Outdoor Safety: Heat Related Illnesses
Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife
Before you head into the wilderness…
… Make sure you have an adequate supply of water with you because you don’t know if you’re going to encounter any water sources while you’re up there.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Hunter Education Coordinator Terry Erwin says you should always carry at least a half gallon of water and drink often while hiking to prevent dehydration. But if you do begin to feel thirsty and hotter than usual, you may be experiencing heat exhaustion.
This is when you have a pale and clammy skin, you feel nauseated, maybe headaches and muscle cramps. At that time you need to move to a cooler place, re-hydrate yourself, lower your body temperature and make sure not to over chill yourself.
And more severely is heat stroke.
You become dry, hot, your skin gets flushed- even dark purple. Your pulse becomes slow and weak and you start to breathe very shallow. The best thing to do is to really get down and lower the temperature of your core body. Drink plenty of water, fan and don’t over chill yourself and if it persists get to the hospital immediately because this is a life threatening situation.
Find more information about identifying and treating heat exhaustion and heat stroke by visiting passporttotexas.org.
That’s our show…with research and writing help from Alanna Jones… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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