Recently, Beijing issued an orange high temperature warning. It is expected that from June 11 to 13, the highest temperature in the plain area from 13:00 to 17:00 every day will reach above 37°C. Since June, the number of 120 calls in Beijing has increased significantly compared with the same period last month, with an average daily call volume of more than 5,200 times, an increase of 11%, and an average of more than 2,400 ambulances dispatched per day. The top three main complaints of callers are trauma, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and respiratory diseases. The average number of emergency calls related to heat stroke is more than 20 per day. It is well known that high temperature may not only cause heat stroke, but also is one of the pathogenic factors of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular emergencies. In daily life, how should we respond scientifically to heatstroke and strengthen prevention of it?

Heat stroke refers to a group of clinical syndromes caused by the disorder of body temperature regulation function due to the human body being in a hot environment. It manifests as a continuous process from mild to severe, including pre-heat stroke, mild heat stroke, and severe heat stroke. Severe heatstroke is divided into heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and thermoplegia according to the severity. Among them, thermoplegia is the most serious manifestation of heatstroke and may cause a series of serious complications and sequelae. According to existing data, the mortality rate of heat stroke is 60%~70%. It is necessary to gain sufficient knowledge of heat stroke and try to avoid it. There is a development process from mild to severe of heat stroke. Immediate intervention measures such as staying away from high temperature areas, reducing activities, timely hydration, and effective cooling are the basic operations to deal with heatstroke symptoms.

When someone is found to have heatstroke, how should we carry out on-site first aid?

1. Immediately leave the high temperature environment, rest quietly in a cool place and replenish cool salty drinks.

2. Use an ice towel to wipe the patient's body to cool down, rub the patient's limbs and torso to promote heat dissipation, and blow with an electric fan at the same time. You can also place ice cubes or ice bags in the patient's armpits, outside of the neck, groin and other parts to cool down. You can wrap it with a towel to prevent the ice cubes from directly contacting the skin.

3. Unbutton the collar and keep the airway open. Especially for patients with vomiting symptoms, the head should be tilted to one side to prevent vomitus from causing airway obstruction and suffocation.

4. Severe patients with convulsions, breathing difficulties, coma, etc. should be sent to the hospital for treatment in time.

Here are some tips from Beijing 120. The elderly, pregnant women, and children are sensitive to heatstroke. It is necessary for them to reduce going out during high temperature periods, and ensure adequate water and electrolyte supplementation. Heatstroke in children and adolescents often occurs during summer sports activities and military training. Due to the lack of accurate knowledge of the early warning symptoms of heatstroke, they may not be discovered until shock or fainting occurs. Therefore, parents or event organizers should have the most basic understanding of the symptoms and first aid methods of heatstroke, strengthen observation and monitoring of these susceptible children, reduce heat exposure time, reduce activity intensity, and reduce the risk of heatstroke. Do not forget to call 120 in time if it’s necessary.