LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — With the rising temperatures, it's important to stay safe outside and recognize the symptoms of heat-related illness. LEX 18's Alex Valverde spoke with Dr. Roger Humphries about the signs to look out for.
It's essential to know how these rising temperatures are affecting your body. Heat exhaustion symptoms include fatigue, headaches, and nausea.
"Heat-related illness can progress from heat exhaustion to heat stroke. Heat stroke is life-threatening. Patients actually stop sweating at some point with heat stroke, and they have mental status changes," said Humphires, with the University of Kentucky Hospital.
He said that heat-related illness could land a person in the emergency room, and it's something he sees several times during the summer.
"We're going to be resuscitating them with IV fluids. We're going to get their temperature down as fast as possible. We're going to look for some of the complications. You can actually have a lot of organ damage with the brain, the liver, the blood system. It can be very very, dangerous," he said.
In the end, Dr. Humphries says that people react to heat differently, so listen to your body and take action when needed.
