 36.2°C to 37.0°C. This normal body temperature depends on the balance of heat production and its consumption. Heat is generated in the body due to muscle work and metabolic processes in the cells of the body. Muscular work should also include activities that are familiar to us, i.e. breathing, walking, etc. The brain regulates all these processes in our body. It is part of the central nervous system. Heat stroke is a uniform increase in body temperature under the influence of the external environment.

So, the causes of overheating can be:

Direct exposure to sunlight.

Prolonged stay in a room with high air temperature (bath).

Physical work at high external temperature.

A sharp change in the usual climate to hot and humid.

Drinking alcoholic beverages in conditions of high ambient temperature.

In the initial stage of overheating, the body struggles with excess heat. The vessels of the skin expand, there is an increase in sweating, an increase in heart rate and respiration. All these measures are taken by the body as compensatory. Each person individually, depending on his age and health, can get rid of excess heat for a different time. Of no small importance, of course, is the time spent in adverse conditions. Prolonged vasodilation of the skin leads to a drop in blood pressure. Abundant sweating leads to fluid loss, and most importantly, to the loss of trace elements necessary for the normal functioning of cells. The brain begins to suffer from lack of oxygen. In combination, all this leads to an exacerbation of chronic diseases and to the emergence of unforeseen situations: prolonged loss of consciousness, convulsions, heart attack. But this is no longer a joke, especially for people with problems of the heart, blood vessels and nervous system.

The picture of overheating looks differently, depending on the degree of overheating. It should be noted that the intake of alcohol and drinks based on purified (from microelements) water greatly aggravates the severity of a person's condition.

Severity of overheating:

1st mild degree characterized by: redness of the skin, increased sweating, general weakness, headache, nausea, rapid heartbeat and breathing. Body temperature rises to 38°C-39°. Arterial pressure remains in figures habitual for the person.

2nd middle degree severity is characterized by: reddening of the skin, moderate sweating, a sharp decrease in mobility, unsteady movements, unsteady gait, headache, accompanied by nausea and vomiting, it seems that a person wants to sleep. Pulse and respiration become more frequent, body temperature rises to 39°C-40°C. Blood pressure may drop.

3rd severe degree severity is characterized by: pronounced redness of the skin, later it becomes pale cyanotic. There is a decrease in sweating until its complete cessation. Delusions and hallucinations appear, prolonged loss of consciousness may occur, seizures may occur. Breathing becomes superficial, rapid heartbeat is replaced by a sharp decrease in it. Blood pressure continues to decline, and body temperature rises to 41°C.

How can you help a person in this situation?

If you see that a person is ill, then you need to call a doctor, regardless of your self-confidence.

If it is not possible to call a doctor, then you need to try to deliver the person to the hospital yourself.

Do not hesitate to call for help, perhaps among the people around you there is a professional physician or a member of the rescue service. Your actions can literally save a person's life.

Take action before professional help arrives.

First aid for overheating:

URGENTLY! Eliminate heat exposure.

Lay the person in the shade, preferably in a ventilated place. If a person is unconscious, drunk, or, in your opinion, does not behave adequately (for example: does not respond to your words, although he can move himself), then he must be laid in a stable position on his side. In case of vomiting, this position will prevent the penetration of vomit into the respiratory tract.

Release the victim from outer clothing.

Wet your face and body with cool water, but not cold. Put something cold on your head. You can wrap the body of the victim with a wet cloth.

Let's inhale vapors of ammonia if the victim is "trying" to lose consciousness or has already lost it. If you do not have ammonia, you can bring the victim to his senses by massaging the nerve endings of the temporal regions and the upper lip, earlobes. For more information on this, see the section on "fainting".

If the victim is conscious and able to swallow on his own, be sure to fight dehydration. Give the victim a cool drink in small sips every 5-10 minutes. Drink better mineral water or a special solution bought at a pharmacy.

If the victim is conscious and can swallow himself, he can be given an antipyretic.

If there are no signs of breathing or heartbeat, start CPR.

Remember:

It is impossible to cool the patient abruptly by immersion in cold water! This can lead to a reflex stop of breathing with a heartbeat!

It is impossible to give medicines and drink to the victim through the mouth if he is unconscious! This can lead to blockage of the airways!

You can not bring a person to consciousness with blows on the cheeks!

When do you need to go to the hospital "without talking"?:

In cases of moderate and severe overheating.

In all cases with a pronounced reaction to overheating (headache with vomiting, a significant increase in blood pressure, etc.).

In all cases, if convulsions and impaired consciousness were noted.

First: Heatstroke and sunstroke are the same thing.

So, the causes of overheating can be:

Direct exposure to sunlight.

Prolonged stay in a room with high air temperature (bath).

Physical work at high external temperature.

A sharp change in the usual climate to hot and humid.

Drinking alcoholic beverages in conditions of high ambient temperature.

The picture of overheating looks different, depending on the degree of overheating. It should be noted that the intake of alcohol and drinks based on purified (from microelements) water greatly aggravates the severity of a person's condition.

Severity of overheating:

How can you help a person in this situation?

