Heat Exhaustion

Heat can flip from “a little too hot” to a real medical problem faster than most people think, especially when the humidity is high and the temperature won’t let up. We’re Nicole Baldwin and Kelly White, both board-certified nurse practitioners, and we’re getting practical about heat exhaustion, dehydration, and the warning signs that should make you stop what you’re doing and cool down immediately. If you work outside, do lawn work, exercise in the sun, garden, or spend summer days on the move, this is the kind of knowledge that can keep you out of trouble. 

We walk through the early heat exhaustion symptoms people often brush off: heavy sweating, intense thirst, muscle cramps, headache, dizziness or lightheadedness, weakness, nausea, clammy skin, and a fast weak pulse. Then we shift into what to do in the moment, including moving to shade or air conditioning, loosening tight clothing, using wet towels or a cold shower, and sipping cool water slowly. We also name the heat stroke red flags that turn this into a 911 emergency, like confusion, fainting, seizures, trouble speaking, trouble breathing, very hot skin, and temperatures around 103°F or higher. 

Electrolyte drinks and hydration packets are everywhere right now, so we clear up when they actually help and when they’re overused. Electrolytes like sodium, potassium, and magnesium can support fluid absorption and muscle function during prolonged sweating, extreme heat, vomiting, or diarrhea, but plain water remains the gold standard for daily hydration. We also highlight who’s most at risk for heat illness, including young children, older adults, pregnant people, and anyone with chronic conditions like high blood pressure, heart disease, asthma, or diabetes, plus a quick reminder to check medication labels for heat and sun warnings. 

If this helped you, subscribe, share it with someone who works in the heat, and leave a review so more people can find these summer safety tips. What’s your go-to strategy for staying hydrated when it’s brutally hot out?

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Transcript

Welcome And Quick Disclaimer

Nicole 0:17

Hi everyone, welcome to another episode of Tattoos in Telehealth. I'm Nicole Baldwin, Board Certified Nurse Practitioner, and this is my good friend and colleague Kelly White, also a board certified nurse practitioner. And our lawyers make us say this does not constitute medical advice. This does not constitute a patient provider relationship. This is for educational purposes only. Always talk to your individual prescriber, primary care, whoever that is, who knows you best. So today we're going to talk about some heat exhaustion. The temperatures are certainly rising and they're staying high. And so we're going to talk a little bit about that today, real quick, and then we're going to wrap it up. So early signs of heat exhaustion, heavy sweating, increased

Heat Exhaustion Signs To Watch

Nicole 0:59

thirst, muscle cramps, headache, dizziness, lightheaded, tiredness, weakness, nausea, clammy skin, fasts, weak pulse. So if your heart rate is definitely not good. If you are experiencing those, you always want to stop your activity, move to a cool place, loosen your clothing, cool, wet cloths, confusion, fainting, seizures, all happen at a temperature of 103 or higher. So that is a 911 issue. So there is tons of you who work outside, tons of you who are working outside on your home or in, you know, with just lawn work, or I know there's a big population now, including myself, who's trying to grow our own groceries. We're outside more. It definitely is a situation where you have to be careful to try to do things at dawn or at dusk where the sun is just not so hot. And heat exhaustion, it actually occurs when your body becomes just overheated and loses too much water and salt. And Kelly's going to get into that side of it in a minute. But typically it's from heavy sweating. When you have a shirt on and you have the white, uh the white lines, that's salt. That's your body is putting out so much salt. And so it can progress to life-threatening heat stroke. But again, muscle cramps, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, feeling faint, headache, those are all signs of dehydration. So we want to make sure we just get those symptoms out there so you can notice them and then stop what you're doing. So you want to stop all your physical activity, move to an air conditioning building or a cool shaded area, lie down. You can even elevate your legs if you want to remove all unnecessary clothing, do anything that's tight specifically, cool your body

Cool Down Steps And 911 Red Flags

Nicole 2:50

down, wet towels, cold shower, fans, ice packs, whatever you have, and then slowly drink cool water or an electrolyte-containing beverage. So Kelly will talk about that as well. You want to make sure that you do not drink alcohol or highly caffeinated beverages during this time. And when to call 911, heat stroke is a medical emergency. Confusion, unusual behavior, difficulty speaking, kind of feels or can appear like stroke-like symptoms. Fainting, seizures, of course, severe weakness, very hot skin, body temperature, again, over 103, trouble breathing, just symptoms that are rapidly worsening. So you want to make sure that you're seeking emergency attention if needed. And if you're getting too hot, you just feel yourself getting too hot and sweating too much. Calm it down, get in that shaded area. And people are leaning to these drinks that have the electrolytes in them. And I'm going to let Kelly touch on that, but I wanted to specifically go over the symptoms. And I'll let Kelly take it from here so that you know when to use those electrolyte drinks, how important they are, and when to not use the electrolyte drinks, because that can definitely be confusing with so many options out there.

