When The Heat Gets Too Much

After what felt like the longest (and wettest!) winter and spring, the weather is on the up, but what are the potential health risks?

- Dr Philippa Kaye

Waving goodbye to grey and rainy clouds and seeing sunny skies lifts our spirits, and gets us outside, which is good for both our physical and mental health. Now, we know we need to apply sunscreen to protect our skin from the effects of sun damage, but what else do we need to do?

For all the amazing things that the human body can do, it can only exist in quite a limited range of temperature! The thermometer might be at -5C or 35C, but your body temperature remains at about 35-37.5C. Just think of how unwell you feel when you have a fever and your temperature rises to say 38 or 39C! The body has various mechanisms to try to heat up, such as shivering, or to cool down such as sweating and dilating the blood vessels near the skin. We have similar mechanisms to control the amount of water and salts in the body. Here is what happens if we can’t cool down.

Heatstroke and heat exhaustion are risks related to hot weather (but they can occur without being in the sun) and although anyone can be affected, it is more common in both the elderly and babies and toddlers; people with health conditions such as diabetes or heart disease; or those with bowel conditions such as ulcerative colitis, which causes diarrhoea; or people who are very physically active.

When heat exhaustion occurs, your body is working hard to cool you down and is sending you signals to drink more or perhaps go inside.