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SUNSTROKE (Heatstroke; Insolation; Th...
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See also:SUNSTROKE (Heatstroke; Insolation; Thermic See also:Fever; Siriasis) , a See also:term applied to the effects produced upon the central See also:nervous See also:system, and through it upon other See also:organs of the See also:body, by exposure to the See also:sun or to overheated See also:air. Although most frequently observed in tropical regions, this disease occurs also in temperate climates during hot See also:weather. A moist See also:condition of the See also:atmosphere, which interferes with cooling of the overheated body, greatly increases the liability to suffer from this ailment. Sunstroke has been chiefly observed and investigated as occurring among soldiers in See also:India, where formerly, both in active service and in the routine of See also:ordinary See also:duty, cases of this disease constituted a considerable See also:item of sickness and mortality. The increased See also:attention now paid by military authorities to the See also:personal See also:health and comfort of the soldier, particularly as regards barrack See also:accommodation and See also:dress, together with the care taken in adjusting the See also:time and mode of See also:movement of troops, has done much to lessen the mortality from this cause. It would. appear that, while any one exposed to the See also:influence ofstrong See also:solar See also:heat may suffer from the symptoms of sunstroke, there are certain conditions which greatly predispose to it in the See also:case of individuals. Causes calculated to depress the health, such as previous disease, particularly affections of the nervous system—anxiety, worry or. overwork, irregularities in See also:food, and in a marked degree intemperance—have a powerful predisposing influence, while personal uncleanliness, which prevents among other things the healthy See also:action of the skin, the wearing of tight garments, which impede the functions alike of See also:heart and lungs, and living in overcrowded and insanitary dwellings have an equally hurtful tendency. While attacks of sunstroke are frequently precipitated by exposure, especially during fatigue, to the See also:direct rays of the sun, in a large number of instances they come on under other circumstances. Cases are of not infrequent occurrence among soldiers in hot climates when there is. overcrowding or See also:bad See also:ventilation in their See also:barracks, and sometimes several will be attacked in the course of a single See also:night. The same remark applies to similar conditions existing on shipboard. Further, persons whose occupation exposes them to excessive heat, such as stokers, See also:laundry workers., &c., are See also:apt to suffer, particularly in hot seasons. In the tropics Europeans, especially those who have recently arrived, are more readily affected than natives. But natives are not exempt. The symptoms of heatstroke, which obviously depend upon the disorganization of the normal heat-regulating mechanism, as well as of the functions of circulation and respiration, vary in their intensity and likewise to some extent in their See also:form. Three See also:chief types of the disease are usually described. t. Heat See also:Syncope.—In this form the symptoms are those of exhaustion, with a tendency towards fainting or its actual occurrence. A fully See also:developed attack of this description is usually preceded by sickness, giddiness, some amount of See also:mental excitement followed by drowsiness, and then the passage into the syncopal condition, in which there are pallor and coldness of the skin, a weak, See also:quick and intermittent See also:pulse, and gasping or sighing respiration. The pupils are often contracted. See also:Death may quickly occur; but if timely treatment is available recove may take See also:place. 2. Heat See also:Apoplexy or A.tyxia.—In this variety the attack. whether preceded or not by the premonitory symptoms already mentioned, is usually sudden, and occurs in the form of an apoplectic seizure, with See also:great vascular engorgement, as seen in the flushed See also:face, congested eyes, quick full pulse and stertorous breathing. There is usually insensibility, and See also:convulsions are not infrequent. Death is often very sudden. This form, however, is also amenable to treatment. 3. Thermic Fever.—This variety is characterized chiefly by the excessive development of fever (hyperpyrexia), the temperature of the body rising at such times to Io8° to I to° F. or more. Accompanying this are the other symptoms of high febrile disturbance, such as great thirst, quick full pulse, pains throughout the body, headache, See also:nausea and vomiting, together with See also:respiratory embarrassment. After the attack has lasted for a variable See also:period, often one or two days, death may ensue from collapse or from the case assuming the apoplectic form already described; But here, too, treatment may be successful if it is promptly applied. Besides these, other varieties depending on the prominence of certain symptoms are occasionally met with. The chief changes in the body after death from heatstroke are those of See also:anaemia of the See also:brain and congestion of the lungs, together with softness of the heart and of the See also:muscular tissues generally. The See also:blood is dark and fluid and the blood corpuscles are somewhat altered in shape. Attacks of sunstroke are apt to leave traces of their effects upon the constitution, especially upon the nervous system. A liability to severe headache, which in many cases would seem to depend upon a condition of chronic See also:meningitis, epileptic fits, mental irritability and alterations in the disposition are among the more important. It is often observed that heat in any form is ever afterwards See also:ill See also:borne, while there also appears to be an abnormal susceptibility to the action of stimulants. The mortality from sunstroke is estimated at from 40 to 50 ° Treatment.—Means should be adopted to prevent attacks in the case of those who must necessarily be exposed to the sun. These consist in the wearing of loose clothing, with. the exception of the See also:head-dress, which ought to be worn See also:close to the head, in due attention to the See also:function of the skin, and in the avoidance of alcoholic, and other excesses. See also:Cold See also:water may be drunk in small quantities at frequent intervals. Sleeping in the open air in very hot seasons is recommended. The treatment of a patient suffering from an attack necessarily depends upon the form it has assumed. In all cases he should if possible be at once removed into a shaded or cool place. Where the symptoms are mostly those of See also:shock and there is a See also:Cambridge. See also:Westminster. Bunhill See also:Row. tendency to death from heart failure, See also:rest in the recumbent position, the use of diffusible stimulants, such as See also:ammonia or See also:ether, &c., together with See also:friction or warmth applied to the extremities, are the means to be adopted. Where, on the other See also:hand, the symptoms are those of apoplexy or of hyperpyrexia, by far the most successful results are obtained by the use of cold (the cold effusion, rubbing the See also:surface with See also:ice, enemata of ice-cold water). The effect is a marked lowering of the temperature, while at the same time a stimulus is given to the respiratory function. See also:Mustard or See also:turpentine applied to the nape of the See also:neck or See also:chest is a useful adjuvant. Should the temperature be lowered in this way but unconsciousness still persist, removal of the See also:hair and blistering the See also:scalp are recommended. The subsequent treatment will depend upon the nature of the resulting symptoms, but See also:change to a cool See also:climate is often followed by marked benefit. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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