Heat Stroke Case Study

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HEAT RELATED ILLNESS Introduction India is a tropical country with a variety of climatic conditions; the northwest part of the country experiences extreme dry heat conditions where as in the northeast parts high humidity levels with heat prevails. In the Western and Central parts of the country the temperature touches about 50°C and beyond with a relative humidity of about 30% [1]. Physiologically the human body maintains a constant core temperature of 360C to 380C. When this thermoregulatory mechanism fails, the human body then is fraught with heat related illnesses(HRI). Furthermore India also has an arid zone occupying nearly 12 percent of the total area sustaining a human population of over 19 million and live stock of over 23 million, comprising of…show more content…
Fig 1 : Mortality data on heat stroke cases ,2001-2015 Fig 2 : Mortality data on natural calamities, 2001-2012 Epidemiological determinants The HRI occurs when there is a complex interaction among the components of the epidemiological triad, i.e., the agent (the heat) , the susceptible host (man) and the environment in which he lives and works. (a) The agent : The high ambient temperature, high humidity, and lack of air movement are ideal environmental conditions for occurrence of HRI. A combination of these atmospheric conditions, which play upon the climatic conditions leads to the causation of various HRI (b) The host : The following factors increase the susceptibility to HRI: (i) Extremes of age(0-5yrs and >65yrs) (ii) Pregnancy (iii) Occupational: Armed forces personnel, all outdoor workers, Industrial workers, miners and sportsmen. (iv) Obese persons - take a very long time to acclimatize to hot environment. (v) Unacclamatised and persons with poor physical fitness (vi) Sleep

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