Sunstroke
Written By: Wahida Sabir
Some people may suffer from various diseases in hot weather. One of these diseases is sunstroke. Children are more prone to this disease due to low body resistance. Sunstroke occurs when the body temperature is above 40 degrees Celsius and the body cannot tolerate extreme heat and suffers from heatstroke.
AEPO’s writer/producer has talked to some people and a physician about this disease.
Mustafa, a resident of Laghman province says, “I was returning home from the market with my brother. I felt thirsty and asked my brother to bring me drinking water but he could not find it and I lost my consciousness.”
A woman from the Guldara district of Kabul province says: “One day my eighth-grade child came from school, he was dizzy and had a fever. At first, I thought he was suffering from typhoid, but later I realized that he was suffering from sunstroke.”
Doctor Muhammad Yaqub Sharafat, child specialist at Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital in Kabul city says about the signs and symptoms of sunstroke, “Severe thirst, lethargy, muscle aches, headaches, fatigue, paleness, vomiting, unconsciousness are the signs and symptoms of sunstroke. In this case, the body sweats a lot and the blood volume decreases. Blood pressure drops, and if dehydration persists, it can cause kidney and heart problems and even death.”
What do some people think about the causes of sunstroke?
Mustafa says, “I am not used to taking water with me when I go somewhere. My thirst increases in such cases and now I feel pain in my kidneys.”
A mother from Kapisa province says, “One day my daughter came home from school and she had left her school bag on the way because she was thirstier. She was suffering from heatstroke.”
Doctor Sharafat says, “taking fewer liquids; working in hot weather and under the sun; playing and doing any other work in hot weather; not eating vegetables and fruits such as watermelon, peach and wearing tight clothes can cause sunstroke.”
How do some people treat sunstroke?
Abdullah, a resident of Shakardara district of Kabul province says, “One day I felt very thirsty and was about to faint. A friend of mine brought me a bottle of fruit juice and I regained my health.”
Safia, in charge of Health Center, Bibi Sara Kindergarten says, “If the children get sunstroke, we take them to the health room, pour water on them; wet their clothes; give them drinking water and advise mothers to give their children bottles of water so they might not get sunstroke along the way.”
The doctor says, “The child who gets sunstroke should be moved to a cool, shady place; soak his hands and feet with water. If he/she was wearing a lot of clothes, should take off his/her extra clothes; pour water on him/her and give him/her a little drinking water; carbonated drinks should not be given. The crowd should be educed around him/her. If the patient does not regain his/her consciousness, he/she should be taken to hospital as soon as possible.”