Knowing What Excessive Heat (Hypertermia): Types, Causes, And How To Prevent It

Illustration of an elderly person checking his body temperature due to excessive heat (Pixabay/ExergenCorporation)

YOGYAKARTA 'excessive heat' is a health problem characterized by an increase in body temperature above 37.5 degrees Celsius. In medical, this condition is known as hyperthermia.

The increase in body temperature due to hyperthermia is different from fever. When a fever, the body temperature increases due to hypotalamus (the part of the brain that regulates temperature) raises the body's temperature set to fight infection. Thus, fever is the way the body reacts to infection to improve the immune system.

Meanwhile, in cases of hyperthermia, the increase in temperature occurs because hypotalamus fails to regulate body temperature. To better understand it, let's see the explanation in the following article.

Quoted from the Cleveland Clinic, excessive heat (hypertermia) is a condition where the body's internal temperature (core) is higher than normal. The normal body temperature is in the range of 36-37.5 degrees Celsius. Hyperthermia occurs when the body is unable to adapt to extreme environmental changes.

Hypertermia is a serious health problem and can cause death if not treated immediately, especially for high-risk groups.

There are several types of hyperthermia with varying risk levels, ranging from light to heavy. Here are the types of hyperthermia that you need to know:

Hot foam is a collection of tiny spots itching on your skin, which appear when sweat is trapped below the skin's surface. Usually, a hot rash can be overcome at home by keeping the skin cool and dry, and using anti-gatal creams.

Hot Krams are muscle cramps that occur in the legs, arms, stomach, or other parts of the body. Usually occurs when you do physical activity in hot weather and sweat a lot. Heat levels are a mild form of the disease caused by heat, and your body temperature is usually normal or slightly increased. However, these cramps are a warning that more serious conditions can occur if you don't cool your body immediately.

Fatigue due to heat is a medium form of heat-induced disease that can quickly develop into heat stroke if not treated.

This condition occurs when the body loses too much water and/or salt, usually when you are physically active in hot weather. Your core body temperature increases but is still below 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius). Symptoms include dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and headaches.

Heat stroke is a condition of a life-threatening disease caused by heat. This occurs when the body temperature of your core is very high usually exceeds 40 degrees Celsius.

Symptoms include all signs of fatigue from heat, plus signs of brain function disorders (encephalopathy), such as confusion, behavioral changes, and cadel speech.

Heat stroke can occur due to physical activity in hot weather (exertional heat stroke) or just because it has been in a hot environment (classic / non-exertional heat stroke) for too long.

Excessive heat aka hyperthermia is generally caused by exposure to excessive high temperatures from outside the body. This makes the body unable to maintain its normal temperature so that there is a significant increase in body temperature.

In addition, there are a number of factors that increase the risk of someone with hyperthermia, including:

Quoted from AI-Care, most hyperthermia cases can be prevented. Here are some ways to prevent hyperthermia that you can do.

That's information about excessive heat aka hypertermia. Get news updates of other options only on VOI.ID.