DorlandHealth

The thick of the summer months may bring vacation season and an easy excuse to be outdoors, but for older adults it can be a perilous, even deadly, time. Hyperthermia, or heat-related illness, makes seniors especially vulnerable, but some tips and precautions can help keep patients and loved ones safe.

Hyperthermia is a general classification of illnesses that, in the end, result in a dangerously high body temperature. Included among hyperthermia are heat fatigue and heat syncope as well as heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Certain factors, when combined with excessive environmental heat like the heat wave that recently smothered the northeast, can make some seniors particularly vulnerable.

If your patient or a loved one exhibits any of the following factors, they may be at elevated risk of illness:

• Heart, lung and kidney diseases.
• High blood pressure or another condition that requires a change in diet.
• Medication usage that causes dehydration or reduced perspiration. These include diuretics, sedatives, tranquilizers and some heart and blood pressure medicine.
• Being overweight or underweight.
• Being dehydrated.

Hyperthermia, at its worst, can be a fatal condition. According to the CDC, more than 380 people die from the heat every year. Heat stroke, which occurs when the body is unable to control its temperature, is often the cause of such deaths. Those suffering from heat stroke exhibit an array of symptoms, from confusion, faintness and delirium to a rapid pulse, lack of sweating and dry, flushed skin. Eventually it can lead to a coma.

What can you do for someone suffering from a heat-related illness? First, call emergency medical attention if have cause to believe heat stroke is occurring. In the meantime, use the following techniques:

• Find a cool place out of the sun—in air conditioning, if possible.
• Suggest that the person shower or bathe in cool water.
• Place a cold, wet cloth on the person’s wrists, neck or armpits where the blood travels close to the surface of the skin. The cool cloth can help cool down flowing blood.
• Give them fluids like water or fruit juice.

To find out more tips from the National Institute on Aging, visit their AgePage on hyperthermia here.