ISLAMABAD: As the mercury level is rising, there will be chances of heatstroke during the coming 10 days and the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) has advised citizens to take precautionary measures as they can be affected more while fasting.

In a statement, the hospital said aged people, children and those fasting should not go under the direct sunlight.

They should drink maximum water during Iftar and Sehri, wear light colour dresses and put a wet cloth on the head while under the direct sun.

Fever, headache, dryness of lips and tongue, vomiting and an increase in the body temperature are major symptoms of a heat stroke.

Anyone with such symptoms should be taken to a cool and shady place and some of their clothes removed.

Gastroenterologist at Pims, Dr Waseem Khawaja, told Dawn that since the start of Ramazan over 4,000 patients, including 1,500 children, suffering from gastro, diarrhoea and heatstroke had reported to the hospital.

With temperature rising, chances of heatstroke will be high during next 10 days, Pims statement says

“It is a general observation that parents leave their children in cars while going for shopping. It is extremely dangerous because the temperature inside the vehicle can suddenly go up leading to death of the child.”

He said 14 disorders resulting from an exposure to heat had been recognised. The important ones are heat stroke, heat hyperpyrexia, heat exhaustion, heat syncope and heat cramps.

“Heatstroke results from failure of the heat regulating mechanism. It is characterised by a very high body temperature which may rise to 43.3 degrees Celsius and profound disturbances, including convulsions, coma, dry hot skin, absence of sweating or sometimes excessive sweating,” he said.

“The outcome can be fatal even if the patient is quickly taken to a medical centre or hospital. The treatment includes rapidly cooling the body through an ice water bath till the body temperature falls below 38.9 degrees.”

He said complications of heatstroke included an increase in blood potassium level which was dangerous for the heart; decrease in calcium level in the blood and bleeding.

“A patient suffering from heatstroke should be kept in bed for several days until the temperature control becomes stable. Heat hyperpyrexia is also associated with failure of the heat regulating system of the body but without the characteristic symptoms of heatstroke. It may proceed to heatstroke,” he said.

Heat exhaustion is a milder illness compared to a heatstroke. It is caused by an imbalance or inadequate replacement of water and salts lost in perspiration due to thermal stress. This usually occurs after a few days of high temperature. The body temperature may be normal or moderately elevated but is uncommon to exceed 38.9 degrees, he said.

“Heat cramps are another problem. If a person does heavy muscular work in a high temperature and humidity they will feel pain in the muscles. The cause of heat cramps is loss of sodium and chloride in the blood,” he said.

“Another ill effect of heat is heat syncope. The person standing in the sun becomes pale, blood pressure falls and they collapse suddenly. There is no increase in the body temperature. The condition occurs due to a fall in the blood pressure due to pooling of blood in legs as a result of dilation of blood vessels, so less blood goes to the heart and blood pressure falls and less amount of blood goes to the brain,” Dr Khawaja said.

He said one can prevent heat-related illnesses by taking certain precautionary measures.

These measures are replacement of water, persons working under conditions of high temperature and humidity should be encouraged to drink cool water, those doing hard work in the sun require about one litre of water per hour.

For sedentary workers, the requirement is half litre per hour. There should be intervals of rest between intense works. If signs such as headache and dizziness appear the person should be shifted to a cooler environment and provided necessary treatment. In Ramazan, people should be more careful as the intake of water is stopped during daytime.

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2018

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