Even though these three sun related medical problems, sunburn, heat exhaustion, and heatstroke, are not diseases, they can be serious and could put a real damper on your vacation. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and this is especially true when dealing with the sun. Remember that the sun's rays in the tropics are more intense between noon and three p.m. as well as at high altitudes, even if it's an overcast or cloudy day.
How can you prevent getting a sunburn?
In general, the lighter or fairer your skin is, the easier you may sunburn. Clouds offer little or no protection from a severe sunburn, so why take a chance of ruining your holidays when getting a painful sunburn is easy to protect against? To prevent getting a bad sunburn, especially if you sunburn easily, you should use a high SPF (Sun Protection Factor) of 30, or stronger if possible. Use sunscreen liberally, wear a wide-brimmed hat, buy UVA & UVB protection certified sunglasses, and wear long-sleeved shirts and slacks. If you can, try to stay out of the sun between noon and three in the p.m.. Build up your exposure to the sun gradually each day. Limit the time that you spend in the sun to approximately fifteen minutes the first day, and increase your time in the sun gradually on subsequent days.
What can you do to treat a bad sunburn?
The pain of a sunburn can be eased by soaking in a cool bath three to four times a day. By adding some baking soda to each bath, it will help even more. Cool showers will more than likely hurt too much, and not be as effective or soothing as cool, relaxing baths. If you have headaches, or pain and swelling, you could take aspirin or other pain medication such as Advil or Ibuprofen. Don't take any aspirin-based pain medications if you are on blood thinners or have an ulcer. If you are not sure if it's safe to take any these pain medications, check with a doctor or medical clinic. To avoid dehydration, try and drink six to eight glasses of water a day. Don't break any blisters if you can help it. Broken blisters can get infected easily, especially in the humid weather of the tropics. If they do break, you should wash them gently with soap and warm water.
If your sunburn does not appear to be getting better and you still have pain after a couple of days, you develop a high temperature or fever, have a splitting headache that won't go away, are vomiting or have diarrhea, feel dizzy or confused, or your eyes hurt and light bothers them, you must seek medical attention immediately.
What can you do to avoid heat exhaustion?
Heat exhaustion is completely preventable. Wearing a wide-brimmed sunhat, drinking lots of liquids, and staying out of intense heat and humidity will help you avoid this serious problem.
What should you do if you have the symptoms of heat exhaustion?
Heat exhaustion is caused by a combination of very high temperatures and humidity. This may result in the loss of fluids from your body through excess sweating. These fluids must be quickly replaced or heat exhaustion can result.
The usual symptoms include headache, lethargy, fatigue, giddiness, as well as muscle cramps. The immediate treatment is to move out of the sun or heat and drink a lot of liquids, preferably commercial beverages containing electrolytes, such as Gatorade. Do not drink alcohol as it will make your condition worse.
If you do not feel better and show positive signs of recovery in a very short period of time, have someone take you to a hospital immediately as your condition could quickly progress into a true medical emergency, heatstroke.
What actions must you immediately take if you get heat stroke?
If heat exhaustion is not successfully treated immediately, it can result in an extremely serious medical emergency. Heatstroke is characterized by a very high body temperature of 102 to 106 degrees Fahrenheit, or 39 to 41 degrees Centigrade. There is also cessation of sweating. The symptoms of heatstroke include flushed and red skin, a severe headache, confusion which can progress quickly into delirium and convulsions This can be fatal.
Note: Someone must help you get out of the sun or heat and rush you immediately to a hospital or medical center.
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