Warm weather dries out your favorite roads and trails and lets you take your running routine outside. While the warm season may seem like the best time to get out and train, be aware of the risks that come with the sun. Heat illnesses can quickly end a run. Mild cases of dehydration or heat exhaustion can leave you with a headache. When ignored, these mild cases can progress to heat stroke, which can jeopardize your life.
Significance
Heat stroke is life-threatening. Normally as you run, you dissipate heat through sweating to regulate your internal temperature. During heat stroke, your body loses its ability to effectively cool down and your body temperature reaches dangerous levels. Your organs will shut down if your body remains in a state of hyperthermia.
Symptoms
Heat stroke is a form of hyperthermia, or an elevated body temperature. The first symptoms include fatigue, dizziness, headache, elevated heart rate and hot, dry skin. Left untreated, heat stroke symptoms progress and you may experience disorientation, hallucinations, decreased level of consciousness and seizures.
Risk Factors
Your risk of heat stroke increases significantly if you run dehydrated or in hot, humid weather. Without sufficient fluids, you will not sweat enough to cool yourself. Running in hot weather makes your body struggle to dissipate heat. Even with proper hydration, running in high humidity makes it hard for your body to use sweat to cool down. Because there is too much moisture in the air, sweat does not evaporate off your body.
Treatment
Treatment for heat stroke requires emergency medical attention and rapid cooling of the body. If you suspect heat stroke while on a run, stop and call for help. While you wait for Emergency Medical Services, get out of the sun, remove restrictive clothing and poor cool water over your body. Place ice packs in your armpits, behind your neck and around your groin to help decrease your body temperature.
Prevention
Stay hydrated and avoid running in extreme heat and high humidity. Remember--dehydration is a process that can sneak up on you during your daily routine, not just on an endurance run. Be sure to take in enough fluids throughout your day, drink a few ounces before your run, and carry water if you plan to be out for more than an hour. During warm months, schedule your run early in the day or late in the evening to avoid the heat.
