Heat Stroke: What it is
We are experts in installing, repairing and maintaining mobile and temporary air conditioning systems, including truck air conditioning, auto air conditioning and mining air conditioning. We can even design air conditioning for unusual, compact and remote spaces. We’re experts with both mechanical and electrical work, and we work with batteries, generators and even solar panels. We’re conscious that what we do is important for the health and wellbeing of workers in mining, transport, energy, construction and other important industries. We help to protect workers on site and on the road from heat stroke, and we’re proud of that.
In the past, we’ve talked a little about some of the stages and levels of severity of heat-related illness. Looking up that information made us wonder: what, exactly, is going on in the body when it overheats? What is heat stroke?
Heat Stroke: What it is
By Gavin Lyons Post on 20-03-2015
We are experts in installing, repairing and maintaining mobile and temporary air conditioning systems, including truck air conditioning, auto air conditioning and mining air conditioning. We can even design air conditioning for unusual, compact and remote spaces. We’re experts with both mechanical and electrical work, and we work with batteries, generators and even solar panels. We’re conscious that what we do is important for the health and wellbeing of workers in mining, transport, energy, construction and other important industries. We help to protect workers on site and on the road from heat stroke, and we’re proud of that.
In the past, we’ve talked a little about some of the stages and levels of severity of heat-related illness. Looking up that information made us wonder: what, exactly, is going on in the body when it overheats? What is heat stroke?
How it Starts
Heat illness starts when you are no longer able to shed as much heat as you are absorbing from the environment and creating through physical activity. Our bodies need to stay in a very narrow temperature range, and they have many different ways of maintaining the same internal temperature, regardless of outside temperature and activity level. However, in extreme circumstances, this can break down. One of the body’s most effective mechanisms for cooling itself is sweat, which absorbs heat when it evaporates. Dehydration can make it impossible for the body to cool itself adequately through sweat. Always drink plenty of water when working in the heat.
When Your Body Temperature Starts to Rise
A body temperature above around 37.6°C is unhealthy, and a body temperature above 41.1°C can be deadly. What happens when your internal temperature starts to rise? You can experience symptoms like nausea, cramps, vomiting, diarrhoea, headaches, weakness and dizziness, and an inability to sweat. When the body overheats, there’s an increase in blood flow to the skin, then cellular inflammation, then cellular death and organ damage, and finally, death. Heatstroke is usually defined according to core body temperature; a temperature of 41°C is the usual cut-off. However, people can experience serious damage to their health even with lower core temperatures, especially if they’re not well acclimated to the hot environment.
Who’s at Risk?
Many things can put an individual at increased risk of heat stroke. One risk factor is simply not being used to the heat: a lack of acclimatisation. Obviously, working in the heat causes a rise in body temperature, and workers should rest and rehydrate immediately if they notice signs of heat illness. Others risk factors include problems with the skin and sweat glands, poor circulation, chronic diseases, and alcohol or drug use (including some prescription medications).
When it’s hot out and you’re working on site, you can’t always be in an air conditioned environment. Stay safe: watch out for signs of heat illness. Call on Lyons Air Conditioning to make sure you have dependable mobile and onsite air conditioning systems that will let you cool down when you have to.
