Yup, these symptoms pretty much describe me right about now. How come baseball season is always so blasted hot?
Comments
See what your friends and neighbors have to say about this.
Mr. T
June 27, 2005 at 1:57PM
Scary stuff. A friend of mine (from Canada) experienced some sort of heat exhaustion after spending a few days in Bangkok Thailand except some of her symptoms were unlike those described in the article. Her entire body turned beet red and she stopped sweating and completely lost her appetite, even after drinking like a gallon of cold water. Still, she was functional but ended up in her air-con hotel room and eventually recovered, but I recall many people thinking in hindsight that she came pretty close to (gulp) death. If you experience any more scary symptoms I advise you to seek help! No one wants any dead Mr. Wilsons.
I think I lost a few pounds in water weight this past week alone.
Mr. Wilson
June 27, 2005 at 5:12PM
You’re describing heat stroke, not heat exhaustion. Heat stroke is much more serious. I’ve been there and done that, too. Twice, in fact. The first time I was treated at LincCare. They very nearly tossed me in an ice bath, but they ultimately decided it wasn’t necessary. The second time I walked into a different LincCare, vomited (for about the 15th time that tday), and was immediately sent to the ER. I then spent several hours in the ER, first sitting in the waiting room for an hour (stepping outside every 10-15 minutes to puke/dry heave in the bushes), then hooked up to a bunch of tubes and monitors until the wee hours of the morning. In both cases I felt like death for a week afterwards.
So, yeah, heat stroke sucks. Stay away from it.
Your friend may also have unwittingly flirted with a bout of hyponatremia. That’s pretty dang dangerous, too. It’s not unusual for people with symptoms of heat exhaustion/stroke and dehydration to try to quickly fix the problem by just downing a bunch of water. That throws the body’s electrolytes all out of whack, leading to hyponatremia. Nasty stuff.
The older I get, the worse my body seems to deal with heat. In non-medical terms, my body’s thermostat is busted. Fortunately—or perhaps I should say “fortunately”—I now recognize my heat exhaustion symptoms very clearly, so I shouldn’t ever have to worry about pushing myself all the way to heat stroke. I’m finally smart enough and mature enough to realize that finishing a baseball or soccer game “for the kids” may sound noble, but no game is worth putting myself (and, indirectly, my family) through that misery.
Mr. T
June 27, 2005 at 5:29PM
Yeah you are right. It was a weird situation because this group of people had just gotten
off the plane from Canada and were disoriented enough due to jet lag, different food (which
caused diarrhea, etc.) and on top of that the utterly oppresive heat, humidity
and pollution of of downtown Bangkok. We were all sweating like pigs and after a while the
guy who was leading the tour thing realized something was wrong when she was flush pink
and stopped sweating, and then ordered us back to their hotel. I think he didnt even know what
was going on until after she was OK. They never took her to a hospital or anything,
but just made her stay in the hotel room for several days.
I don’t think I have ever gotten anything like that before luckily. Taking a cold shower
is the best especially before you turn in to bed or after you come back from work or whatever.
Comments
See what your friends and neighbors have to say about this.
Scary stuff. A friend of mine (from Canada) experienced some sort of heat exhaustion after spending a few days in Bangkok Thailand except some of her symptoms were unlike those described in the article. Her entire body turned beet red and she stopped sweating and completely lost her appetite, even after drinking like a gallon of cold water. Still, she was functional but ended up in her air-con hotel room and eventually recovered, but I recall many people thinking in hindsight that she came pretty close to (gulp) death. If you experience any more scary symptoms I advise you to seek help! No one wants any dead Mr. Wilsons.
I think I lost a few pounds in water weight this past week alone.
You’re describing heat stroke, not heat exhaustion. Heat stroke is much more serious. I’ve been there and done that, too. Twice, in fact. The first time I was treated at LincCare. They very nearly tossed me in an ice bath, but they ultimately decided it wasn’t necessary. The second time I walked into a different LincCare, vomited (for about the 15th time that tday), and was immediately sent to the ER. I then spent several hours in the ER, first sitting in the waiting room for an hour (stepping outside every 10-15 minutes to puke/dry heave in the bushes), then hooked up to a bunch of tubes and monitors until the wee hours of the morning. In both cases I felt like death for a week afterwards.
So, yeah, heat stroke sucks. Stay away from it.
Your friend may also have unwittingly flirted with a bout of hyponatremia. That’s pretty dang dangerous, too. It’s not unusual for people with symptoms of heat exhaustion/stroke and dehydration to try to quickly fix the problem by just downing a bunch of water. That throws the body’s electrolytes all out of whack, leading to hyponatremia. Nasty stuff.
The older I get, the worse my body seems to deal with heat. In non-medical terms, my body’s thermostat is busted. Fortunately—or perhaps I should say “fortunately”—I now recognize my heat exhaustion symptoms very clearly, so I shouldn’t ever have to worry about pushing myself all the way to heat stroke. I’m finally smart enough and mature enough to realize that finishing a baseball or soccer game “for the kids” may sound noble, but no game is worth putting myself (and, indirectly, my family) through that misery.
Yeah you are right. It was a weird situation because this group of people had just gotten
off the plane from Canada and were disoriented enough due to jet lag, different food (which
caused diarrhea, etc.) and on top of that the utterly oppresive heat, humidity
and pollution of of downtown Bangkok. We were all sweating like pigs and after a while the
guy who was leading the tour thing realized something was wrong when she was flush pink
and stopped sweating, and then ordered us back to their hotel. I think he didnt even know what
was going on until after she was OK. They never took her to a hospital or anything,
but just made her stay in the hotel room for several days.
I don’t think I have ever gotten anything like that before luckily. Taking a cold shower
is the best especially before you turn in to bed or after you come back from work or whatever.
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