What is the first aid treatment for heat exhaustion?

Heat exhaustion often requires immediate medical attention. Find out what to do for someone who develops heat exhaustion by watching this video, which features emergency medicine specialist Dr. Leigh Vinocur.

Transcript

00:00

Anyone that is unconscious or in the throes of heat stroke shouldn't be forced fluids. But if somebody can drink, they should drink a lot of fluids.

00:08

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00:21

Well, if you're starting to not feel well or you notice a friend or family member not feeling well in the heat, you need to get out of the heat if possible.

00:28

Get into the shade. Air conditioning is the best. But if you can't get into the air conditioning because you're in the elements or out someplace in the woods,

00:36

then wet down some towels and cool yourself with towels. Try and have friends or family members fan you

00:43

while you're kind of wet if it's not too humid outside. And the other thing is if you have those ice

00:50

packs for injuries, you can break those open and place those on the nape of your neck or under your arms and groin to try and cool yourself down quickly.

00:59

Anyone that is unconscious or in the throes of heat stroke shouldn't be forced fluids. But if somebody can drink, they should drink a lot of fluids.

01:08

And sometimes they need electrolytes. We don't use salt pills anymore, but fluids that have some electrolytes in it

01:15

sometimes are a little bit better, like Gatorade or something. [MUSIC PLAYING]