Tropical Vacations - Can Serious Danger Lurk Under The Sun?
Even though these sun related problems, sunburn, heat exhaustion, and heatstroke, are not diseases, they can be very serious and could put a real damper on your vacation. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure when dealing with the sun. Keep in mind that the sun’s rays are more intense between noon and three p.m. in the tropics and at high altitudes, even if it’s a cloudy or overcast day.
What can you do to prevent getting sunburned?
In general, the fairer or lighter your skin is, the easier you may sunburn. Even clouds offer little or no protection from a severe sunburn. So why take a chance of ruining your holiday when getting a painful sunburn is easy to protect against? To prevent getting a bad sunburn, especially if you sunburn easily, use a high SPF (Sun Protection Factor) of 30, or stronger if possible. Use the sunscreen liberally, wear a wide-brimmed sun hat, choose UVA & UVB protection certified sunglasses, and wear a long-sleeved shirt and slacks. Try to stay out of the sun between noon and three in the afternoon. Build up your exposure to the sun gradually, day by day. Limit the length of time that you spend in the sun to about fifteen minutes the first day, and increase your time in the sun gradually on subsequent days.
What can you do to treat a bad sunburn?
You can ease the pain of a sunburn by soaking in a cool bath three to four times a day. If you add some baking soda to each bath, it will help even more. Cool showers will probably hurt too much, and they are not as effective or soothing as cool, relaxing baths. To help with headaches, or pain and swelling, take aspirin or other pain medication such as Advil or Ibuprofen. Do not take any aspirin based pain medications if you are on blood thinners or have an ulcer. If you are not sure if it’s safe for you to take these pain relievers, check with a doctor or medical clinic. To avoid dehydration, drink at least six to eight glasses of water per day. Do not break any blisters if you can help it. Broken blisters can easily get infected, especially in the humid weather of the tropics. If they do break, wash them gently with soap and warm water.
If your sunburn does not appear to be getting better and you still have pain after a couple of days, you develop a high temperature or fever, have splitting headaches that won’t go away, vomit or have diarrhea, feel dizzy and confused, or your eyes hurt and light is bothering them, you must seek medical help right away.
How can you prevent heat exhaustion?
Heat exhaustion is totally preventable. To avoid this serious problem, wear a wide-brimmed sunhat, drink lots of liquids, and stay out of intense heat and humidity.
What should you do if you have the symptoms of heat exhaustion?
Heat exhaustion is precipitated by a combination of high temperatures and humidity. This can result in your body’s loss of fluids from excess sweating. These fluids must be replaced quickly or heat exhaustion can occur.
The symptoms include headaches, fatigue and lethargy, giddiness, and muscle cramps. The treatment is to immediately get out of the sun or heat and drink plenty of liquids. Commercial beverages containing electrolytes, such as Gatorade, are preferable. Don’t drink any alcohol. This will make your condition worse.
If you don’t feel better and show positive signs of recovery within a very short period of time, have someone help you to get to a hospital or medical center immediately as your condition can easily progress into a true medical emergency called heatstroke.
What has to be done immediately if you do if you get heat stroke?
If heat exhaustion is not successfully treated immediately, it can result in an extremely serious medical emergency. Heatstroke is characterized by a very high body temperature of 102 to 106 degrees Fahrenheit, or 39 to 41 degrees Centigrade. There is also cessation of sweating. The symptoms of heatstroke include flushed and red skin, a severe headache, confusion which can progress quickly into delirium and convulsions This can be fatal.
Note: Someone has to help you to get out of the sun or heat and rush you to a hospital immediately.
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