Heat Stroke in Athletes: An Overview

What Is Heatstroke in Athletes?

When the central nervous system begins to malfunction and the body temperature rises above 104 degrees Fahrenheit, a heat stroke ensues. Athletes die from it more frequently than any other cause. If untreated, heat stroke can be fatal or result in severe damage and can happen within minutes or hours. The consequences of the central nervous system, such as agitation, aggression, or loss of consciousness, are frequently seen in athletes who have heat stroke.

Exertional heat stroke can occur in colder climates, although it usually happens in hot climates during activities like marathons and football practices in the offseason. According to research by an expert panel that was published in the Prehospital Emergency Care journal, athletes who have a life-threatening case of heat stroke should be cooled down locally before being transported to the hospital. Heated skin nor unconsciousness nor the cessation of sweating are necessary indications of heat stroke in athletes.

What Are the Risk Factors?

Among the intrinsic factors that boost heat stroke risk are the following:

• Insufficient thermal acclimation.

• Current febrile illness.

• Disorders of the skin include anhidrosis, dermatitis, and psoriasis, among others.

• Dehydration.

• Medications or supplements.

• Lack of sleep.

• Recent use of alcohol.

• Poor physical condition.

• Overweight or obesity.

• Cardiovascular conditions.

• The susceptibility to malignant hyperthermia.

Extrinsic risk factors, which include the following, also play a significant role in heat stroke risk.

• Extreme heat and humidity.

• Physical activity intensity.

• Unsuitable work-to-rest ratios.

• Heavy equipment and attire.

• Absence of awareness and instruction among athletes, instructors, and medical personnel.

• Absence of emergency procedures to identify as well as treat EHS.

• Absence of adequate infrastructure.

What Are the Causes?

• Humid and Warm: Heat and humidity make summer sports challenging. During football practice, body temperature increases sawtooth-like. At any ambient temperature above 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.7 degrees Celsius) and relative humidity above 40 percent, heat illness is possible during vigorous exercise.

• Unacclimated: Heat conditioning requires effort. A common cause of heat exhaustion in football is acclimatization issues. Over two weeks, acclimatization enhances drinking and increases blood volume, thereby decreasing heart rate. Athletes who are heat-fit perspire quicker, more, and more profusely, keeping them cooler.

• Dehydration: Most heat-exposed sportsmen drink less than they sweat. It causes dehydration. Dehydration lowers cardiac output and raises heart rate. As dehydration saps mental sharpness, willpower, physical power, and endurance, labor feels harder. Players heat up faster when dehydrated.

• Penalty Uniform: Players are protected by football uniforms. Players heat up faster and cool slower as they add gear, from shorts as well as shirts to pads, then helmets to full uniform. Runners should also avoid vapor-impermeable clothing.

• Heatstroke and Body Mass: Fat athletes are susceptible to heat stroke. Fat adds weight and heat. A high-pound player can generate additional heat by adding 30 pounds of muscle, but does not add enough surface area to dissipate it. Heat bombs may be tremendous threats.

• Supplements: Stimulants increase heat; therefore, items that speed gamers up heat them. Ephedra is the most common, although Amphetamine and cocaine are the most hazardous. Many dietary supplements promote weight loss or energy. Drugs that impair sweating, like several antihistamines, antispasmodics, and depression meds, increase heat-stroke risk.

How to Prevent Heat Strokes?

• Cooling: The lower an athlete's core temperature is, the better they perform in competition. When participating in team sports, it is important to take periodic cooling breaks. When taking breaks, make sure there is plenty of shade, ice water, and misting fans. As the temperature rises, one should slow down one’s workout, shorten the amount of time one spends practicing, and take more rest. After the practice, the players should go and sit in the cold tubs. The practices should be held earlier in the day and later in the day, with additional time in between for cooling down, resting, and recovering.

