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Natural Health and Herbal Remedies Blog
information on herbal medicine
HEAT STROKE IN THE ELDERLY
During hot weather, heat stroke fatalities occur 12-15 times more often in the elderly than in younger people, the U.S. Pharmacist (9#6:23) reports. The elderly are more prone to heat stroke because they cannot very easily get rid of their excess body heat by sweating.
For body heat to evaporate, enough blood must circulate through the skin to support extra sweating. If the heart cannot easily pump that much blood, or if the blood volume has become depleted by dehydration, insufficient blood reaches the sweat glands. As pointed out in the previous section, dehydration is commonly caused by a diuretic (“water pill”) drug that is being taken by people with heart failure or hypertension to increase the urine output. Several other drugs, including some stomach medicines and antihistamines, have a skin-drying effect that may also interfere with sweating.
So, in very hot weather, even if they are feeling well, older people should spend more time in air-conditioned places and avoid sitting in direct sunlight, particularly if they are taking any medication. If exposure to heat is unavoidable, they should try to compensate by drinking more, and (since exertion generates heat) by becoming much less physically active. Geriatrics (41 #5:108) recommends that when older people begin an exercise program in warm weather or after traveling to a warmer climate, they should limit the intensity and duration of the exercise at first and only gradually increase it over a period of 10 to 14 days.
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