Keep your cool to prevent heat-related illnesses

“I was stupid! It was 94 degrees, the water was like glass, and I wanted to go kayaking. I kayaked for three hours and felt great until I stood up! Everything went spinning. I got cold, felt as though I needed to vomit and couldn’t think straight.” The 55-plus year old woman who wrote this for MedicineNet.com didn’t explain why she thought she was stupid.

Best guess would be that she neglected to drink enough water prior to and during strenuous exercise in the heat. And, she probably didn’t protect her head or body from the sun’s rays. Oh yeah, that’d be it. She was lucky in that she most likely only suffered from heat exhaustion and that it didn’t progress to heat stroke which can be fatal.

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