14 Common Signs And Symptoms Of Heat Stroke

signs and symptoms of heat stroke

Our body can regulate its temperature naturally. When it gets too hot, it utilizes some strategies to cool down it, such as sweating. However, in case an individual spends much time in the hot weather without consuming enough fluids, the cooling processes cannot work properly. When the body is dehydrated, it cannot continue to cool itself by sweating. And the body temperature may increase high enough to cause sickness.

Signs And Symptoms Of Heat Stroke – The Most Common

Heat stroke is a life-threatening kind of heat illness. The body temperature increases to 105oF or even higher and you will have neurological changes such as unconsciousness or mental confusion. At the high temperature, the membranes and body proteins around the body cells, especially cells in the brain, get started being destroyed. The extreme heat can damage internal organs, causing breakdown of the blood vessels and heart muscle cells. The fluid loss may also create a low blood pressure.

Most of the people who are died by heat stroke when their heart cannot pump effectively. Even people who survive also have permanent brain damage in case their body temperature has been over 105oF for more than 2 hours.

There are 2 common causes of heat stroke:

  • Exertional heat stroke: It occurs when people are active in the heat; for example, playing sports on a hot day or joining in military training activities. It often strikes young and healthy individuals who do not concern about the heat effects on the health. Due to the lack of concern, symptoms of exertional heat stroke may be ignored or dismissed.

Learn More: Top 14 Emotional And Health Benefits Of Playing Sports

  • Nonexertional heat stroke: It occurs in people who have an impaired ability to regulate body temperature, including very young children, older people or people with chronic diseases. The high heat in the environment, without active activity, may be enough to lead to heat stroke in some cases.

In this article, I will reveal some of the most common symptoms of heat stroke in details, so you should not skip out the following interesting health facts and the common symptoms of getting heat stroke. They are:

1. High Body Temperature

symptoms of heat stroke - high body temperature

This is the first out of the signs and symptoms of heat stroke that I want to reveal and want you and my other readers to know for good.

A person is thought to experience a heat stroke when the body temperature reaches greater than 105oF. This high body temperature can affect the central nervous system because of the exposure to the heat. At this point, this heat stroke happens because the body cannot continue to regulate body temperature, which still keeps increasing.

High body temperature is actually the most common symptom of heat stroke, so pay attention to it!

2. Flushed Skin

Incredibly hot and flushed skin is one of the most common symptoms of heat stroke. In case your skin is hot and red and you have a high body temperature, you should go to see a doctor as soon as possible.

Skin flushing is a reddening of the skin including face, upper chest, and neck. It is described as attacks of skin redness along with a burning sensation. In the case of a heat stroke, red, and dry skin is caused by heat exposure and changes in temperature. The skin may become red because of the internal body temperature increases.

At this time, the sweat glands of the skin become blocked and the sweat that is produced cannot get to the skin surface to evaporate. This can cause inflammation and heat rash. You can see the rash as red bumps or itching sensation. Moreover, flushed skin may also occur as reddened skin with a few blister because of the inflammation.

A simple sunburn will be able to reduce this symptom, but the situation will become more dangerous when your internal body temperature still stays higher than 105oF.

Learn More: How To Treat Inflammation In The Body Naturally – 6 Tips

3. Extreme Fatigue

Spending too much time in the sun can make you feel exhausted at the most of the times. However, in case you are experiencing extreme fatigue along with some other signs and symptoms on this list, it may be a symptom of heat stroke. If this situation occurs, it is best to get a medical help, just if your heat exhaustion has turned into heat stroke.

This is, in fact, one of the signs and symptoms of heat stroke that people should know and seek a medical need soon to avoid making heat exhaustion turn into heat stroke.

4. Rapid Heartbeat

A rapid heartbeat after being in the sun for a long time can be a serious problem. It occurs when something disrupts the rate at which your heart pumps blood. In case you are experiencing some other signs and symptoms on this list along with a rapid heartbeat after being in high temperature, you should make sure that you get checked out at once. A rapid heartbeat in these conditions shows an increased pulse rate due to the heat-related stress on the heart while keeping the body cool. When it comes to your heart health, you should not ignore and take any chances.

In fact, this is also among the most common symptoms of heat stroke, so people should pay attention to this health condition to get a healthy heart.

Do you want to know other signs and symptoms of heat stroke? Continue reading this entire article and remember them for good!

Learn More: List Of 20 Heart-Healthy Foods And Snacks To Eat For Good

5. Nausea

symptoms of heat stroke - nausea

Nausea is another one out of the symptoms of heat stroke. A constant nausea or uncomfortable feeling in the stomach, especially when it combines with dizziness, may mean that your health condition is worse than your first thought. Discomfort in the stomach accompanied with other signs of heat stroke needs an immediate medical help. Drink a plenty of water to help deal with the nausea and contact your doctor for help.

