Heat Related Illness
The best treatment for heat-related illnesses is public education and prevention - Wes Troyer DO
image by: Johñ Carlos Angeles
HWN Suggests
Management of Environmental Heat Injury in the ED
Treatment of heat related illness in the emergency department rests on appropriate recognition of the severity of disease. For heat syncope and heat cramps, isotonic or hypotonic electrolyte solutions may be administered in addition to actively flexing leg muscles to prevent peripheral pooling of blood...
For heat exhaustion and heat stroke, treatments become more aggressive and should be initiated within 30 minutes of recognition of the signs/symptoms...
Clinicians should next focus on cooling core body temperature. The best treatment for exertional heat stroke is cold-water immersion therapy—where the patient gets placed in a cold body of water.
Resources
Heat-related Illness Deep Dive
Uncompensated temperature rise leads to many deleterious consequences described in the various stages and forms of heat illness. As the body begins to lose control of its thermostat, the first symptoms are fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and lightheadedness as tachycardia and relative hypotension sets in.
Emergency Management of Heat-Related Illness
The best treatment for heat-related illnesses is public education and prevention.
Heat Illness In The Emergency Department: Keeping Your Cool
The challenge for the emergency clinician is twofold: first, the severity of heat illness must be established and prompt cooling therapy must be started. Second, the emergency clinician must be aware of toxicological substances, infectious processes, and other medical conditions that can cause symptoms that mimic heat illness.
Management of Environmental Heat Injury in the ED
With the rapid increase in heat-related injuries, and projected increase in global warming, researchers are continually seeking new and efficacious treatments. For example, recombinant activated protein C is currently being explored to manage the disseminated intravascular coagulation that may result from heat stroke.
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