Signs and treatment when children have heatstroke

When seeing your child showing signs of lethargy, red face, hot body, fever over 40 degrees Celsius, parents need to take the child to a ventilated place, remove all things that hinder breathing such as shirt buttons, pants buttons to cool down.

Giving your baby enough water and micronutrients will help cool him down and prevent heatstroke.

PediatricianTrinh Ngoc Binh - Cho Ray Hospital said that there are many risks for children if they play and do activities under the hot sun. However, if you choose the right time, supplement nutrition, and rehydrate promptly according to the instructions below, your children will have a happy and healthy summer.

Don't go out in the middle of summer

According to Dr. Binh, to avoid heatstroke, parents should not let their children go out between 10am and 3pm. This is the time when the sun is at its strongest, so the risk of heatstroke is very high. At the same time, children need to stay away from places with strong reflected light such as sand, glass, mirrors, and should only play in shady places under trees...

When your baby needs to exercise outdoors, parents should let him/her out in the sun a few days before so that his/her body can get used to it. In addition, avoid overexerting your baby. If your baby feels uncomfortable, stop exercising immediately and go to a cool place to rest.

Rehydration

There is an unchangeable rule in the summer, that is to carry water with you. Always remind children to drink water, do not let them play too much, until they are thirsty then drink the whole bottle, it is not good for health.

Eat lots of green vegetables and fruits

Vegetables and fruits such as squash, bitter melon, cucumber, pumpkin, tomato, lettuce, coconut water, watermelon... not only help replenish water for the body, but also have a cooling effect, effectively preventing heatstroke.

Children should not be allowed outdoors between 10am and 3pm.

Signs of heatstroke in children

According to Dr. Binh, children with heatstroke often show signs of fatigue, lethargy, red face, hot body, high fever over 40 degrees Celsius, no sweating, strong pulsation of blood vessels in the neck and temples. In addition, children may also have headaches due to rapid heartbeat, difficulty breathing, slow and inaccurate movements...

In severe cases, in addition to the above symptoms, children may have cramps that cause the body to stiffen, muscles to ache but then become limp, abdominal pain, vomiting, lethargy, loss of consciousness. Children may even have convulsions, epilepsy, not understand what others are saying or stop breathing... These are very serious cases, if not treated quickly, they can easily die.

Place the child in a cool place and give him cold drinks until he feels better.

How to handle

Heatstroke can be life-threatening for children. Therefore, parents need to stay calm and quickly take their children to the nearest emergency room or call a doctor immediately to ensure their safety. During that time:

- Immediately take the child to a cool, airy place. Remove anything that obstructs breathing such as shirt buttons, pants buttons or long pants to cool down. Disperse people around, and fan the child gently, not directly in the face.

- Use a clean towel soaked in cool water to wipe the whole body. Apply a towel to the forehead, chest, armpits, arms, and thighs to open the baby's pores and let the heat escape. According to Dr. Binh, taking fever-reducing medicine at this time is ineffective. In case of coma, immersing the child in cold water can save the child's life. When the dangerous symptoms have subsided, rehydrate and replenish electrolytes by giving the child salt water (4-5g of salt in one liter of water), fruit juice, or ORS solution until the child is thirsty.

However, parents should take special note not to feed or drink anything to their children when they are not fully awake. Wait until they are awake before feeding them to replenish the lost water and salt. Children should be fed slowly, little by little to avoid vomiting, not more than 300ml at a time.

- After receiving timely first aid, the above measures should still be continued in the car on the way to the hospital, as they are very useful for subsequent treatment of heatstroke.

According to VNE