Summertime means warm weather and fun in the sun for children and adults, but extreme heat can also make people sick.
Over-exertion from strenuous physical activities in hot weather can cause heat stroke, which is the second leading cause of death among young athletes. Other heat-related illnesses such as heat exhaustion, heat edema or cramps can affect people of all ages according to Dr. Regina Kovach, SIU School of Medicine emergency medicine physician.
Heat-related illnesses are serious problems for specific groups of people:

• the elderly
• those with chronic medical conditions
• those without air conditioners
• those who are on a variety of medication

When a person’s thermo-regulatory mechanisms fail, organ damage can occur throughout the body, and cells in the brain, the heart and kidneys stop working. Patients with heat stroke become very dehydrated, which affects their brain and central nervous system. Body temperatures rise to 105 degrees and higher.
“The warning signs for heat-related illnesses for the minor syndromes such as heat exhaustion are light-headedness, nausea, thirst, vomiting and a general sense of unwellness in the heat,” Dr. Kovach says. “Symptoms of severe heat stroke develop gradually, but the most serious symptoms would be confusion, not thinking straight, not eating or drinking or not behaving normally.”
Anyone with a high body temperature and symptoms of central nervous system dysfunction, confusion or abnormal behavior should be taken quickly to a primary care physician or hospital emergency department.
-rb