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Heat Illnesses - General

Heat Illnesses: Basic Information

Athletes who exercise in hot or humid weather are prone to three different types of heat illnesses: heat cramps, heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

Modify or Cancel Games or Practices In High Heat or Humidity

Extremely hot or humid weather may require that sports practices or games be modified or even cancelled because of the risk of heat illness. In deciding whether to do so, you should keep in mind that hot, dry weather can be extremely dangerous. Because sweat evaporates very quickly in such conditions, your child won't feel sweaty, and neither you nor your child may recognize how much water he or she has lost. As the relative humidity increases, the effectiveness of sweating in cooling the body also decreases. When the relative humidity is high, sweat drips off the skin so that the cooling benefit of evaporation is lost even at cooler temperatures, resulting in a build-up of body heat.

Ten Ways to Prevent Heat Stroke in Student-Athletes

Among the steps for preventing heat stroke among student-athletes are acclimatizing athletes to the heat, limiting or cancelling practices in hot, humid weather, and recognizing the warning signs of heat illness.

NOAA Heat Index Measures Risk of Heat Illness

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has developed a heat index chart parents and coaches can use to determine when heat and humidity have reached the point where athletes are at serious risk of heat illnesses, such as heat cramps, heat exhaustion or even heat stroke.

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