I am writing in here out of concern for my
father.
He is 46 years old and has worked as a
truck driver his whole life.
He has always hated the heat but recently
in Australia over the last 5 to 7 years
its just getting hotter and hotter due to
climate change and the drought.
In summer, on a hot day, my dads body
while hes at work will literally begin to
shut down on him due to the heat.
He sweats all the time, even in winter and
he sweats a lot.
He drinks heaps and heaps and heaps of
water and he wears the loosest clothing he
can.
He has been to the doctors about this
before in recent years but it didn't go
anywhere, they put him on salt tablets but
it didn't change anything.
He has a truck with air conditioning at
the moment, but last week he said he was
so hot he had to get out of the truck
drench himself in water and then get back
in before he could start cooling down.
He finds it hard to breath, his lips and
arms go numb and he either chooses to sit
down before he falls down.
He hates it and it scares him because he
feels he shouldn't be so useless at 46
years old.
To me it sounds a lot like heat stroke but
its more severe, and he can just go from
having a hot day, to doing minor work in
the sun for 10-15 min and then its too
late, all symptoms could be in full swing
depending on heat and weather... and he
drinks water, he really drinks water...
We just don't really know what to do
anymore, he can't just really stop
working, and hes fine most the year aside
from summer. But were getting worried it
could kill him one day.
Any comments/suggestions/theories
welcome.
|
DoctorAnswer
Doctor Answer
Joined: 19 Dec 2005 Posts: 16777211
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Mens Conditions Answer A3737 Posted: 02-26-08 02:46am
According to your description, it seems
that your father can’t stand the hot
weather, which is pretty normal. Most
people can’t tolerate hot weather for
long periods of time. Hot weather
increases body temperature. The
thermo-regulatory mechanisms of the body
atempt to keep the body’s temperature
within the normal range of 36-37 oC, the
most important mechanism for body cooling
being sweating. When you sweat, water is
excreted by the sweat glands in the skin
and then evaporates. It is this water
evaporation that, in fact, cools the body.
Without evaporation sweating wouldn't be
efficient. For example, sweating to cool
the body is useless when the body is
placed in a warm, closed space without
ventilation and great moisture in the air.
In addition to evaporation, intake of
water and electrolytes (salts) is also a
very important when you sweat because the
body’s water and salts are expelled
through the pores. If water and salts are
not supplemented, the body will dehydrate
and body temperature will again increase,
also known as hyperthermia. Dehydration
combined with hyperthermia is called "heat
stroke" and could be a life threatening
condition if not diagnosed and treated on
time.
Your father may report that he was hot and
exhausted but was his body’s temperature
really increased? Did he perform specific
biochemical reports to identify increased
hematocrit, decreased sodium etc... or did
he only feel hot? It is one thing is to
feel a sensation and another thing is to
confirm those symptoms with a relevant
physical and biochemical examination. The
rest of your father's symptoms (“hard to
breathe, his lips and arms go numb”) are
not typical symptoms present during
hyperthermia and dehydration.
Furthermore, depression can manifest with
exhaustion and uncomfortable feelings.
Your father should request several
physical and biochemical examinations such
as measuring body temperature, blood
pressure, electrolyte status, blood count,
sedimentation, haemoglobin, hematocrit,
blood glucose, hormonal status especially
thyroid, etc.
You can consult an internal medicine
specialist about his condition and request
these diagnostics.
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