Heat Injuries: Don't Become a Heat Casualty

With a recent scare on dehydration and noticing that it is very common to people to ride miles in the summer heat with carrying water, I thought an article on Heat Injuries may be appropriate.  

Heat exhaustion is a heat-related illness that may occur after you've been exposed to high temperatures and/or direct Sun and become dehydrated. The dehydration and loss of electrolytes can bring on signs excessive thirst, weakness, dizziness, headache, and even loss of consciousness. The imbalance of lack of electrolytes may also include symptoms of muscle cramps, nausea and vomiting.

Detection of impending heat exhaustion can include lack of urinating for several hours, usually 4 or more hours and a dark colored urine when you do urinate. You may have profuse sweating and a rapid heartbeat. One way to check is after sitting down for several minutes when rapidly standing up you get dizzy and your heart rate goes up 10 or more beats per minute.

 People with Heat Exhaustion need to get out of the heat and/or Sun immediately and get some fluids into their system. Water and electrolytes drinks are best. Stay away from alcohol, soda pop and those drinks with a high sugar content. If you have extra water, sponging water on the dehydrated person can help cool them through evaporation.

 If you get heat exhaustion and don’t reverse it, through fluid intake, then you surely get Heat Stroke, which is a very serious heat injury and a medical emergency. Heat stroke can cause damage to the brain due to the high body core temperature and will usually affect older people faster.

Symptoms of Heat Stroke may include super elevated core body temperature (above 105 degrees Fahrenheit); fainting; severe headache; hot, dry reddish skin; muscle cramps and/or weakness; nausea and/or vomiting; confusion and disorientation; seizures and unconsciousness.

Treatment is essentially the same as for heat exhaustion, but people with heat stroke are medical emergencies. Get them out of the Sun and heat, apply fluids – internally to re-hydrate and externally to provide evaporative cooling. If you can get ice then the application of ice packs on the body where major blood vessels are close to the surface of the skin (arm pits, groin and neck) can help reduce core body temperature.

 If you become a heat casualty, and are fortunate enough to recover, you’ll be more susceptible to a subsequent heat injury.  

Prevention of heat injuries.

Stay Hydrated – a person should be drinking about one ounce of water for every two pounds of body weight. That requirements may double with activity in the heat. If you add in the factor of being in the Sun, like for a long ride in the Summer, evaporation of fluids will increase your water needs. The average person who sleeps seven hours wakes up in a somewhat dehydrated state. If that person go out to feed horses, drinks some coffee,…then maybe has some breakfast before he saddles up and ride exacerbates that dehydrated status unless they drink plenty of water after waking. Drinking coffee (or soda or tea) which is a diuretic, increases the body's need for water. So ensure you are drinking water, and plenty of it.  

Protect exposed parts of your skin from the Sun. Skin that is exposed to the Sun require the body to take fluids, that are vital to blood volume and organ function, to send to the damaged skin. You’ll also lose body fluids faster from skin exposed to the Sun.  

Buddy system and mandatory drink rule. Riding with two or more people obviously makes sense, but the buddy system is about looking after someone. Checking to ensure they drink enough water. Be cognizant of signs of heat exhaustion in that person. The mandatory drink rule is where one person in a group keeps track of elapsed time and announces when it is time to drink. Military and law enforcement units use this concept.

SO drink plenty of water, protect exposed parts of the skin, and, watch for signs of an heat injury. If you don’t do it for yourself, then do it for your horse,...... cause if something happens to you, who is doing to take care of your horse?