Holidays And Vacations – Don’t Get Heat Exhaustion In The Tropics
November 30th, 2009 by Dorothy Yamich, under Vacations. No Comments
People should be cautious when they travel on vacations and holidays to hot climates if they are not accustomed to the tropical sun and humidity. Severe sunburns, heatstroke, and heat exhaustion can cause serious medical problems, and even death. The information below may help you when you travel on a vacation or holiday to very hot climates.
Even though these sun related problems, sunburn, heatstroke, and heat exhaustion are not diseases, they can be very serious and could ruin your vacation. They say that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and this is particularly true when dealing with the sun. Keep in mind that the sun’s rays in the tropics are more intense between noon hour and three p.m., as well as at high altitudes, even if it’s a cloudy or overcast day.
How can you prevent getting a sunburn?
In general, the fairer or lighter your skin is, the easier you may sunburn. Even clouds offer little or no protection from a severe sunburn. So why take a chance of ruining your holiday when getting a painful sunburn is easy to protect against? To prevent getting a bad sunburn, especially if you sunburn easily, use a high SPF (Sun Protection Factor) of 30, or stronger if possible. Use the sunscreen liberally, wear a wide-brimmed sun hat, choose UVA & UVB protection certified sunglasses, and wear a long-sleeved shirt and slacks. Try to stay out of the sun between noon and three in the afternoon. Build up your exposure to the sun gradually, day by day. Limit the length of time that you spend in the sun to about fifteen minutes the first day, and increase your time in the sun gradually on subsequent days.
What can you do to treat a severe sunburn?
The pain of a sunburn can be eased by soaking in a cool bath three to four times a day. By adding some baking soda to each bath, it will help even more. Cool showers will more than likely hurt too much, and not be as effective or soothing as cool, relaxing baths. If you have headaches, or pain and swelling, you could take aspirin or other pain medication such as Advil or Ibuprofen. Don’t take any aspirin-based pain medications if you are on blood thinners or have an ulcer. If you are not sure if it’s safe to take any these pain medications, check with a doctor or medical clinic. To avoid dehydration, try and drink six to eight glasses of water a day. Don’t break any blisters if you can help it. Broken blisters can get infected easily, especially in the humid weather of the tropics. If they do break, you should wash them gently with soap and warm water.
If your sunburn does not appear to be getting better and you still have pain after a couple of days, you develop a high temperature or fever, have splitting headaches that won’t go away, vomit or have diarrhea, feel dizzy and confused, or your eyes hurt and light is bothering them, you must seek medical help right away.
What can you do to avoid heat exhaustion?
Heat exhaustion is absolutely preventable. If you wear a wide-brimmed sunhat, drink lots of liquids, and stay out of intense heat and humidity, you can you avoid this serious problem.
What should you do if you have the symptoms of heat exhaustion?
Heat exhaustion is caused by a combination of very high temperatures and humidity. This may result in the loss of fluids from your body through excess sweating. These fluids must be quickly replaced or heat exhaustion can result.
The symptoms include headaches, fatigue and lethargy, giddiness, and muscle cramps. The treatment is to immediately get out of the sun or heat and drink plenty of liquids. Commercial beverages containing electrolytes, such as Gatorade, are preferable. Don’t drink any alcohol. This will make your condition worse.
If you do not feel better and show positive signs of recovery in a very short period of time, have someone take you to a hospital immediately as your condition could quickly progress into a true medical emergency, heatstroke.
What must you immediately do if you get heat stroke?
When heat exhaustion is not successfully treated immediately, it can result in a very serious medical emergency. Heatstroke is characterized by high body temperatures of 102 to 106 degrees Fahrenheit, or 39 to 41 degrees Centigrade. There is also a cessation of sweating. The symptoms of heatstroke include flushed, red skin, headache and confusion which can progress into delirium and convulsions, and can be fatal.
Note: Someone must help you by quickly taking you out of the sun or heat and rushing you to a hospital immediately.
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