Heat stroke: How serious is the problem of "heat"?
The fatality rate can be as high as 50% if the treatment is not timely
Recently, 57-year-old Mr. Luo suddenly fainted and fainted during the move because he had been engaged in high-intensity moving work for 3 consecutive days and lacked drinking water. After being sent to the emergency department of the hospital, the doctor diagnosed heat stroke and transferred to the ICU emergency intensive care unit.
Heat stroke refers to the dysfunction of human body temperature regulation caused by high temperature, excessive heat accumulation in the body, which causes damage to the nervous organs. Heat stroke is classified as severe heat stroke in the classification of heat stroke. Recently, under the high fever in various parts of Guangdong, many citizens have "heat" problems. According to statistics, Shenzhen 120 received 42 heatstroke alarms from June 1 to 16.
How to deal with patients with heatstroke? Wang Xuemei, deputy director of the training department of the Shenzhen Emergency Center, told a reporter from Workers’ Daily that when a patient with mild heatstroke is encountered, he should move the patient to a cool environment, sit down and rest, and let him relax as much as possible. If the symptoms are not relieved, but continue to worsen, and symptoms such as dyspnea, blood pressure drop, and unconsciousness appear, they are severely ill. You must call 120 in time. While waiting, you can use an ice towel to put it on the forehead, neck, and groin for physical cooling.
Entered the ICU after moving for 3 consecutive days
Recently, Mr. Luo suffered from heat stroke due to three consecutive days of moving work under high temperature and was sent to the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University for emergency treatment.
The reporter learned that Mr. Luo suffered heatstroke due to lack of rest and drinking water when he moved in the hot weather during the dog days. On the evening of July 12, when he moved, he suddenly fainted, foamed at the mouth, did not respond to any calls, and was sent to the emergency department of the hospital for treatment. According to the doctor in charge Wang Lichun, when he was admitted to the hospital, Mr. Luo was in a coma, with dry and hot skin, slow reflection of light, bilateral pupils of 2.5mm, normal muscle tone, and unable to cooperate with muscle strength tests. He was initially diagnosed as heat stroke. The emergency department immediately activated the green channel and transferred him to the ICU emergency intensive care unit for monitoring and further treatment.
After being transferred to the ICU, Mr. Luo had a high fever and his body temperature was as high as 41℃. He suffered from renal and liver function damage, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, heart damage, and other organ dysfunction, and he also suffered shock. Yang Chunhua, director of the ICU of the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, led a team to quickly formulate a medical plan for Mr. Luo.
After follow-up treatment and recovery, Mr. Luo's physical condition has improved greatly and he left the ventilator on July 20.
The death rate of "heat stroke" exceeds 50%
Unlike Mr. Luo, 22-year-old Liu Hua (pseudonym) suffered heatstroke from outdoor sports.
In early July, after Liu Hua, who had just graduated from university, joined a company in Shenzhen, he went hiking with his new friends during the weekend. Taking into account the long activity time and the hot weather, they also made preparations in advance, bought trekking poles, sun hats, and brought plenty of water before setting off.
On the day of the event, Liu Hua and his companion set off from Meilin, Futian District on time at 6 o'clock. After three or four hours of traversing the mountains, they were about to sprint to the top of Tanglang Mountain and found that they were taking the wrong path. They had no choice but to go back the same way, down the mountain and up the mountain. "Walking, I gradually felt insufficient physical strength and a little dizzy. After drinking two bottles of water and energy drinks, I poured some Huoxiang Zhengqi water in my mouth." Liu Hua recalled, after 12 noon, still from the top of the mountain. The difference was 20 meters, and it was the only section of the whole journey that had no shade and was relatively dry. He began to feel hot all over, chest tightness, and breathlessness. He suddenly fainted and vomited once.
"It should be heatstroke, hurry up to a shady place." A friend of mine who had been a firefighter, responded quickly. They carried Liu Hua to the top of the mountain under the shade of the trees, and loosened his clothes to cool down with water. They also talked to him from time to time, but Liu Hua remained confused and could not answer. Considering that the mountain road is not open to traffic, when they contacted the 120 ambulance, they also called the 119 fire department in time.
