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Heat exhaustion and heatstroke: what to do

Cool someone down in the next 30 minutes and know when it has become an emergency.

20 items · 4 sections · health, emergency, first-aid, heat

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Call an ambulance now if you see (6)

  • Hot skin that is not sweating
  • Very high temperature
  • Fast heartbeat, fast breathing or short of breath
  • Confused or uncoordinated
  • A seizure (fit) or loss of consciousness
  • Still unwell after 30 minutes of rest and cooling911 US, 999 UK, 112 or 108 India. These are heatstroke: do not drive them yourself.

Heat exhaustion: 4 steps (5)

  • Move them to a cool place
  • Take off unnecessary clothes, like a jacket and socks
  • Give plenty of water, a sports drink or oral rehydration mix
  • Spray or sponge with cool water and fan themWrapped cold packs under the armpits or on the neck also help.
  • Stay with them, and check they feel better within 30 minutes

Waiting for the ambulance (3)

  • Wrap them in a cool, wet sheet, or sponge and fan them
  • Unconscious but breathing: use the recovery position and tell the ambulance
  • No sign of life: start CPR

Prevent it next time (6)

  • Drink more cold drinks when active
  • Wear light, loose clothes
  • Avoid the sun between 11am and 3pm
  • Avoid too much alcohol and hard exercise in the heat
  • Close curtains on a hot day, and windows if it is hotter outside
  • Check on babies, older people and anyone living alone

Written from www.nhs.uk

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