Kelli 4:12

Yeah, absolutely. I have a lot of patients, Nicole and I both live in really hot, humid areas. I personally live in an area where there are a lot of construction workers. My dad is a carpenter. He works outside all the time. He's in his late 70s and the man still mows yards,

Electrolytes Versus Plain Water

Kelli 4:28

gets on roofs. Like the other day, he was crawling on a roof. I was like, please, Lord, get down. And people, there's a big hype right now about putting electrolytes in your drink. I'm not going to call out any brands, but you know, little packets, you can put it in your bottle of water. You can, they make the bigger package, you can put it in your jug of water. Nicole, the big orange tubs of water that the construction guys carry on the back of their trucks. And that's fantastic. You do need electrolytes, minerals like sodium, potassium, magnesium. They do help your body absorb fluids, regulate your nerve signals, support muscle contractions. You've heard Nicole say you get weakness. Your body can't, your body kind of locks up, you can't do anything. And so you do need that, especially if you have prolonged exercise. And that includes activity, activities outdoors that last more than an hour, 75 minutes, somewhere around there, excessive sweating, like she mentioned, the white lines on your shirt, fluid loss, including the vomiting. You get to that point where you're having nausea vomiting or severe diarrhea, especially if your body temperature starts getting up over 100, 101, 2, 3, that is where you start losing a lot of fluids, guys. When your body temperature starts creeping up, you're really losing the fluids, especially if you're on a certain type of diet. But the big thing is plain water is the best choice for everyday hydration. Electrolytes are necessary, but plain water is going to be the gold standard for your daily needs. So if you are that person that feels like you have to put an electrolyte or a packet of something in your water every single day just to drink it, that is not okay. You need some plain water. That is the gold standard for your daily fluid needs. So staying hydrated at baseline is absolutely important. And that's avoiding any unnecessary sugars, extra calories, caffeine. No, your coffee doesn't count. No, your sweet tea does not count. The other things that you're drinking, that does not count. I had a lady tell me yesterday in her appointment, she was like, Well, I drink two sprites a day. That's my water. No, it's not. That does not count. So the electrolyte packet that you're putting your water, one to every two or three bottles of water is fine. And when you're in those extreme temperatures and you're trying to replace electrolytes, but not in every single one. You still need that plain water. So that's super, super important. One of the things that I want to also hit home is there's some primary at-risk groups that are really vulnerable to heat illness. And of course, you've heard Nicole and I talk many times, those drastic shifts in ages. So you're really young, your infants, young

High-Risk Groups And Medication Tips

Kelli 6:50

children under 45, and then your adults over 65. And of course, your pregnant people, pregnant women are much, much more susceptible to having fluid shifts and they need that extra, they need that extra fluid intake. Anyone with a chronic health condition, cardiovascular respiratory diseases, heat places an extra strain on your heart as well as your lungs. And so that will pose a danger for heart failure, high blood pressure or asthma, guys. Even if you just have borderline high blood pressure or you just have high blood pressure and you think, not a big deal, I'm otherwise healthy. I just take a blood pressure pill and it's controlled. It doesn't matter. Electrolyte shifts will absolutely affect your blood pressure. So please be careful, make sure that you know that that is an important thing for you. If you're diabetic, nerve and blood vessel damage from your diabetes impacts your sweat glands, and dehydration will absolutely affect your blood sugar levels. For people that have any cognitive impairments or mental illness, sometimes those conditions will impair your ability to sense your own body's responses and adaptations to temperature changes. Also remember to check your medications that you may be taking if you take medications on a regular basis. Please look at the labels, make sure it doesn't say that you're at risk for regulating your body temperature, drink with plenty of water, take plenty of water, et cetera, et cetera. Avoid sunlight exposure, stuff like that. I have a lot of patients that just forget to do that. Nicole, we prescribe some things like antibiotics specifically that tell you avoid sunlight exposure. So there's just some tips and tricks, you guys, that I want you to please, please be be alert to. Guys, just stay really adamant about keeping an eye on those things. We're recording this in July, the middle of July. It's super, super hot. We want everybody to stay safe. If you have any questions, please just shoot us a message or better yet, call your local health department. They will give you tips, tricks, resources, places that you can get more information on where to go and what to do, how to access local resources, if that's an issue for you. But guys, just stay safe, stay cool, stay hydrated. It's hot out there. But if you have any questions, please just message us below. Please like, subscribe, holler at us if you need anything.

Nicole 8:55

Yep. All right. Well, thank you guys for joining us today. Please stay healthy. Please

Staying Safe In Peak Summer Heat

Nicole 8:59

drink your water. Even on non-super hot seasons, it's super important. Water as the first thing that hits your stomach in the morning is super important. So even if you're just trying to just now get into drinking water, actual water, because my dad hates it. A small bottle of water, start with that in the morning. The first thing that hits your stomach. It's very acidic and it's empty. So the first thing some good hydration. That's always a really good way to start. Keep hydrated, stay well, and reach out if you guys need anything. Otherwise, have a wonderful evening. Bye, guys.