At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, more than 10 firefighters, scenic management staff, and mountain climbing companions took turns relaying the relay. A group of four carried Liu Hua down the mountain on a stretcher, and sent him to a 120 ambulance to the emergency department of Shenzhen University General Hospital.
After arriving at the hospital, Liu Hua's body temperature reached 38.7 degrees and was unconscious. The emergency doctor immediately gave him a head CT examination and blood tests. The results showed that multiple organ dysfunctions occurred. Markers of damage to the liver, kidneys, muscles, heart, and pancreas were significantly increased, and he was in critical condition. As a result, Liu Hua was quickly transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for rescue.
"This is not ordinary heat stroke. It has developed to the severity of heat stroke, which has caused a series of critical conditions such as exertional heat stroke complicated by multiple organ dysfunction, rhabdomyolysis, acidosis, and electrolyte balance disorders." Song Zhi, director of the ICU, who has experience in treatment, directed medical staff to rescue.
After 6 o'clock that night, Liu Hua gradually recovered. Three or four days later, his condition improved greatly. After 10 days, all functional indexes returned to normal levels, leaving no sequelae.
Song Zhi said bluntly that his original military hospital had treated many soldiers who had heatstroke during summer training, and also encountered elderly people who were unconscious after taking a bath in a public bathroom. Heat stroke is often accompanied by damage to multiple organs, including the brain, heart, liver, kidney, muscle, etc. It is a fatal disease, and the fatality rate can be as high as 50% if the treatment is not timely.
Mostly caused by exercise, reduced heat stroke on site
The reporter learned that as people’s awareness of heatstroke prevention has increased, construction sites have gradually paid attention to workers’ health and adopted various measures to prevent heatstroke. In the past two years, the main cause of heatstroke among citizens is outdoor sports, such as mountain climbing and running. Heatstroke is less common among construction workers.
Taking the Nansha Dagang Project of the Shenzhen Company of China Railway Second Bureau as an example, the construction site carried out heatstroke prevention and cooling knowledge training, popularized the knowledge of heatstroke prevention and cooling, and high temperature protection, and enhanced the prevention awareness and self-rescue ability of frontline workers. At the same time, we will distribute heatstroke prevention and cooling materials, and distribute mineral water, mung bean soup, watermelon, cold drinks and other heatstroke prevention and cooling items to frontline workers, and place herbal tea pots at a fixed point in the work area, and arrange for someone to make herbal tea for workers every day. In addition, air-conditioned rest rooms and awnings are set up for workers to prevent workers from working directly under the scorching sun; try to avoid high-temperature weather and high-temperature periods at noon to implement high-intensity operations, and rationally deploy personnel for rotation operations.
"Heat stroke is divided into mild heat stroke and severe heat stroke. Mild heat stroke is manifested as dizziness, headache, flushing, thirst, profuse sweating, general weakness, palpitations, rapid pulse, inattention, and uncoordinated movements. Severe heat stroke. , Including heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. In severe cases, it can lead to death.” Wang Xuemei said, “heat stroke” is the most harmful to human life, with a mortality rate of more than 50%. Its typical symptom is a body temperature of over 40°C. Such a high body temperature can cause irreversible damage to the brain, leading to the death of a large number of brain cells.
In order to avoid heat stroke, doctors recommend that the general public go out to prevent heat dissipation and avoid activities in the hot sun. The elderly, pregnant women, and people with chronic diseases, especially those with cardiovascular diseases, should reduce their outings as much as possible in hot weather; and heatstroke prevention and cooling medicines must be kept nearby to prevent emergency use. In hot weather, eat more lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes and other vegetables, as well as peaches, apricots, watermelons, melons and other fresh fruits with high water content. Drink plenty of water.
How to deal with heatstroke patients? The doctor recommends that once the above signs of heat stroke occur and you are unwell, you should quickly evacuate from the high temperature environment and choose a cool and ventilated place to rest; drink more salty herbal tea, and you can also apply cool oil and wind oil on the forehead and temple. Or take ten drops of water, Huoxiang Zhengqi water and other traditional Chinese medicine. If the symptoms cannot be relieved, seek medical attention promptly.
Liu Youting