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Show pa Released by Western Newspaper Union. SUN AND HEAT STROKES Two emergencies that come with hot weather are sunstroke and heatstroke. heat-stroke. Whether the individual is working or at rest the sun may cause dizziness, headache, dryness of the skin, and difficulty dif-ficulty in breathing. Suddenly the patient falls, convulsions occur, oc-cur, and sometimes is apparently completely com-pletely paralyzed. There is flushing of the face,, delirium, nausea, vomiting, a coated tongue, and high temperature Dr. Barton skin hot and red. This condition is called sunstroke or thermic fever. The patient is placed in a shady spot and ice or cold water is applied continuously to the surface of the whole body. Ice pack if available is placed behind ears and about the head. However, what is called heat exhaustion ex-haustion is now more often seen than sunstroke. Heat exhaustion usually us-ually occurs where the individual is working hard amid great heat in a place where the ventilation is poor. There is a feeling of great weakness weak-ness and the first thing noticed is that there is no perspiration on the skin which is very hot and dry, temperature tem-perature below normal and pulse feeble. In heatstroke the patient should be disrobed to the underwear and placed on his back in some cool shady place. Ice bags are applied ' to the head and both armpits. The use of hand fans (or towels) to stir, up air currents is advisable. When the patient recovers consciousness he should be given increasing quan-titles quan-titles of cold water by mouth and a quarter teaspoon of table salt with each glass of water. In what is called heat exhaustion, which is a mild form of heatstroke, the body temperature instead of being high, as in heatstroke, may be below normal. Skin is pale and clammy and moist, breathing rapid and shallow. Treatment consists in placing patient in a cool place and giving him cool drinks of fruit juices and a quarter teaspoonful (15 grains) of table salt every three hours. Getting the patient to a cool spot and giving cool drinks and table salt (to keep water in the body tissues) tis-sues) is the main thought in the treatment of heat stroke and heat exhaustion. It is the great loss of water and salt from the body tissues that brings on the symptoms. ... |