Midway To Boiling! Here’s What Extreme Heat Does To Your Body

Furnace-like conditions can throw your body’s natural cooling system awry, cause disability or even death

When keeping cool can be the difference between life and death, knowing how heat ravages your body is important (Photo: iStock)

For all that the human body can achieve, it can’t handle temperature changes. Some degrees hotter and there can be a sudden, unpleasant glitch in your body’s delicate mechanisms which can result in disability, even death.

Roughly more than 500 people have already succumbed to the record heatwave melting India. But did you know what happens to your body when you step in oppressive heat for long?

How the Heatwave Attacks the Body

(Photo: Nikita Mishra/The Quint)

So what is the body’s key way of dealing with the heat?

Your heart starts beating faster as it increases the blood flow to the skin, trying to keep internal organs from overheating. Sweat starts dripping, as it evaporates, the body cools down.

Humidity in this case will defeat the internal system. You will sweat, even drip but given the high moisture in the air, it won’t dry. 

Fatal heatstroke occurs 3.5 times more frequently in overweight/obese adults than those of average body weight*. Heart patients, diabetics, elderly, anyone with a respiratory illness, fall in the high risk category because these conditions impact the body’s ability to regulate its core temperatures. 

Eventually it could lead to organ damage and death but before that your body starts to act weird. Here are 3 awful ways, heat wave can affect humans.

(*Source: Research published last year in the Canadian Medical Association Journal)

1. Before the Malfunctions Comes the Odd Part

(Photo: Nikita Mishra/The Quint)

Get muscle cramps on a hot day while doing some heavy duty household work? Or any of the symptoms above? Chances are that the blistering temperatures are to blame.

When you sweat profusely you lose both water and salt from the body. Notice the tiny red rashes all over your arms? They could be heat rashes caused when sweat pores become blocked.

What’s worse, the US Centers for Disease Control says, if you are exposed to prolonged heat and are in the high risk category - you can stop sweating altogether, a step on the road to a potentially fatal heat stroke.

2. Brain Goes Awry!

In severe cases, confusion and dizziness are common effects of too much exposure to extreme temperatures. So if you are starting to notice loss of focus, inability to do things you are a pro at or hallucinations - raise an alarm ASAP.

If your blood pressure is going haywire, it will cause the blood vessels to contract, making the skin pale. If this is not recognised and first aid in the form of electrol is not given, the body might start shutting down.

3. Heat Exhaustion

Heat exhaustion is when the body refuses to cope with the excessive loss of fluids and salts. So when the nausea reaches the point where you’re throwing up, you come down with a bad case of diarrhoea, suffer seizures, the dullness in your limbs forces you to lie - heat exhaustion might be setting in. So if you have any of these symptoms after being exposed to the sun, immediately drink nimbu paani with salt, a sports drink or naariyal paani and seek medical aid.

If left untreated it can lead to a heat stroke, which occurs when the body can’t regulate its internal temperature, the sweating mechanism fails and the body is unable to cool down.

Something as avoidable as this has already taken more than 500 lives in the country. Stay indoors during peak sun hours, stay hydrated and spread the awareness.

Related Read: Dodge the Sun. Beat the Heat and Enjoy the Long, Languid Summer