r keep the sun from warming the head and neck; vents on a hat will allow perspiration to cool the head. Strenuous exercise should be avoided during daylight hours in hot weather; so should remaining in enclosed spaces (such as automobiles). People who must be outside should be aware that humidity and the presence of direct sunlight may cause the heat index to be 10 °C (18 °F) hotter than the temperature indicated by a thermometer.
Persons in hot weather need to drink plenty of liquids to replace fluids lost from sweating. Thirst is not a reliable sign that a person needs fluids. A better indicator is the color of urine. A dark yellow color indicates dehydration. While alcohol, tea, and coffee are all diuretics, they will replace more water than they remove (with the exception of concentrated alcohol). However, purer water is preferred.
Especially susceptible populations Edit
While anyone can be affected by hyperthermia, some populations are especially susceptible to heat illness and injury. As noted by Joseph Rampulla in the The Health Care of Homeless Persons  :
Heat illness most seriously affects the poor, urban-dwellers, young children, those with chronic physical and mental illnesses, substance abusers, the elderly, and people who engage in excessive physical activity under harsh conditions.
Hyperthermia can be intentionally produced for medical purposes. Thermotherapy, or therapy by induced hyperthermia, may be used as a cancer treatment to kill or weaken tumor cells, with negligible effects on healthy cells.
- Central nervous system disorders
- Endocrine disorders
- Thermoregulation (body)
- International Red Cross Information on Heat Stroke
- Hiking and Camping Note Book Heat Stroke Advice
- BBC Heat Illness News and Information
- Environment Canada's Heat Index (humidex) Chart
- Working in Hot Environments, from the United States' National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
- Excessive Heat Events Guidebook, from the United States' Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- ↑ The Thermometry page of graduateresearch.com. Retrieved 27 February 2008.
- ↑ Joseph Rampulla, MS,APRN,BC (2004). Hyperthermia & Heat Stroke: Heat-Related Conditions. (pdf) The Health Care of Homeless Persons. Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program. URL accessed on 2007-02-22.
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