This is in brief one of the signs and symptoms of heat stroke, so people should not ignore yet try to seek an immediate medical attention.

6. Vomiting

Apart from nausea, you may also experience vomiting. In case your nausea has turned into vomiting, this is a common symptom of heat stroke and it is important for you to seek medical help immediately. Drink as much water as you can to deal with this condition.

This is actually also one out of the most common symptoms of heat stroke that a plenty of people in the world have been experiencing when getting heat stroke.

7. Dizziness

Another out of the common symptoms of heat stroke that I want to introduce in this entire article and want all of my readers to know and remember to seek a medical help is that heat stroke can cause dizziness suddenly.

In addition to a body temperature higher than 105oF, dizziness is one out of the common signs and symptoms of heat stroke. Heat-related dizziness results from low blood flow to our brain. This is because heat causes an increased blood flow to the skin as well as pooling of blood in legs, and the result may be a decreased blood pressure. This can make a sense of lightheadedness with ease before a fainting occurs. Therefore, if you spend much time in the sun and you have these symptoms, seek a help from your doctor immediately.

8. Alteration In Sweating

As liquids help our body cool down by producing sweat, a person can lose great amounts of fluid of the body in the form of sweat without paying attention to any effects. However, the body will keep the remaining fluid for proper functions and then stop sweating. At this point, the body temperature is higher and the cells begin drying. When the body does not sweat anymore, the skin is dry and without perspiration, this individual’s body cannot cool itself.

Therefore, while profuse sweating is a symptom of heat exhaustion, a shortage of sweating shows the dangers of the heat stroke. In case people do not notice their milder heat related signs including nausea, excessive thirst, and lightheadedness, they may be able to quickly progress into those of heat stroke.

The most noticeable symptom may go from excessive sweating to an entire lack of sweating. This is as when they suffer from heat exhaustion, they will sweat profusely to get rid of the excessive heat, but when in a heat stroke condition, sweat stops due to a failure in the heat regulation system. A loss of sweating ability is often a late and ominous symptom.

9. Altered Mental State

People who have a heat stroke will often feel dizzy, but the altered mental state is also gone along with other symptoms. Experiences such as agitation, irritability, difficulty thinking, focusing and remembering, slurred speech, as well as delirium, can be visible. In a state of mental confusing, people will not be able to experience the normal level of clarity and will proceed with disorientation. These changes in behavior will go along with other symptoms of heat stroke.

This is also one of the signs and symptoms of heat stroke that you should know for good, especially those who have to be in the sun for a period of time.

10. Seizures

symptoms of heat stroke - seizures

Another one on the list of common symptoms of heat stroke that I want to reveal in this entire article today and want all of my readers to remember to seek medical attention immediately if you are experiencing seizures caused by prolonged sun exposure.

They are very serious sign of heat stroke. If you have a heat stroke, these symptoms often occur suddenly and give no warning signs. A seizure occurs when there is a flow in the electrical activity of the brain. This imbalance causes a plenty of physical symptoms including muscle contractions, visual disturbances and blacking out. The hazardous thing about this symptom is that it is not able to be treated, so it is a very dangerous sign of heat stroke that needs medical attention immediately.

11. Rapid And Shallow Breathing

Another symptom of heat stroke is rapid and shallow breathing. This condition can represent numbness, muscle spasms, tingling or respiratory problems. In the form of hyperventilation, this breathing results from a lack of oxygen to the lungs.

In fact, this is among the most common symptoms of heat stroke, so you should pay attention to this and find an immediate way to reduce your body temperature to the normal rate.

Continue reading this entire article and try to find a medical help as soon as possible in case you are experiencing one or more of these symptoms.

12. Severe Headache

If you are in the sun for a long time and then you are getting a severe headache, you may suffer from a heat stroke. Headaches can be caused by exercising in hot weather without consuming enough water or by not wearing the proper protective thing on the head, but letting it expose to the heat. It is common to get a slight headache after being outdoors on the summer day, but a severe headache, accompanied with one or more of the symptoms of heat stroke on this list shows that you need to go to see a doctor immediately.

13. Muscle Cramps

Muscle cramps in a heat stroke are known as heat cramps. They are the first sign of heat crises. These cramps affect major muscles, which are stressed in the heat. Once again, this symptom may be accompanied by dehydration. This is as the cramps are believed to be result from a deficiency in electrolytes. The cramps can be experienced as cramps in the arms, legs, and stomach.

