Indiana Open Country

Posts Tagged ‘heat stroke information’

Everyone loves to get out in the sun and do their own thing; fishing, camping, hiking, swimming, cookouts and everything else that goes on in the summer. I wanted to write this article to make you aware of the dangers of having too much sun in your life.

The sun is great, but it can be your own worst enemy if you don’t take the proper precautions, especially when there are kids involved.

Number one and the most obvious are sunburns. Sunburns can be very minor, and may only because you a slight irritation, but it can be very serious up to the point that you can have chills, fever, nausea and vomiting.

It can even get as bad as sun poisoning, shock and even death if you allow it to get bad.

Sun poisoning can be extremely dangerous but can most often be treated from the home. Symptoms of sun poisoning are as follows.

1. Skin Burning
2. Blisters
3. Headache
4. Dehydration
5. Electrolyte Imbalance

The body is such an amazing tool and somehow knows how to take care of itself the best way possible, but when it is abused by the sun it starts to break down and the effects can be very dangerous.

Be careful when you are out and about and you need to understand how your body is affected by the sun and the heat. Knowing how your body is reacting can be the difference between a great weekend at the lakes or one of the worst experiences of your life.

Protecting yourself against the sun is not difficult. Two very simple yet very effective measures involve limiting your time in the sun and protecting yourself adequately.
Understanding the sun and UV rays:

The UV rays of the sun are strongest and will do the most damage around mid-day from 10 am to 4 pm. Avoiding going outdoors during this time can limit the sun’s damage. If staying indoors is unavoidable and you have to go out, you can still minimize the harmful effects of the UV rays by going out adequately protected.
This means wearing a hat and a pair of good sunglasses to protect the head area. A long sleeve shirt and long pants will keep your arms and legs protected and sunscreen lotion with a high SPF applied over your face and hands, will keep the exposed areas of the skin well protected.

While SPF 15 is effective enough for those who are dark skinned, if you are light skinned you will need a higher SPF.

Keep in mind that UV rays can pass through clouds and water too so you can get sunburn or sun poisoning, which is a more severe condition, even on cloudy days and even when you are in the water.
You need to understand the sun protection factor of the cream that you are using. All sunscreen lotions are rated based on an SPF number. Many people ask if you are using a 100 SPF sunscreen are you twice as protected as you would be if you were using a 50 SPF?

First you actually need to understand what SPF is. The SPF is the sun protection factor of the lotion; SPF refers to the ability to block the UV rays that cause sunburns on the body.
“It is a measure of the time it would take an individual to burn in the sun if they were not wearing sunscreen vs. the time it would take with sunscreen on”

According to WEBMD.Com :

Opposite of sun burns you need to understand one other danger and that is heat exhaustion and heat stroke!

A heat stroke is when your body temperature is elevated to extreme levels. This is a true and extreme medical emergency. Signs and symptoms of a heat stroke include: increase body temperature, absence of sweating, hallucinations, rapid pulse, confusion, disorientation, seizures and in extreme cases, irreversible brain damage and coma.

My dad was a military trainer who trained soldiers who were going to go to the frontlines of war. ( we actually had to move to Columbus GA during Desert Storm so my dad could train soldiers for Desert Storm) There was one thing that he always told me about the heat and what he trained his soldiers to understand.

As long as you were sweating, you are ok. When you stop sweating that is the problem.

Meaning: Sweating is a way for you body to cool itself down, and when you stop sweating it means that your body is getting dehydrating and you are about to break down.

If you or anyone that you know comes to this situation you need to take drastic action to make sure that they are going to be okey dokey!

1. Get the water very slowly (don’t flood them, it can reverse progress)
2. Cool their body (groin, stomach, head and feet)

So there you have it. The sun is extremely dangerous and I want to make sure that you and your family never have to experience any of this. If there is something that I missed, or something that has not been clearly explained, let me know in the comments section and I will address it IMMEDIATELY.

I want you have experiences with Indiana’s Open Country that will make you and your family happy, I don’t want you to experience these bad things.

Take care and enjoy your trips.