how heat hurts

IN MINUTES News and events — visually How heat hurts As the temperature outdoors soars, you can see its eect on the outside of your body as you start to drip sweat and your skin turns red. What you may not realize is how the heat aects the inside of your body. Brain When the temperature outside goes up, so does the temperature of your brain. This can explain why people sometimes get confused when they spend too much time in the heat. Protect your body in the heat! • Eat foods that are easy to digest, like simple carbs • Stay away from alcohol & caefine • Drink water or sports drinks • Avoid food high in protein or fat Sweat: Your body sweats to keeps its temperature at 98.6 degrees. Sunburn: One of the most obvious signs of UV exposure and skin damage. Often marked by redness and peeling. Heat Rash: An intense itching and prickly feeling in aected areas of the skin due to overheating. In severe forms heat rash can interfere with the body's heat-regulation, causing fever, heat exhaustion, and even death. Freckles/Moles: Caused by too much sun exposure. When the melanocytes in the skin get damaged by the sun, we produce freckles which are abnormal collections of melanin pigment. The eects you can see Heart • When you sweat, your heart has to work harder to pump blood with oxygen and nutrients to the bodys tissues. • Your body sends extra blood to the vital organs to keep them functioning and to the skin to keep it cool. Stomach Since your body is sending extra blood to vital organs, your belly gets less blood, so digestion becomes less of a priority. This is why you often don’t feel like eating or drinking, or sometimes feel sick. Hot, humid air can trigger asthma •The lining of the airways become swollen and inflamed. • The muscles that surround the airways tighten. •The production of mucus is increased, leading to mucus plugs. The eects you can’t see T oo muc h wa ter • Wa ter poisoning (rare ) • Dilu tes calcium and sodium in your cells, causing them to s well (brain cells included ) No t enoug h wa ter • Deh ydra tion — fa tigue, dizziness, ligh t headedness and diarrhea • H yper therima (bod y’s produc tion o f more hea t than i t can dissipa te ) — fe ver ,seizures and in se vere cases shock, coma and sudden dea th ) 8,015 Americans were killed by excessiv e heat exposure between 1979 and 2003. That’s more than the number who died from hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes and floods. Sources: thchart.blogs.cnn.com; Chain Reaction Kidneys • If you get heatstroke your body will have a severly elevated body tempera ture which will cause an altered mental state, dizziness and/or loss of consciousness. • Heatstroke can cause muscles to break down, which leads to kidney failure. SUSAN BA TSFORD, GRAPHICS EDITOR, TWITTER@SBATS1; INFOGRAPH IC BY TARAMARTIN/QMI AGENCY

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IN MINUTES News and events — visually

How heat hurtsAs the temperature outdoors soars, you can see its eect on the outside of your body as you start to drip

sweat and your skin turns red. What you may not realize is how the heat aects the inside of your body.

Brain

When the tempera-ture outside goesup, so does thetemperature ofyour brain. Thiscan explain whypeople sometimesget confused whenthey spend toomuch time in theheat.

Protect your body in the heat!• Eat foods that are easy to digest, like simple carbs

• Stay away from alcohol & caefine

• Drink water or sports drinks

• Avoid food high in protein or fat

Sweat: Your body sweatsto keeps its temperature at98.6 degrees.

Sunburn: One of the mostobvious signs of UVexposure and skin damage.Often marked by rednessand peeling.

Heat Rash: An intenseitching and pricklyfeeling in aected areasof the skin due tooverheating. In severeforms heat rash caninterfere with the body'sheat-regulation, causingfever, heat exhaustion,and even death.

Freckles/Moles:Caused by too muchsun exposure. When themelanocytes in the skinget damaged by thesun, we producefreckles which areabnormal collections ofmelanin pigment.

The eects you can see

Heart• When you sweat, your heart has to work

harder to pump blood with oxygen andnutrients to the bodys tissues.

• Your body sends extra blood to thevital organs to keep them functioningand to the skin to keep it cool. Stomach

Since your bodyis sending extrablood to vitalorgans, your bellygets less blood,so digestionbecomes less of apriority. This iswhy you oftendon’t feel likeeating ordrinking, orsometimesfeel sick.

Hot, humid air cantrigger asthma•The lining of the airways become

swollen and inflamed.• The muscles that surround the

airways tighten.•The production of mucus is

increased, leading to mucus plugs.

The eects you can’t see

Too muc h

wa ter• Wa ter poisoning (rare )

• Dilu tes calcium and

sodium in your cells,

causing them to s well

(brain cells included )

No t enoug h wa ter