The term "heat stroke" is often used loosely during the summer. However, it covers a very precise medical reality. You have heat stroke when your body temperature starts to rise dangerously and exceeds 40 ° C to 41 ° C. Without prompt treatment, mortality exceeds 80%.
In principle, our body is able to regulate its internal temperature. We stay around 37 ° C body temperature, whatever the outside temperature: this is called thermoregulation. When we are hot, we evacuate the heat especially by sweating, even if this is not always obvious. On Europe 1, Wednesday, Doctor Damien Mascret gives his advice to avoid heatstroke and come to the aid of people who suffer from it.
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Drink regularly to compensate for water loss
It is crucial to drink regularly, in order to compensate for water loss. This is why the elderly are particularly vulnerable. We know that in them, the thirst signal fades to the point that they can become dehydrated without realizing it. Babies are also particularly exposed to it, since they cannot drink alone: they should be often offered to drink when the weather is hot. Finally, it is a classic trap for athletes or soldiers in good health who make extreme efforts under a blazing sun. If they don't drink enough, they can get heatstroke when they think they are just “hot”.
Besides the feeling of heat, other symptoms exist. You have a headache, you may feel dizzy, sometimes nausea or even vomit, your vision is blurred, you become clumsy, your coordination of movements is disturbed, you are tired. All this is not normal when you are just hot. You may even have body aches because your muscles are in pain, as well as pain in your lungs, liver, kidneys, heart. You may witness heat stroke if you see someone looking confused, disoriented, behaving strangely, or even convulsing in front of your eyes. You must then call 15 immediately.
While waiting for help, the priority is to cool the body
While waiting for help, know first that a medical regulator of the Samu will guide you. To help the person suffering from heat stroke, the priority is to cool the body. There are two techniques for doing this depending on what you have at hand. First, immersion in cold water. This is the quickest way to go, if you are near a tub, pond, stream it will do. Second method, evaporative cooling. This involves splashing water, if possible cool or lukewarm, on the body of the person who is having heatstroke and fan it or running a fan on it if you have one.
You can also use ice cubes. There are areas where large arteries pass under the skin, which allows the blood to cool more quickly. This is where the ice pack should preferably be placed: the neck, with the carotid arteries on each side, the armpits, with the axillary arteries which pass under the arms and the groins, where the large femoral arteries pass. .