2023-04-25 10:00:00
The heat is usually understood as a blessing. With the arrival of the first warm temperatures of spring, the fields bloom and explode with life, infecting the people at their party and motivating the streets, parks and terraces to fill up with passersby after the cold winter.
In summer, however, opinions tend to be more divided. While for some the high temperatures are cause for joy and synonymous with holidays, for others the summer heat in the Iberian Peninsula can be as unpleasant as the cold winter temperatures in some geographical areas of Spain. More, when the scientific evidence seems to support the hypothesis that each year the temperatures will become warmer and warmer.
Without going any further, the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) announced that this week there will be a progressive entry of a mass of very warm and dry air, of African origin, over the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands.
These are the most extreme heat waves ever recorded
“The presence of this warm mass, together with the conditions of atmospheric stability and strong insolation, will cause a progressive and marked rise in temperatures, with values typical of summer and exceptionally high for these dates,” said the AEMET.
and sometimes heat can be dangerous. Every year, during the summer period, the newspapers get headlines reporting the death of a large number of people due to heat, most of them elderly. Thus, in 2022, during the heat wave that occurred between July 10 and 16, the National Epidemiology Center (CNE) reported the death of more than 500 people because of the dreaded heat strokes.
What is a heat stroke and what are its symptoms?
And heatstroke It is fundamentally a sudden increase in a person’s body temperature, against which the body does not have the tools to fight. Is about the most serious form of heat injury, and usually manifests itself when a person’s body temperature rises above 40ºC. In general, they occur as a result of prolonged exposure to high temperatures or due to strenuous physical exertion under high temperatures. As its name indicates, heat strokes They can arrive without warning, occurring with such speed and intensity that they can even cause death even in healthy people.
The elderly or overweight, as well as the sick and children, are the most susceptible to suffering the consequences of heat stroke
Among the first symptoms that put us on the trail that we may be suffering from a heat stroke, are the headache, excessive sweating, or feeling lightheaded or tiredTherefore, if we feel that we are experiencing these signs, it is advisable to stop physical activity or seek shelter from high temperatures, as well as drink water to hydrate as soon as possible. If you do not act according to the indications of the experts, these symptoms can worsen, giving rise to an acceleration of the pulse and heart rate, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, fainting and later coma and even death.
How to combat a heat stroke?
Heat strokes do not follow an exact pattern, and although they can occur in all kinds of people even if they have not shown signs of any previous condition, it is also true that both the elderly or overweight, as well as the sick and children, are most susceptible
to suffer its consequences, so knowing how to act in the face of a heat stroke can help prevent it from reaching its final fatal consequences.
Climate change is to blame for 37% of heat deaths
Thus, when identifying the symptoms that may indicate that a person is suffering from heat stroke, doctors and experts focus their recommendations on two basic aspects: hydration and reduction of body temperature. In the first case, it is essential drink water or an isotonic drink for athletes that helps the body to replenish electrolytes. They are also recommended light meals that help to replenish the salts lost through sweat, such as salads, fruit, vegetables or gazpachos. On the contrary, copious meals, alcohol or caffeinated beverages, or diuretic foods should also be avoided during the following days. Secondly, to reduce the temperature, cold water showers or baths are effective, as well as the application of any other method that has this objective as its goal.
Drinking plenty of fluids, cooling off with cold water baths and avoiding alcohol consumption and eating copious meals are essential to avoid fatal heat strokes.
After the first consequences, doctors also urge extending these measures during the days after the symptoms and thus, they recommend avoiding outdoor activities during the central hours of the day, especially if it involves intense activities or work that requires considerable physical effort, maintaining a light diet rich in liquids, or the use of caps and hats that reduce the rate of insolation received.
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