{"id":66592,"date":"2022-08-11T10:31:24","date_gmt":"2022-08-11T15:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=66592"},"modified":"2022-08-11T10:31:26","modified_gmt":"2022-08-11T15:31:26","slug":"prevention-key-to-avoiding-heat-related-illness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=66592","title":{"rendered":"Prevention key to avoiding heat-related illness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In July, Hays residents saw 24 days of 90+ degree weather. Those numbers are concerning when it comes to the potential for illnesses such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke, according to Dr. Jeff Curtis, medical director of FHSU\u2019s Health and Wellness Services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Symptoms\nof heat exhaustion, which can lead to heat stroke, include weakness, dizziness,\nupset stomach, and heavy perspiration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHeat\nexhaustion is generally not fatal and generally treatable as long those around\nthe individual recognize the illness,\u201d Curtis said. However, on rare occasions,\nheat stroke can follow. Heat stroke symptoms include extreme skin redness, core\ntemperature from 104 to 105, and mental confusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s\nsaid to be more than 50-50 fatal if heat stroke develops,\u201d Curtis said. \u201cMost\nheat stroke is preceded by heat exhaustion. I think it\u2019s really important to\neducate people about the seriousness if it progresses to heat stroke.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specific\nsubsets of individuals, such as the elderly, people with chronic illness, or\npeople taking certain medications, are more susceptible to heat stroke. He said\nthat many individuals on the FHSU campus likely fall into one or more categories.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According\nto Curtis, as sports practices begin on campus, student-athletes should be\naware of the potential for heat-related illness. He recently consulted with\nathletic trainers regarding cardiac emergencies in general. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Updates\nto the FHSU Sports Medicine Heat Illness Policy are currently under review by\nDr. Wally Walstrom, Athletics Health Care Administrator. Modifications have\nbeen made regarding preventing, monitoring, and treating heat-related\nillnesses\/injuries. Kota Wakasa, Assistant Athletic Trainer, said that the new\npolicy sets a \u201cclear line for activity termination,\u201d among other details. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Procedures\nfor preventing exertional heat illness for student-athletes begin with an\nannual pre-participation physical examination to identify possible pre-existing\nconditions which place the student at risk of heat-related illness.\nEnvironmental monitoring is required when temperatures are expected to exceed\n80 degrees during scheduled practice times. Further heat-illness prevention\nprocedures include acclimatization and hydration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For\nthe general population, knowing when to seek medical attention for a\nheat-related illness is critical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFirst\nsign of heat stroke is you stop sweating, you are red as a beet, burning up,\nand most commonly, the individual isn\u2019t making sense,\u201d Curtis said. \u201cAltered\nmental state, confused or obtunded. That is really serious. Those people need\nto call 911.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prevention\nand common sense are keys to beating heat-related illnesses. Curtis stressed\nthe importance of pre-hydration or drinking plenty of fluids before feeling\nthirsty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf\nyou know it\u2019s going to be a hot day, plan your day,\u201d Curtis said. \u201cIf you can,\ndivide your tasks into small segments. Work for 15 minutes, then go inside.\nCool off, get a drink. It\u2019s going to take a lot longer, but your body will\nreapportion itself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As\nclimate changes potentially bring about shifting seasons, higher temperatures,\nand drier conditions for the central U.S., Curtis said it is important to be\naware that summer temperatures can continue into what we once considered fall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\nwe traditionally think of as summer may not be summer,\u201d Curtis said. \u201cWe may\njust be starting summer. It may not end on Sept. 21 but may go on until Nov. 1.\nWe need to be aware that the fifth football game of the season might be played\nin 95-degree temperatures.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS In July, Hays residents saw 24 days of 90+ degree weather. Those numbers are concerning when it comes to the potential for… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11722],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-releases"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=66592"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66593,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66592\/revisions\/66593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=66592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=66592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=66592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}