Extra care needed to avoid heat related illnesses

Islamabad

The number of cases of heat related illnesses including patients with severe complications is continuously on the rise in this region of the country and according to health experts, fasting individuals need extra care to avoid life threatening conditions by avoiding prolonged exposure to heat.

The continuous increase in number of patients with heat related illnesses shows lack of awareness among public on how to avoid heat related disorders. A severe heat wave has already hit most parts of the country including this region posing a serious threat to health of general public and the effects multiply when a person is fasting in the holy month of Ramazan in extreme summer, said Intensive Care Unit Medical Specialist at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Dr. Muhammad Haroon while talking to ‘The News’ on Tuesday.

He said the severe heat spell has already caused significant increase in number of adult as well as child patients with heat related problems including minor heat related illnesses such as heat edema, heat rash (prickly heat), heat cramps and tetany along with severe heat related complications like heat exhaustion, heat syncope and heat stroke.

He said during the recent severe heat spell, a total of 244 patients presented to PIMS with heat related illnesses of which 18 were suffering from heatstroke showing life-threatening symptoms. Most of these were labourers who work in outdoors in direct sunlight exposed to immense heat, he said.

Heatstroke is considered as the most severe form of the heat-related illnesses and is defined as a body temperature higher than 40.6 degree Celsius (105.1 degree Fahrenheit) due to environmental heat exposure. When heat gain exceeds heat loss, the body temperature rises. Classic heat stroke occurs in individuals who lack the capacity to modulate the environment such as infants, elderly individuals and individuals who are chronically ill.

Dr. Haroon said in cases of delay in treatment, the mortality rate of heat stroke can be as high as 80 per cent however early diagnosis and cooling may reduce mortality rate to 10 per cent.

Furthermore, he said elderly persons and patients with diminished cardiovascular reserves are unable to generate and cope with the physiologic responses to heat stress and, therefore, are at risk of heat stroke.

He added that patients with skin diseases and those taking medications that interfere with sweating are also at increased risk for heat stroke because they are unable to dissipate heat adequately. All these patients need extra care to avoid life threatening conditions while fasting, he said.

Additionally, the redistribution of blood flow to the periphery, coupled with the loss of fluids and electrolytes in sweat, place a tremendous burden on the heart, which ultimately may fail to maintain an adequate cardiac output, leading to additional morbidity and mortality, said Dr. Haroon.

He added that fasting causes dehydration and hypovolemia (state of decreased blood volume; more specifically, decrease in volume of blood plasma) that further increase the chances of developing heatstroke.

He suggested that people who are suffering from any kind of infection, hypertension, heart disease, kidney diseases or failure, severe form of allergies, anemia, previous history of heatstroke or those who work in outdoors or the patients having insulin dependent diabetes should not fast in Ramazan as fasting can push them in heat exhaustion or heatstroke. However, if they want to fast in Ramazan, they must consult a qualified physician prior to opting for fasting, he said.

Studies reveal that in many cases, blood cells burst causing massive bleeding due to persistent heat. Also there are chances of ceasing of the cardiac activity at high temperatures while the consistent high temperature in environment may cause stiffness of muscles bringing them in contracted state. If body temperature of a person goes up and the body stops sweating, it may be heatstroke and the person should immediately report to the nearest healthcare facility.

Article source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/209337-Extra-care-needed-to-avoid-heat-related-illnesses