This is also a great one on the list of signs and symptoms of heat stroke, which you should not look down but learn and go to see your doctor soon in order to avoid worsening your health condition.

14. Fainting

symptoms of heat stroke - fainting

This is the last but very common out of the signs and symptoms of heat stroke that I want to reveal in this entire article and want all of my readers to know if they are experiencing a fainting. While the feature of a heat stroke may be high body temperature, fainting is often one of the first signs. This condition occurs because of insufficient blood flow to our brain, leading to loss of consciousness.

In some instances, the same condition may also occur because of dehydration. Given insufficient water in the body, the blood flow may be limited and fainting is a result of dehydration. At this time, too much water and salt are lost and they are not replaced. Therefore, people who suspect being exposed to the heat for a long time should monitor their water intake in order to avoid suffering from a heat stroke.

The symptoms of heat sickness occur when the internal body temperature is above the normal level. The early symptoms including nausea, headache, muscle cramps, vomiting, and fatigue are called heat exhaustion. If there is no way to reduce the body temperature, it can worsen and turn into heat stroke.

Factors that can lead to heat stroke are:

  • Wearing heavy clothing in the heat
  • Sleep deprivation, which may decrease the sweating
  • Being confined to non-air-conditioned living area
  • Use of drugs such as heroin, cocaine and ecstasy
  • Having experienced heat stroke previously
  • Dehydration from drinking less water
  • Being overweight that creates more heat and decreases the ability to cool down
  • Being unaccustomed to the hot environment.
  • Some medications can limit the body’s ability to stay hydrated, such as antihistamines, diuretics, laxatives, calcium channel blockers, medicines for Parkinson’s disease, some tricyclic antidepressants and diarrhea treatments.
  • Over 65 years old, the central nervous system, which is responsible for monitoring the body temperature, slowly deteriorates.
  • Having heart and lung disease, a sedentary lifestyle, obesity, gastroenteritis

Heat stroke is potentially dangerous heat injury, which needs medical help immediately. While waiting for medical help, people should try to reduce their body temperature with a cold bath, damp sheets or cooling drinks. Some potential ways to reduce your body temperature that you can follow:

  • Immersion: in an ice bath or cold water
  • Cooling blankets and ice packs: Take cooling blankets and cover the victim. Ice packs are placed put in areas where large veins are close to the skin surface, ensuring that the blood reduces the temperature rapidly.
  • Evaporation cooling: cold water will be misted onto the surface of the skin while warm air will be fanned onto the body. This causes evaporation, which has effect on cooling the skin.
  • Muscle relaxants: drugs like benzodiazepines may be offered in case the body temperature is not reduced. They will prevent the body from shaking in response to cold treatments.

These ways can help you reduce the body temperature. However, after that, you should seek a medical attention to deal with this condition effectively.

After reading this article about common symptoms of heat stroke, another thing that I want all of you to do is to spend time reading another article that reveals best tips on how to prevent heat stroke naturally – the How To Prevent Heat Stroke Naturally At Home – 15 Tips article. This is an interesting gathering of the best tips to help you prevent heat stroke at home that you can follow with ease and without worrying about harmful effects. These tips have already supported a plenty of people in the world effectively in preventing and dealing with heat stroke without causing any unwanted side effects, so readers of VKool.com should not skip out this recommended article and follow one or more of these tips for good.

This is the list of 14 most common symptoms of heat stroke that everyone who concerns about this health condition should read and remember for good. In fact, these symptoms have been found in a lot of people in the world who suffer from heat stroke, so you should not ignore them, but seek a medical help as soon as possible.

After reading this list of signs and symptoms of heat stroke, if you think that this list can be useful to help you and other people you know who have experienced one or more of these symptoms as I mentioned in this article above, you should share this list with them and encourage them to go to see their doctor as soon as possible to avoid worsening their health condition. In case you know other signs and symptoms of heat stroke, so do not forget to share them with everyone by leaving your comments below. I will try to reply you as soon as possible.

Some articles about best home remedies for heat-related health issues that you may be interested in and should not skip at all costs:

26 Tips On Best Home Remedies To Reduce Body Heat

12 Home Remedies For Heat Rash On Face And Neck

10 Home Remedies For Prickly Heat On Face And On Body

How To Reduce Body Heat Naturally In Summer – 9 Useful Ways

15 Home Remedies For Excessive Sweating On Face & Other Parts

Want More Content Like This In Your Inbox?

Join The Discussion

JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Comments JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Advertising Disclosure

Displayed content is offered by businesses which have been compensated. There is a potential effect on how, what, and where products may appear. All effort is made into providing full transparency, not all available products or companies are highlighted. Published material is offered without any slant or bias no matter what affiliation there is with sponsorship or association.