• Hydration: Hydration can assist in avoiding heat stroke; however, eating liquids in an overabundance of sweat loss has no benefit. Similarly, it is not required to over-hydrate at night before or during the hours preceding a lengthy run or practice. Teach athletes how to drink according to their needs. During training, have participants weigh in before and after an exercise and learn how to alter fluid intake to minimize weight loss. If weight loss occurs, rehydration after exertion is crucial. Consume foods with elevated water content. A sports drink is superior to plain water since it contains carbohydrates to power muscles and the brain, flavoring to promote drinking, and salt to keep fluid throughout the body and assist in replenishing sweat losses.

• Be Informed: Even physically healthy and well-hydrated athletes may succumb to extreme heat. A week or two of moderate physical activity during the heat, such as jogging per day, can accelerate acclimatization to the humidity. Athletes should never transition from a sedentary, air-conditioned lifestyle to a rigorous summer sports camp.

• Uniform Problems: In the weather, equipment should be restricted. In summer camp, outfit in stages: shorts and a T-shirt for the first two days, then helmet, shoulder pads, and jersey, and ultimately the full uniform. Remove helmet and padding for fitness runs. Boxers and wrestlers who wish to lose weight ought to refrain from running in plastic costumes.

• Against the Culture: Certain athletes are overly motivated by pride and are pushed by demanding instructors. They believe that no limits exist. They disregard danger signals. Never allow the combatant to be in charge. Some athletes possess an attitude of never giving up. In female athletes, heat exhaustion is uncommon. This trend raises concerns about biology and behavior.

• Training: Begin slowly. In stifling heat, athletes cannot safely commence at full speed. Other than significant bleeding, the most taxing condition on the cardiovascular system is vigorous exercise in extreme heat.

• Off-field Conduct: Off-field conduct also matters. Athletes who sleep poorly or are unwell, particularly those with vomiting, diarrhea, or fever, are more susceptible to heat stroke. Monitor all prescribed medications.

• Pre-cooling: Pre-cooling before training may help linemen and other heat-stroke-prone sportsmen. Pre-cooling replicates nature by lowering basal body temperature by 0.9 degrees Fahrenheit (0.5 degree Celsius) after a week of regular exercise in the heat. Hot-weather running and cycling may improve. Cold clothes or water on the face, head, and neck boosts mood but not health.

What Are the Treatment Methods?

• Medical Emergency: Heat stroke kills brain and body cells; therefore, immediate cooling is essential. Early symptoms include impaired cognition and behavior and a core temperature exceeding 104 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40.0-40.6 degrees Celsius). Oral, axillary, and ear-canal temperatures are unreliable when an athlete collapses. Rectal temperature is optimum.

• Fast-Cooling: Fast-cooling field treatment. An ice-water tub is the fastest technique to chill an athlete. Submerge the trunk, shoulders to hip joints. Ice-water soaking cools runners twice quicker than air exposure with wet towels, according to research. Marines employ ice-water cooling.

• Monitoring: Check the athlete's CNS, rectal temperature, and vital signs every few minutes. An indwelling rectal thermometer probe is useful. When the rectal temperature decreases to 102 degrees Fahrenheit (38.9 degrees Celsius), remove the athlete from the tub to prevent overcooling.

• Transport: Cool, then transfer. Cool and hospitalize the heat-stroke athlete. Fast cooling nearly guarantees survival. Fast cooling can keep athletes healthy. After being allowed to cool down, runners are observed for twenty to sixty minutes to ensure that they are taking in adequate fluids, that their vital signs are normal, and that they are able to think clearly.

Conclusion:

Heat stroke is caused by a complex interaction of both environmental and personal risk factors. Irritability, bewilderment, apathy, belligerence, emotional instability, erratic behavior, giddiness, extreme exhaustion, chills, goosebumps, vomiting, and nausea are some of the early warning signs that may point to an approaching case of heat stroke. The vast majority of athletes who are treated for heat stroke in its early stages can shortly return to their sport without risk.