Articles

This phenomenon takes place frequently during summer in places with high temperatures, like the Holy Sites. It may occur abruptly owing to the exposure of the body to high temperatures, leading to the loss of a big quantity of sweat, which contains sodium chloride (salt), in response to the thermal stress. The patient suffers from overall weakness, and feels some symptoms relating to the central nervous system (headache, dizziness, exhaustion, agitation), volume depletion (as manifested in thirst, low orthotonos, tachycardia, nausea, gastrointestinal narrowing and loss of appetite, inability to do physical effort, and fainting, with paleness of color and coldness of skin, covered with a layer of cold sweat with a drop in blood pressure. Pulse is, at times, rapid, other times slow; at times strong, other times weak. based on how much fluids the body lost. The body temperature is usually normal, or possibly less than normal. Symptoms may also include oliguria and convulsions.

Prevention:
Prevention is such cases is of crucial importance; whenever a person is exposed to the direct sunlight or a heat source, thereby his body lost a large quantity of sweat, he has to drink a large quantity of liquids in to be in place of the lost one, taking care to increase the salt used in foods, or even taking salt tablets in some
cases. Whereas the method of treatment is as follows:

• Make the patient sit in a cool place, lift his feet and legs, and give him salted water to drink (a teaspoon of salt added to a liter of boiled water). Do not give him anything through his mouth provided he is unconscious. In severe cases, the patient needs to be taken to hospital in order to inject the salt solution into his vein; so that he regains his strength, his blood pressure goes high to the normal level, urination goes normal, and body temperature rises to the normal level.

Muscle Cramps:
Muscle cramps occur in people (with ordinary or athletic bodies)  who are involved in strenuous physical efforts in hot weather, resulting in much perspiration and, hence, lack of the amount of body salts. This causes a severe pain in the muscle affected. And this pain probably extends to the abdominal muscles; causing severe pain in the patient's abdomen, such that is sometimes mistakenly illustrated - at first glance - as an inner gastrointestinal disorder. This case is relieved by comfort and keeping away from the heat source, in addition to injecting the salt solution into the patient's vein, or giving him salt tablets, or dissolving a teaspoon of salt in a liter of boiled water and giving it to the patient to drink it. It should be noted that muscular and articular pains are agitated at high temperature, to the effect that those suffering from such pains mistakenly consider them as rheumatic pains; where, in fact, such pains are caused by the exposure of the affected muscle to colds (owing to the excessive use of fans and air-conditioners in summer), resulting in muscular stiffness. This can be treated by using aspirin, and the like, along with a body-massage and warming.

Distinctions between the Symptoms of Sunstroke and Heat Exhaustion
Symptoms of Heat Exhaustion:

• Yellowish face, coldness, and profuse sweating.
• Expansion of the eye pupil.
• Low temperature.
• Weakness and fatigue.

Symptoms of Sunstroke:

• Hot, reddish and dry face.
• Overly high temperature.
• Severe weakness or fainting.
• Loss of consciousness.