Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

My grandmother did not live to meet her grandchildren or even see her children grow up. As a young woman in her twenties, she experienced heatstroke and died while berry picking after the birth of her fourth child.

Heatstroke is not a stroke. A stroke is when a blood vessel to the brain (or in the brain) bursts or is blocked by a blood clot. Heatstroke happens when your core body temperature rises to over 40 degrees Celsius. Of the possible heat-related illnesses, heatstroke is the most serious. With heatstroke, a person cannot control their body’s temperature, and the sweating process, which usually helps cool one’s body, is no longer working. Symptoms of heatstroke include losing consciousness, hot, dry skin, seizures, vomiting, and confusion. Heatstroke is a medical emergency and requires treatment. A person with heatstroke must be cooled quickly by moving to a cool, shady area and wetting the skin and clothing with cool water or wet cloths, especially on the head, neck, groin, and armpits. People with heatstroke should not drink fluids.

In Canada, we have recently been experiencing unusually hot weather, with temperatures going up above 30 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country. These high temperatures have prompted government-issued heat warnings. The Canadian news is full of stories of heatwaves from Newfoundland and Labrador in the East to British Columbia in the West.

Not surprisingly, higher outdoor temperatures lead to a greater chance of heat-related health problems. To help prevent heatstroke and other heat illnesses in hot weather, wear light-weight light-coloured clothing, drink plenty of water, avoid demanding physical activity, and stay in shaded or cool areas or take frequent cooling breaks.

Heatstroke is a compound word made by joining the two words heat and stroke. Also called sunstroke, the term can be written as one word, heatstroke, two words, heat stroke, or hyphenated, heat-stroke. Heatwave can be written as one word, heatwave, or two words, heat wave. Heatwaves are extended periods of unusually hot weather compared to the usual temperatures in an area.

In hot weather I do my best to stay out of the heat. I drink fluids (barley tea anyone?) and garden in the shade, in the evenings, or early mornings when the heat is less fierce. Is the weather hot where you are? What do you do to stay safe and cool in the heat? Let's have a chat and you can tell me all about it.