Your experience with Heat Stroke?

[Featherwisp]

Here in TN we are in a sweltering heat wave...90 degrees and up.
Just walking my dog down the drive way and back for a potty break was enough to leave me covered in sweat.

Me and my family have been talking about the dangers of this hot weather...how not to drink caffeinated drinks while working out in the sun, drinking plenty of water, and taking frequent breaks in the shade.
My SO works out in the heat for hours, doing yard work for money...I worry about him. Yesterday he left early because of bad headaches/getting overheated.
He drinks energy drinks before work, which is bad. I am going to talk with him about that. But luckily, he only drinks water when he is working.
My mother got heat stroke a few times from jogging on a very hot day...she started getting shivers, dizziness, and fatigue.

So whats your experience with the heat, and how do you combat it?

Some helpful tips would be great.

 

[MandyH]

I have had a heat stroke several years ago and it's not nice. I blacked out and had to be placed in the tub to be revived. My DH got laid off from his job a couple weeks a go and since then me and him have been doing odd jobs outdoors. It has not been less than 96 degrees in a week here, with humidity like 50-70%. I have been about to die to say the least. I am too old and fat to be working this hard. Today we are building a pasture fence for a lady and it's horrible. We came in to eat and cool off and then , back to work.

 

[Featherwisp]

Ick, I know how its like. Horrible. Working out at the garden is skin-incinerating.
Thank goodness for air-conditioning.

 

[Wifezilla]

I was in a drum & bugle corp as a youngster and used to travel all over the midwest marching in parades and competing. After a parade in some god-forsaken corner of Iowa with 95º temps and 95% humidity, 5 of us ended up in the hospital with heat stroke.

I remember it took WEEKS for me to be able to eat real food and not get dizzy every time I stood up

 

[Godsgrl]

I suffered heat exhaustion a few years ago, and it was really bad. I flew home from CA, landing in a town I was unfamiliar with. My vehicle had no a/c, and it was the middle of summer.

I got lost several times coming home, and drank only iced coffees and sodas. By the time I got home, I was about to fall out, had a severe headache, nauseated, and was just burning up.

Sitting in front of fans, applying ice to my neck and inner wrists, and drinking water made me feel better eventually. It is something I never wish to repeat. Be careful in this heat everyone!

>----supposed to be 103 today. Plus humidity.

 

[ChicknJ]

True heat stroke is nothing to toy with. Every summer we get patients admitted to critical care for this, and sometimes..... they die!!! The electrolyte loss can sometimes be too great for us to correct. As we add potassium, sodium, magnesium, they have to actually enter the cell, not just the bloodstream to do any benefit, and if the cells have shrunk to much from dehydration, they will not accept the lytes in.

Water, shade, go slow, plan to do things early in the day. If that means you are on the job site at 6 am, then do so, so you can be done by 12-1 oclock. Keep a spray bottle of water hooked to your belt or close by and frequently mist yourself.


Recognize the early warnings of light headedness, headache, cramps, nausea. If you have quit sweating... you are headed for trouble, get in a shady spot and get wet. Drink slowly, do not not not gulp down a cold cold drink, you can have a vagal episode and faint... ok, nuff nagging for now. Take care of yourselves. IT IS HOT!!

 

[Brick243]

I was diagnosed with a true heat stroke about 15 years ago. I was working in the hay field baleing hay. I had two breakdowns with the tractor and under a deadline. This was an open top tractor. I went all day in 100 plus degrees and sweated it all out. Long story short I ended up at the ER. My blood pressure went as low as 60 over 40.

Would have been admitted but I didn't have insurance. They had the bag opened all the way on me. Dr. came in and really gave it to me on how dangerous heat stroke can be. She told me to buy stock in Gatorade and start heeding the warning signs.

I was told by her and others that I would probably never be able to tolerate the heat again. For me they were definately right. It messes up your cooling system. Even now when it is hot my system seems to over compensate and I have to be careful not to dehydrate.

 

[FunnyFarmer]

I've had heat exhaustion a couple of times--got the shakes, got woozy, had heat cramps once. They are vile. I've also been told you're more vulnerable once you've had problems once. Shade, water (or watered down gatorade), take regular breaks. Don't keep your house ac really cold if you work outside a lot--it makes it harder to make the transition. Learn your own early warning signs of heat problems and LISTEN TO THEM. Heat exhaustion is unpleasant and a major nuisance. Heat STROKE can kill you.

 

[krazycow6]

Yea it was 114 heat index here in central FL yesterday with 100% humidity. Just stay hydrated. Oh and dont forget your shades.

 

[Knight Hawk Ranch]

Working in a commercial green house. Been there and done that.

Drink plenty of water and gatoraide type drink and stay away from caffeine.

I tend to start feeling sick, I don't feel overheated, just bleh feeling. Took me a bit to realize it was from the heat.

I now take a wet bandana to keep around my neck. If I need it, will wet it with the ice water from the cooler keg, wring out and put back around my neck.

This seams to keep me from having a melt down.