Health: How to keep heatstroke at bay

14 comments
By Triathlon Plus | Monday, Jul 5, 2010 5.00pm

For those who live or compete in hot countries, heatstroke is a constant danger. But you can even be struck down in more temperate climates like the UK during the hot summer months, so – whatever your standard – you need to be wary of its threat.

At its worst, heatstroke can be fatal, and even a mild form of it can leave you hospitalised. Symptoms include excessive sweating, nausea, light-headedness, muscle cramps and headaches, and, in more severe cases, confusion, disorientation and acute shortness of breath.

Avoiding it isn’t just about applying sunscreen. These simple steps will help keep you safe this summer.

Four ways to prevent heatstroke:

1 Allowing sweat to escape is key. Your clothing is crucial – wear cotton and sports materials, and avoid synthetic materials that trap heat and perspiration. Ensure helmets are well ventilated.

2 Drink plenty of water and isotonic sports drinks, which often contain sodium and electrolytes, to replace salt levels lost through sweat. Make sure you drink fluids both before and after riding.

3 Watch your diet. Avoid large, heavy meals in the run-up to your ride or race, and eat a series of carbohydrate-rich, easily digested smaller meals. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, as both cause dehydration.

4 Acclimatise and make sure you pace yourself. If you’re racing in a hot country, arrive as early as possible. Whether you're competing or on a riding holiday with friends, stay within your body’s limits – if you go off too hard you’ll hit ‘the wall’ quicker and harder.

For more information on the symptoms and avoidance of heatstroke, visit www.nhs.co.uk.

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User Comments

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Showing 1 - 14 of 14 comments

  • As a resident of a country with a hot climate where it regularly exceeds 42C and 90% humidity in summer, the advice regarding appropriate clothing is poor. Cotton does not work.

    Cotton absorbs and retains water, leaving you feeling much hotter and exposing you to serious chafing on long rides.

    The normal good quality polyester cycling kit does the job. Its sweat wicking properties keep you cool, preventing your perspiration system from needing to go into overdrive to compensate for the lack of evaporation from cotton. This has the bonus of reducing the risk of dehydration.

    Sunburn is perhaps less of a problem in the northern hemisphere, but for readers Down Under, good quality SPF40+ blockout lotion or opaque long-sleeve kit is a must. Don't forget your scalp - the follicularly challenged may need to don a cycling cap under the helmet.

  • Regarding point 3...

    The last article I read about drinking caffeine in tea/coffee was that they do not increase fluid loss from the body...

    ??

  • Wow.

    I have got to strongly disagree w some of this advice and agree w the two who posted before me.

    Cotton is to be avoided at all costs.

    It will act like a sponge, trapping and holding perspiration which will, in turn, block off any possible cooling.

    A cascading affect is created where you quickly overheat and sweat even more.

    Really bad choice of clothing.

    Synthetics will wick moisture quickly to the surface where it'll evaporate, creating a cooling affect.

    Caffeine, when used moderately before and during endurance activities, does not act as a diuretic.

    This is, yet another, counter intuitive thing about cycling.

  • " How to keep heatstroke at bay" .......Live in the North West of England?

    permagrey here

  • "Sunburn is perhaps less of a problem in the northern hemisphere" if your rides only last half an hour?

    I believe the sun is roughly 93 million miles away from the earth...think it will pretty much bake you regardless of where you are on the planet!

    Luckily, in the UK we don't see many people wandering around looking like red lobsters after the first day of summer...

  • Can this get any worse?

    Does this guy know anything about recent research into caffeine?

    Its not going to dehydrate you!! Rubbish.

    Heatstroke.. the clue is in the word heatSTROKE. What is a stroke? I dont need a medical degree to figure that one out. If you have this, you pretty near dead.

    First there comes heat cramps, then heat exhaustion.. each with their own symptoms.

    When you get heatstroke you are near death. You go into shock. you stop sweating.

    This is a medical emergency, not a bit of dehydration.

    Get it right.

    (cotton??? just shows the level of incompetence)

  • To clarify the above, caffeine does NOT cause dehydration. This has now been proven as we should all know.

  • Wear cotton WTF? Personally I wear keep cool under armor on hot days helps me :)

  • Caffeine does cause dehydration but when taken as coffee the amount of water used to make the coffee hydrates you more than the caffeine hydrates you .

  • Cotton is an acceptable outdoor fabric in one locale: the desert, where it was invented. It will help you keep cool in an arid place. But it won't work well in the desert if it's monsoon season with increased humidity. Most places, as the mountaineers say, cotton kills.

    Most research on caffeine has concluded that it's pretty good for you. Much has been made of the fact that it's a diuretic; water is a diuretic, too.

    A common danger in the heat is drinking too much water, which can make you feel terrible or even hospitalize you just as effectively as dehydration. I over-hydrated a bit on GRAABAWR one year, and it wasn't fun. Wind or humidity can make big differences in how much water is appropriate.

  • I prefer the advice of peeing relatively clear the night before/morning of and then very frequent but small gulps of water consistently during the day to the tune of 1-2L of water per hour. That's a lot of gulps.

    It's tough to overhydrate but huge binges at infrequent intervals is sub-optimal.

    Also, overusing sugared products during exercise is a bad idea, excessive carb loading actually reduces your ability to absorb water and quickens dehydration.

    Eating thus needs to be done frequently but very moderated yoo - you need to balance hydration AND nutrition needs to fight off heat prostration and glycogen depletion. Either will lay you out flat on your ass.

  • cotton? bad choice

  • Any comments on cooling your self with chilled drinks during hot centuries?Works for me if they are available.I use a Craft hot weather base layer under a light weight zipped up jersey,all synthetic,wicking fabrics,Stops in air conditioned places to rest and rehydrate also helped 4 0f us survive a 9o mile ride when the heat index was >100 deg F group ride 4 weeks ago.

  • I'm never quite sure what to think the subject of cotton versus 'wicking materials' When I'm riding on a hot day in a t shirt and I sweat, the shirt gets wet the wetness is cold against my skin and I can feel quite cool as the shirt dries. Colder than in a wicking shirt. To me in that case it seems the cotton is cooling me more.

    I read somewhere that coffee is a stimulant and so quite thermogenic. So this may be a good reason not to drink it when trying to stay cool.

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