Heat Stress Symptoms

It takes 5 to 7 days to get used to hot or cold environments for fit people, which if you need to ask what fit is, you’re probably not in that category. For the rest of us, 50% longer, 7 to 10 days.
If you experience ANY of the S&S of illness, get out of direct sun, notify people you’re with and begin the rehab process.

Feel of your skin and assure that you are cool and wet. Get to a cooler place and start sipping cool (50 to 60 degree) water. Your fluid replacement can be assessed by weighing prior to starting work and at each break. Convert lost weight to oz and drink that much water in fluid oz. You should weigh the same at the end of your shift as when you began. It can take up to 6 hours to turn water into sweat, so you can get into a dangerous situation very quickly. Only you know if your in heat stress or not. OSHA states that you have the right of exit at will.

Alcohol intake within 24 hours of exposure to hot atmospheres is a potential disaster. Alcohol suppresses your anti-diuretic hormone. This allows your body to excrete your body fluid rapidly and places you in a dehydrated state very quickly. If you have ever drank enough to have a hangover, the headache is a result of dehydrating your brain. Your brain is smaller when it is properly hydrated and swells when it is not, hence the pulsating headache. Also, my liver doc told me that alcohol and acetaminophen can damage the liver and could cause death in just a couple of doses. Water is what will help prevent a hangover. Of course, not having excessive amounts is the best way. Especially the night before a hot day.

Well that’s a quick review of heat stress. Be careful not to hurt yourself. Work smart.