If you see that a person is ill, then you need to call a doctor, regardless of your self-confidence.

If it is not possible to call a doctor, then you need to try to deliver the person to the hospital yourself.

Do not hesitate to call for help, perhaps among the people around you there is a professional physician or a member of the rescue service. Your actions can literally save a person's life.

Take action before professional help arrives.

First aid for overheating:

URGENTLY! Eliminate heat exposure.

Release the victim from outer clothing.

Wet your face and body with cool water, but not cold. Put something cold on your head. You can wrap the body of the victim with a wet cloth.

If the victim is conscious and able to swallow on his own, be sure to fight dehydration. Give the victim a cool drink in small sips every 5-10 minutes. It is better to drink mineral water or a special solution bought at a pharmacy.

If the victim is conscious and can swallow himself, he can be given an antipyretic.

If there are no signs of breathing or heartbeat, start CPR.

Remember:

It is impossible to cool the patient abruptly by immersion in cold water! This can lead to a reflex stop of breathing with a heartbeat!

It is impossible to give medicines and drink to the victim through the mouth if he is unconscious! This can lead to blockage of the airways!

You can not bring a person to consciousness with blows on the cheeks!

When do you need to go to the hospital "without talking"?:

In cases of moderate and severe overheating.

In all cases with a pronounced reaction to overheating (headache with vomiting, a significant increase in blood pressure, etc.).

In all cases, if convulsions and impaired consciousness were noted.

A person's temperature is considered normal in the range of 36.5-37.1 ° C. This is achieved with a complex flow of heat production and heat transfer processes in the human body. With a significant excess of ambient temperature, heat transfer is sharply reduced, which leads to overheating of the body.

There is a term heat stroke, which also defines the general overheating of the human body. This state is fundamentally different from sunstroke, in which the thermal energy of sunlight acts directly on the human head, leading to local overheating of the brain.

Development mechanism and causes

General overheating of the body develops as a result of a sharp decrease in heat transfer (the main mechanism of heat transfer is the convection of heat from the surface of the skin and in the process of sweat evaporation) with an increase in air temperature and air humidity in the place where the person is located. Several factors contribute to the faster development of overheating, which include:

Physical exhaustion.
Mental overstrain, a state of stress.
Insufficient food intake, which contributes to the presence of an insufficient amount of energy necessary for the heat transfer process to proceed at the proper level.
Reduced intake of fluid in the body (dehydration of varying degrees), which is necessary for the process of sweat formation.
Concomitant endocrine (diabetes mellitus, obesity) and cardiovascular (ischemic heart disease, hypertension) pathology.
The presence of tight clothing on the body that prevents heat transfer.
Human smoking and alcohol intoxication, which lead to spasm of peripheral arteries and a significant deterioration in heat transfer.

Also, the risk of developing general overheating is significantly increased by the high humidity of the air in the room (often found in baths, saunas, countries with a tropical climate), in which there is practically no evaporation of sweat from the surface of human skin.

General overheating of the human body most often develops in the summer season, while visiting the beaches. At the same time, a combination of heat and sunstroke also develops.

Heat Stroke - Symptoms

With a slight overheating, the general condition of a person practically does not change, he usually complains of a slight general weakness, a feeling of stuffiness, and a headache. The development of overheating or heat stroke of a more severe degree is accompanied by the development of characteristic clinical symptoms, which include:

Raise general temperature body above + 38 ° C.
Shortness of breath with feeling of shortness of breath.
Severe thirst (develops due to loss of water during profuse sweating).
Redness (hyperemia) of the skin, it is moist at the same time.
Severe headache, nausea with possible vomiting.
Confusion of consciousness, sometimes its short-term loss.
Increased heart rate (tachycardia), which can be determined by counting the pulse on the radial artery (to calculate the pulse, fingers are pressed against the radius in the wrist), the normal pulse is 60-80 per minute.
An increase in blood pressure (arterial hypertension), you can measure it at home using a digital tonometer (normal arterial pressure should not exceed 120/80 mm Hg. Art.).

With significant overheating, the body temperature rises above 40 ° C. The victim may be excited or, on the contrary, inhibited, up to loss of consciousness. Contact with him is difficult. Perhaps the development of tonic-clonic generalized seizures.

A prognostically unfavorable sign of severe overheating of the human body is dry skin, which indicates the cessation of sweating.

Providing emergency care

Algorithm for providing emergency first aid includes several activities, which include:

With an initial decrease in temperature in an affected person, an increase in motor activity is possible due to excitation of the structures of the central nervous system. All measures to cool the human body should continue to be carried out during transportation of a person to medical institution. In a medical hospital setting, intravenous drip of chilled saline solutions and glucose is usually carried out, which helps to replenish fluid, mineral salts and nutrients in the body.

To prevent the development of heat stroke, which often develops on the beach in summer, one should not stay in the open sun for a long time (from time to time it is necessary to hide in the shade), swim periodically, and also have a sufficient amount of drinking mineral water (preferably without gas). It is not recommended to abuse alcoholic beverages in hot weather.