Article 3

Cold Facts About Heat - Craig Macartney

Rating: ****

            Cold Facts About Heat is an informative article on the dangers from spending a lot of time in the heat, and ways to prevent and treat dehydration, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

            All of these conditions: dehydration, heat exhaustion and heat stroke, are caused by a lack of fluids, by being active for a long time in hot weather or when the temperature is so high that your body can no longer regulate it. The symptoms that can warn you of these conditions are that you are thirsty, have a dry tongue, pale face, are tired, have a head ache, cramps, dizziness, weak or rapid pulse and vomiting. To treat these conditions you need to stay out of the sun,  drink plenty of water and/or sports drinks and have a pinch of salt. If you are suffering from heat exhaustion and especially heat stroke, you will most likely need professional medical attention. However, it is easiest if you take the necessary steps to prevent all three of these conditions from happening to you, so drink plenty of fluids all of the time, even when you are not particularly thirsty and take breaks out of the sun.

            Overall, I found this article to be very helpful. I personally enjoy spending lots of time outdoors in the summer with soccer and camping, and I have found myself dehydrated and with heat exhaustion in the past. Therefore this article was great and now I know how to prevent, diagnose and treat these conditions so that they will not occur again.

Macartney, Craig. “Cold Facts About Heat”. Ottawa Outdoors. Spring 2013. Page 44.. <http://issuu.com/ottawaoutdoors>. Web. May 25 2013.