Heat Illness Prevention

Transient Heat Fatigue is the temporary state of discomfort and mental or psychological strain arising from prolonged heat exposure.  

Heat Rash, also known as prickly heat, is likely to occur in hot, humid environments where sweat is not easliy removed from the surface of the skin by evaporation, and the skin remains wet most of the time.  

Symptoms:

• Skin redness and pain
• Possible swelling
• Blisters
• Fever 
• Headaches

First Aid:

• Take a shower using mild soap 
• Apply dry, sterile dressings to any blisters
• Seek medical attention

Heat cramps are painful spasms of the muscles that occur among those who sweat profusely in heat and drink large quantitities of water, but do not adequately replace the body's salt loss.

Symptoms:

• Painful Spasms usually in the leg and abdominal muscles
• Heavy Sweating

First Aid:

• Move victim to a coller location

• Lightly stretch and gently massage affected muscles 
• Give sips of up to a half glass of cool water every 15 minutes
• Discontinue liquids if victim is nauseated

Heat exhaustion is caused by the loss of large amounts of fluid by sweating, sometimes with excessive loss of salt.

Symptoms:

• Heavy sweating
• Weak pulse
• Body temperature is normal or slightly higher
• Fainting, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, exhaustion, and headaches

First aid:

• Move victim into shade
• Loose and remove clothing
• Cool the victim (wet cloth, spray mist)
• Have victim slowly drink water
• Seek medical aid immediately if vomiting occurs

Heat stroke, the most serious heat illness, is failure of the body's internal mechanism to regulate it's core temperature.

Symptoms:

• Body temperature rise to fatal levels
• Hot, red, dry skin
• Rapid, weak pulse
• Rapid shallow breathing
• No sweating
• Possible unconsciousness

First aid:

• Call 9-1-1 for emergency help immediately
• Move victim into shade
• Loosen or remove outer clothing
• Lower body temperature (massage body with ice or damp cloth)
• Watch for breathing problems

When heat illness occurs:

• Call 9-1-1 (from a campus phone or cell phone) for emergency medical help
• Tell the dispatcher this is a heat related illness
• If the individual is an employee, notify their supervisor
• The supervisor should fill out a Supervisor Report of Injury.