Once a person is found or suspected to suffer from heatstroke, timely rescue measures should be taken to stabilize their condition. Scientific rescue methods ensure correct first aid and effectively prevent the occurrence of complications.
In a high-temperature environment, symptoms such as headache, dizziness, irritability, thirst, profuse sweating, general weakness, fatigue, palpitations, poor concentration and uncoordinated movements indicate early heatstroke, regardless of body temperature readings.
Transferring the Heatstroke Patient
Quickly move the patient away from the high-temperature environment to a cool and well-ventilated area.
Lay the patient flat, unbutton their collar and loosen their belt to facilitate breathing and heat dissipation. Elevate the patient’s feet to boost cerebral blood supply and assist body cooling.
Assisting Heat Dissipation
Turn on electric fans or air conditioners, and massage the patient’s limbs and trunk to accelerate blood circulation and heat dissipation.
Wipe the patient’s body with cold water or diluted alcohol. Cold wet towels, ice packs or ice cubes can be applied to large vascular areas including the forehead, neck, armpits and groin to promote evaporative heat dissipation. Do not place ice packs directly on the precardiac area to avoid cardiac arrest. Stop or slow down cooling measures once the patient’s body temperature drops to 38℃.
Proper Fluid Replacement
When feeling unwell in hot weather, take common heat-relief medicines such as Rendan, Shidishui or Huoxiang Zhengqi Liquid in a timely manner, and drink light salt water to replenish lost body fluids.
Heatstroke patients should drink water in small and frequent sips, with each intake no more than 300 milliliters. Avoid excessive drinking, which can dilute gastric juice, impair digestion, trigger excessive reflex sweating, cause massive loss of water and salt in the body, and even lead to muscle spasms in severe cases.
Seeking Timely Medical Treatment
For patients with mild heatstroke whose symptoms worsen instead of improving after rest, seek medical attention immediately.
For severe heatstroke patients with coma, high fever, convulsions and other critical symptoms, call 120 immediately for emergency hospital treatment. Keep the patient shaded and continue cooling with ice packs during transportation.
While waiting for rescue, place the patient in a supine position with the head tilted backward to keep the airway unobstructed. Perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation immediately if the patient suffers cardiac and respiratory arrest, and call for help from surrounding people if no professional rescuer is available.
Regular Heatstroke Rescue Drills
Schools, communities and institutions should organize regular heatstroke first aid drills to help staff and students master basic rescue skills.
Heatstroke prevention drills improve self-protection awareness in hot weather, enable people to recognize heatstroke prevention methods, early symptoms and emergency treatments, ensure rapid response to sudden cases, minimize casualty losses and guarantee personal safety.
Observation of Heatstroke in Infants
Since infants cannot express discomfort verbally, parents should stay alert to the following abnormal signs: 1. Cold sweat and clammy skin with a body temperature of 39℃ to 40℃; 2. Red, hot and dry skin with no sweat; 3. Irritability, crying, accelerated breathing and pulse, followed by fatigue, convulsions or coma; 4. Nausea, dizziness, disorientation, lethargy and slow response to external stimuli in older infants.
First Aid for Infant Heatstroke
1. Clean up vomit promptly to keep the airway unobstructed if the infant vomits.
2. Move the infant to a cool place, remove their clothes, and lower the ambient temperature with fans or air conditioners. Wipe the whole body with cold wet towels. Avoid using ice water or ice for rapid cooling, which may cause extreme cutaneous vasoconstriction, reduce skin blood flow and hinder heat dissipation.
3. Feed plain boiled water every 10 to 15 minutes. Do not give water to vomiting infants to avoid aggravated vomiting; send infants with frequent vomiting to hospital immediately.
Wrong First Aid Practices for Heatstroke
1. Taking oral antipyretics such as paracetamol and aspirin: Drug metabolism will increase physical burden and trigger adverse reactions.
2. Excessive alcohol wiping: Irritates the skin and may even cause alcohol poisoning in excessive amounts.
3. Blind application of ice packs: Excessive cold causes vasoconstriction and blocks normal heat dissipation.
4. Soaking in cold water: Rapid cold-induced vasoconstriction may induce acute cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
5. Applying cooling topical ointments such as essential balm: Oily products hinder skin heat dissipation.
Common Household Heat-Relief Medicines for Summer
Cooling Oil: Refreshes the mind and relieves summer discomfort.
Huoxiang Zhengqi Liquid: Dispels summer heat, detoxifies the body, and relieves heatstroke, abdominal pain, diarrhea and dysentery.
Rendan Pills: Calms the mind, clears summer heat and eliminates toxins.
Liuyi Powder: Relieves summer heat, fever, restlessness, thirst and scanty or burning urination.
Shidishui: Treats heatstroke symptoms including dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal distension and diarrhea.
Essential Balm: Clears heat, detoxifies, relieves restlessness and alleviates pain.
Heatstroke is a life-threatening acute condition. Delayed or improper treatment may lead to permanent physical damage or even death. Therefore, mastering professional heatstroke prevention and first aid knowledge enables early prevention and timely treatment, minimizing personal health hazards and social economic losses caused by high-temperature heatstroke.