Last summer, my job required me to be outside in the heat all day. At first, the idea of working outside made me gleefully happy. I mean, what 20 year old doesn’t want to spend his summer outside, getting a tan and working with some of my best friends? For several weeks, I had no problem being outside throughout the hottest parts of the day. But then late July hit, and the weather went from being “happy hot” to “in-your-face-hot.
It was then that my boss began to tell us about Heat Exhaustion. I listened, but never thought it would happen to me or any of my friends. Until one day in early August, one of my co-workers succumbed to the sun and began to suffer heat exhaustion. It was then that I became curious about it, and way to beat it. This is when I found some great natural remedies for heat exhaustion. And since global warming is making our summers hotter than ever, everyone should be prepared for the worst.
So how do you know if you have heat exhaustion. There are several different sensations a person can go through whenever they are suffering with heat exhaustion. However, the very first symptom one will experience is feeling thirsty. If your body is telling you that it needs something to drink, listen to it, because it actually does need something to drink! After the initial symptom of thirst, you can feel a number of different things. Some of these symptoms include dizziness, headache, loss of appetite, weakness, tiredness and flu like sensations that can include nausea and sometimes even vomiting. Some people experience a difficulty in concentration as well as an increased heart rate.
For anyone who has worked outside for quite some time, you are very aware that heat exhaustion is far less severe than heat stroke alone. Heat Exhaustion causes your body to become dehydrated, and this can eventually lead to blood volume loss, poor heat regulation and shock – all of which are brought on by not listening to your body before things got worse. But, what actually causes heat exhaustion? The cause is generally produced by water depletion, which is also known as dehydration. This is also brought on, but more rarely, by a lack of salt in the diet, or salt depletion. When a person sweats, they loose both salt and water, as well as potassium and sodium. And when these levels become low, things such as heat exhaustion can occur.
So what do you do when you are suffering from heat exhaustion? Well, there are several things that are known to help you when you are going through this. All of these methods are safe, and all natural.
· Get out of the sun. You must do this so your body temperature won’t continue to rise and your body won’t loose anymore water and salt. Even if you begin to drink liquids, if you don’t retreat from the sun your temperature will continue to rise.
o Do not go back out in the sun for several hours, if not the rest of the day.
· At the first sight of heat exhaustion drink the following:
o Mineral-rich vegetable juice
o Fruit juices
o Potassium-rich vegetable broths.
·. And while you are out in the sun drink diluted electrolyte drinks (such as watered down Gatorade).
· Do not use caffeine, alcohol or tobacco. This is because caffeine and alcohol actually bring dehydration, and tobacco constricts your blood vessels.
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