By now Dallas has become one big outdoor sauna, and Parkland Health & Hospital System is warning individuals to be aware of the risks. Additionally, hospitals should be prepared to deal with more cases of heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
Parkland Hospital has seen more than 430 patients with heat-related diagnoses itself since 2010. And about 618 people per year have died from exposure to excessive natural heat from 1999 to 2010, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Heat exhaustion is the lesser evil of the two, resulting when people are exposed to high temps and become dehydrated. That taken further can result in heat stroke, wherein the body’s cooling mechanism ceases to function, which is life-threatening. Stay cool.
