People should be cautious when they travel on vacations and holidays to hot climates if they are not accustomed to the tropical sun and humidity. Severe sunburns, heatstroke, and heat exhaustion can cause serious medical problems, and even death. The information below may help you when you travel on a vacation or holiday to very hot climates.
Even though these sun related problems, sunburn, heatstroke, and heat exhaustion are not diseases, they can be very serious and could ruin your vacation. They say that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and this is particularly true when dealing with the sun. Keep in mind that the sun’s rays in the tropics are more intense between noon hour and three p.m., as well as at high altitudes, even if it’s a cloudy or overcast day.
How can you prevent getting a sunburn?
Usually, the lighter or fairer your skin, the easier you can get sunburned. Even clouds offer little or no protection from a severe sunburn, so why take a chance of ruining your holidays when getting a painful, serious sunburn is easy to protect against? To prevent getting a bad sunburn, particularly if you sunburn easily, use a high SPF (Sun Protection Factor) of 30, or stronger. Use the sunscreen liberally, wear wide-brimmed sun hats, use UVA & UVB protection certified sunglasses, and wear a long-sleeved shirt and slacks. It’s best to try and stay out of the sun between noon and three in the afternoon. Build up exposure to the sun slowly, day by day. Try and limit the length of time you spend in the sun to around fifteen minutes the first day, and gradually increase your time in the sun on subsequent days.
If you get a bad sunburn, what can you do to treat it?
You can ease the pain of a sunburn if you soak in a cool bath three to four times every day. If you add baking soda to your bath, it will help even more. Cool showers may hurt too much, and not be as soothing or effective as cool, relaxing baths. To help with any headaches, or pain and swelling, take an aspirin or other pain medication such as Ibuprofen or Advil. It may not be a good idea to take any aspirin based pain medications if you are on a blood thinner or have an ulcer. If you’re not sure about taking these pain relievers, check with a doctor or pharmacist. Avoid dehydration by drinking at least six to eight glasses of water per day. Do not break any blisters if you can avoid it. Any broken blister can easily get infected, particularly in the humid climate of the tropics. Wash them gently with soap and warm water if they happen to break.
If your sunburn does not appear to be getting better and you still have pain after a couple of days, you develop a high temperature or fever, have splitting headaches that won’t go away, vomit or have diarrhea, feel dizzy and confused, or your eyes hurt and light is bothering them, you must seek medical help right away.
How can you prevent heat exhaustion?
Heat exhaustion is absolutely preventable. If you wear a wide-brimmed sunhat, drink lots of liquids, and stay out of intense heat and humidity, you can you avoid this serious problem.
What can you do if you have any symptoms of heat exhaustion?
Heat exhaustion is precipitated by a combination of high temperatures and humidity. This can result in your body’s loss of fluids from excess sweating. These fluids must be replaced quickly or heat exhaustion can occur.
The usual symptoms include headache, lethargy, fatigue, giddiness, as well as muscle cramps. The immediate treatment is to move out of the sun or heat and drink a lot of liquids, preferably commercial beverages containing electrolytes, such as Gatorade. Do not drink alcohol as it will make your condition worse.
If you don’t feel better and show positive signs of recovery within a very short period of time, have someone help you to get to a hospital or medical center immediately as your condition can easily progress into a true medical emergency called heatstroke.
What actions must you immediately take if you get heat stroke?
When heat exhaustion is not successfully treated immediately, it can result in a very serious medical emergency. Heatstroke is characterized by high body temperatures of 102 to 106 degrees Fahrenheit, or 39 to 41 degrees Centigrade. There is also a cessation of sweating. The symptoms of heatstroke include flushed, red skin, headache and confusion which can progress into delirium and convulsions, and can be fatal.
Note: Someone must help you get out of the sun or heat and rush you immediately to a hospital or medical center.
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