While summer is a season for outdoor fun, the months from June through September are also the time with the highest numbers of accidental deaths in the U.S. Drowning and fallrelated deaths account for many summertime tragedies, but heat-related illnesses are often overlooked. Every summer, an average of 240 Americans die from heat-related illness, and in the prolonged heat wave of 1980, 1,700 people died. While great emphasis is placed on prevention of heat-illness among Soldiers, this syndrome of disease is an easily preventable cause of death for Americans of all ages and their pets.

What is Heat Illness?

Your body has mechanisms in place to keep your temperature within a fairly small range. Two of the most important mechanisms are: (1) the ability to move hot blood from the body core to the skin (known as shunting); and (2) the ability to sweat. It is the shunting of blood to the skin that makes your face look red after exercise, but it can also lower your blood pressure and make you feel dizzy. Sweating is key to body cooling through evaporation, but it also increases the need for fluid replacement to prevent dehydration. As dehydration increases, the common symptoms of heat-related illness begin to occur. These include headache, dizziness, muscle weakness or cramps, nausea and vomiting. Keep in mind that you may not be thirsty until after you are already seriously dehydrated, so you must drink water before, during and after hot weather exposures and exercise.

Heat illness refers to a spectrum of symptoms which all result from the body’s inability to cool itself as environmental conditions like temperature, humidity, and sun exposure worsen. These illnesses include heat-related edema, cramps, syncope (“sin-co-pee” - dizziness), exhaustion, stroke, and heat or exercise-related rhabdomyalysis. These syndromes do not have to occur in a certain order, so you may be seriously ill with very little warning.

Prevention of Heat Illness?

To prevent heat illness, keep the following points in mind:

•Never leave children in the car while you run errands. The temperature may become deadly in just a few minutes.

•Wear lightweight, light-colored, loose-fitting clothes.

•Protect yourself from the sun with hats, umbrellas and sunscreen. Sunburn lowers your ability to cool through sweating.

•Drink lots of water before, during and after outdoor activity. You’ll know you’ve had enough to drink if you urinate every 2 hours or less and your urine is clear-colored (like weak lemonade). Drink every 15-20 minutes - Don’t wait until you’re thirsty.

•Coffee, tea, and soda-pop don’t count as fluid replacement drinks. They are diuretics and cause you to urinate away more water than they put into your body.

•Be outside in the cooler parts of the day (i.e. Before 10 a.m. and after 6 p.m.)

•If you have any chronic medical condition or take medicines frequently (i.e. blood pressure, thyroid, depression, seizure, others), please consult with your healthcare provider about your possible increased risk for heat-illness.

First Aid for Heat Illness

If you experience any of the symptoms of heat-illness, go to shady, cooler area immediately. Remove any excess clothing and begin sponging your body with lukewarm water. Slowly sip cool, but not cold water or other fluid-replacement drinks.

Get medical help immediately for: •Hot, dry skin without sweating •Confusion or loss of consciousness •Frequent vomiting •Shortness of breath or trouble breathing

Protecting Pets Since they cannot sweat, dogs are at high risk for heat stroke, even at temperatures you find comfortable. Consider the following tips to care for your family pets:

•Like children you should never leave your pets in the car. It only takes a few minutes for your car’s temperature to turn deadly.

•Make sure that any animal tied to a post can reach the shade at any time of day.

•Cats are usually self-sufficient if they can reach food, water and shade. Never place them outside in cages during hot weather.

Notes for Officers and Noncommissioned Officers

Heat casualties (i.e. edema, cramps, syncope and heat exhaustion) are a consequence of high-intensity training. These casualties must be anticipated and plans made for their rapid care. Under no circumstances should a heat casualty become a heat injury (i.e. heat stroke or heat-related rhabdomyalysis). Be aware that your Soldiers who become heat casualties may require prolonged profiles to protect them from suffering heat injury. Heat injuries can kill or cripple your Soldiers, and lead to permanent profiles or medical retirement. The vigilance of all until leadership is required to protect Soldiers and maintain unit effectiveness.

Per Army Regulation 40-5 and Army Medical Technical Bulletin 40-507, units are responsible for measuring the Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature and determining the heat category and subsequent risk management actions at their training locations. As a convenience, the Department of Preventive Medicine measures the WBGT and provides the heat category to garrison units. This information is available by calling 787- 4688 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Training on the recognition and prevention of hot-weather injuries can be conducted by members of each unit’s Field Sanitation Team. Units without a Field Sanitation Team may contact the Preventive Medicine Department at 787-3547 to arrange this training.