Do you know the meaning of the word "hyperthermia"? What kind of ailment is this? Let's try to figure it out together.
In a healthy state, the human body has a temperature not exceeding 36.6 º on the thermometer. If the indicators are higher than 37.5 º, then this condition is called hyperthermia. What does that mean? Literally from the Greek language the term is translated as "excessive heat (overheating)."
What is hyperthermia syndrome?
This phenomenon is a pathological condition, which is characterized by a sharp increase in the temperature of the human body. In this case, the overheating level can reach 40 ° C or more. The syndrome comes due to the disturbed process of thermoregulation. Often, pathology is observed in early childhood and due to damage to the body by diseases of an infectious nature (sepsis, pneumonia, influenza and others). Also, the cause of the syndrome can be a toxic-allergic process, hypervitaminosis, dehydration, respiratory shock, birth injury.
In adulthood, a pathology in a person develops against the background of diseases of the brain of the head and as a complication after the introduction of anesthesia. The syndrome is based on an imbalance between the return and generation of heat in the body.
The main causes of pathology
In addition to the main question of what is hyperthermia - what is it, the following arises: "What factors lead to its occurrence?" The main ones are:
1. Inflammatory processes in the airways (pneumonia, bronchitis and others).
2. Acute food poisoning.
3. Infections of the respiratory tract of a viral nature (influenza and the like).
4. Inflammatory pathology of ENT organs (tonsillitis, otitis media and others).
5. Diseases of an acute inflammatory nature in the abdominal cavity and the space behind it (pyelonephritis, cholecystitis, appendicitis and others).
6. Injuries to the brain.
7. Purulent ailments of the soft tissues of the body (phlegmon, abscesses).
8. Strokes.
Symptomatology
It is not enough to get the answer to the question: "Hyperthermia - what is it?" It is also necessary to understand in what form the pathology manifests itself, so as not to take it for another disease. Symptoms of hyperthermia include:
- sweating;
- rapid breathing;
- drowsiness, weakness, occasionally overexcitation;
- tachycardia (accelerated heartbeat).
In children,
loss of consciousness and convulsions may occur. In especially complex cases of hyperthermia, these symptoms are also observed in adults.
What needs to be done?
First aid for hyperthermia consists primarily in isolating the patient from the zone in which he received overheating (for example, in case of fire, explosion). Next, wipe the victim with cold water and apply ice packs to the armpits and groin area. In this case, it is necessary to provide the patient with a plentiful drink.
Prolonged exposure to direct sunlight on bare skin of the body can lead to plethora of the vessels of the brain of the head. In this case, the person loses consciousness. A signal of such a process is nausea, vomiting, dizziness, excruciating thirst, darkening in the eyes.
If the alleged diagnosis of "hyperthermia", that this is precisely this pathology, the doctor can confirm. At the first symptoms of overheating of the human body, it is recommended to call an ambulance. If hyperthermia occurs against a background of another pathology, this can be doubly dangerous.