Heat stroke occurs when a person has spent too much time in high temperatures. Heat stroke is much more serious than heat exhaustion and must be treated immediately. There are no tests to diagnose heat stroke, but you can recognize its symptoms. Once you diagnose the heat stroke, call for emergency assistance right away.
Instructions
1. Check the individual's skin. If he is beginning to suffer from heat stroke, it will be hot to the touch and dry. The person might appear flushed.
2. Listen for complaints of dizziness or the onset of a headache. These are also symptoms of an oncoming heat stroke.
3. Find out of the individual is urinating. No urine or dark-colored urine are symptoms of a heat stroke. This is evidence that the body is not staying hydrated.
4. Check the individual's pulse. A rapid heart rate, of more than 100 beats per minute, is an indicator of heat stroke.
5. Take the individual's temperature with a thermometer. An abnormally high body temperature is a serious symptom of heat stroke. A person with heat stroke might have a temperature of 104 to 106 degrees F.
6. Look at the individual's skin again. Both excessive sweating and an absence of sweat are symptoms of heat stroke.
7. Pay attention to the mental condition of the individual in question. This particular symptom can be the deciding factor as to whether the individual is suffering from heat exhaustion or heat stroke. All heat stroke patients become confused and disoriented.
8. Add up the symptoms and make a diagnosis. Each of these symptoms can be an indicator of plenty of other illnesses. Together, however, they clearly spell out heat stroke.
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