Parkland physician offers tips to prevent heat‐related illnesses, injuries
Athletes, band members at risk during summer ‘two-a-days’
This time of the year student athletes and band members across Dallas-Fort Worth are engaging in twice-daily practices in anticipation of the upcoming football season. And even though the Metroplex averages 18 100-degree days a year, Parkland Health & Hospital System physicians warn that heat exhaustion can be deadly even if temperatures don’t hit the century mark.
A combination of high humidity and temperatures in the ‘90s can have the same effect as triple-digit days. Exposure to extreme heat can result in illnesses and injuries, heat stroke, heat exhaustion, heat cramps or heat-related rashes. In the last six years Parkland Memorial Hospital has seen more than 240 patients with heat-related diagnoses in its emergency department.
“A lot of schools are holding ‘two-a-days’ to prepare for the upcoming season. Even though many of the practices are held before sunrise or after sunset there is still a risk for injuries that directly correspond to the heat,” said Alexander L. Eastman, MD, MPH, Medical Director and Chief of the Rees-Jones Trauma Center at Parkland and Assistant Professor of Surgery at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. “Most people lose as much as one to two quarts of fluid during an hour of exercise. When you’re not drinking enough fluids, your muscles get tired quickly and you may have leg cramps while walking or running.”
Athletes, Dr. Eastman said, can lose as much as three quarts of fluids an hour during an intense workout, leading to illnesses such as heat exhaustion.
Heat exhaustion occurs when people are exposed to high temperatures, especially when combined with strenuous physical activity and humidity, and when the body loses fluids and becomes dehydrated. When heat exhaustion elevates, it may result in heat stroke, a life-threatening medical condition occurring when the body’s cooling system, which is controlled by the brain, stops working. The resulting high body temperature causes damage to internal organs, including the brain, and could result in death.
“It’s important that everyone, and in this case coaches and band directors, know the symptoms of heat-related illnesses, especially heat stroke which is the most serious heat-related disorder,” Dr. Eastman said. “It occurs when the body becomes unable to control its temperature: the body’s temperature rises rapidly, the sweating mechanism fails, and the body is unable to cool down.”
When heat stroke occurs, body temperature can rise to 106 degrees Fahrenheit or higher within 10 to 15 minutes. Heat stroke can cause death or permanent disability if emergency treatment is not given.
Dr. Eastman offers the following steps to treat an athlete with suspected heat stroke:
- Call 911 and notify their coach or a person in authority
- Move the person to a cool shaded area
- Cool him/her with methods such as:
- Soaking their clothes with water
- Spraying, sponging or showering them with water
- Fanning their body
“It’s important to stop exercising, running, tackling or marching if you become dizzy or lightheaded or you feel very tired. Pay attention to your body and to those around you,” Dr. Eastman added. “If you see something, say something because these are the critical first signs that something is wrong.”
