Dr Amal al-Jowder speaking on heatstroke

The Ministry of Health (MOH) Directorate of Public Health Acting Director cum Family Physician Dr. Amal Al-Jowder said that heatstroke is a case of emergency where a person loses the ability to control his/her internal body temperature and this may lead to death as a result of kidney(s) and/or heart malfunctioning. There are two types of heatstroke or sunstroke which occur in children, athletes or normal healthy persons who carry out muscle-flexing athletic activities in still, hot and humid weather conditions and exceeds the human body's ability to cool down. The second type of heatstroke occurs in adults, patients with chronic diseases, sedate persons, alcoholics, obese persons, elderly persons or patients who take anti-histamine drugs or anti-depressants, as well as persons who consume excessive quantity of coffee and/or tea. Symptoms: headache, dizziness, nausea, diarrhea, blurriness, muscle cramps, hypotension, blood-stained urine, vomiting associated with mouth bleeding, bluishness, endodermal bleeding and sudden coma. The patients suffering from heatstroke or sunstroke should immediately be rushed to nearest hospital in order to reduce his/her body temperature and to undergo continuous monitoring of kidney(s), liver and cardiac functions .