When the air shimmers over the asphalt, it can quickly become life-threatening.

First there is just a feeling of discomfort, then dizziness or headaches come along - and with them the question often arises: what to do in the event of heat exhaustion, sunstroke or even heat stroke?

David Lindenfeld

volunteer.

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Bernd Böttiger advises anyone who feels dizzy, headaches or nausea these days because of the high temperatures to go into the shade immediately.

He is the federal doctor of the German Red Cross, clinic director at the University Clinic in Cologne and board member of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine.

Heatstroke is a serious medical injury and a medical emergency.

"Then all the mechanisms the body uses to cool itself have already failed," says Böttiger.

“Heat collapse and sunstroke are milder forms of damage.” The elderly and the sick are particularly at risk.

Laypeople can hardly tell symptoms apart

The heat becomes really dangerous at the latest when the outside temperature exceeds body temperature.

"Then we have to actively cool the body," says Böttiger.

The body regulates its temperature by sweating.

If that is no longer enough, “skin, fatty tissue and muscles also receive more blood because the body dilates the vessels,” says Böttiger.

"So the surface of the body becomes warmer and it can give off more heat."

However, this also leads to a higher load on the circulatory system because more blood is pumped through the body per minute.

“Healthy people can usually cope with this.

Older people or people with illnesses can get serious problems from these endogenous processes.” If the body temperature rises to more than 42 degrees, the structure of the proteins, which are essential for many processes in the body, changes and the person dies.

In the case of sunstroke, prolonged exposure to direct sunlight on the head leads to irritation of the meninges.

Symptoms such as headaches and neck pain, dizziness, nausea and vomiting or disturbances of consciousness can also occur with a time delay.

In heat collapse, the body responds by increasing blood flow to expel heat, resulting in a critical drop in blood pressure and, as a result, temporary unconsciousness.

In heat stroke, the body temperature rises to more than 40 degrees.

The first signs can be headaches, dizziness, muscle cramps, but also circulatory problems and unconsciousness.

For the layman, the individual cases are usually difficult to distinguish from one another.

Therefore, caution is always advised as soon as someone complains of such symptoms.

“Severe gradients will increase”

If the person concerned has been placed in the shade, the upper body should be elevated, says Böttiger.

“In addition, you should constantly check whether the person is still breathing normally and is conscious.

If she's dazed, you should also put her legs up.” If she's unconscious, hurry up.

Then the emergency doctor must be contacted immediately: "If in doubt, it is better to call the emergency number 112."

As a precaution against heat-related emergencies, we recommend measures such as: avoiding the sun, drinking plenty of water (three to three and a half liters per day), doing physically strenuous activities in the morning or evening, ventilating at night if possible and keeping the shutters or blinds closed during the day.

Böttiger also advises turning off devices in the apartment that are not currently in use.

They also give off heat.

In Germany, the extreme heat is new in terms of intensity and length.

"Severe courses of heat stroke are still rare here," says Böttiger.

"But they will increase if the climate crisis continues to worsen."