Extreme heat sends Shah Rukh Khan to hospital: Why you shouldn't take heat stroke lightly

Bollywood king Shah Rukh Khan was admitted to a hospital in Ahmedabad after suffering a heat stroke on Tuesday.

The actor was in Ahmedabad to witness his Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) play Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL), where KKR won the game, securing a spot in the IPL final on Sunday.

“The actor was suffering from dehydration amid a high temperature of 45 degrees Celsius in Ahmedabad. He is under medical observation, although his health is stable. Security has been tightened around the hospital,” news agency IANS reported, quoting sources.

According to the Economic Times, SRK has been discharged from multi-speciality K D Hospital on Thursday.

Here is how heat affects our body and how to prevent heat strokes during extreme temperatures in India.

Heat stroke

Heat stroke is a medical emergency, as it is the most severe type of heat injury.

It occurs when the external temperature rises to such a level that the body cannot produce enough sweat to control the core temperature, which can reach 40 degrees Celsius, as per Indian Express.

Salts like sodium and potassium are severely out of balance in the body in these situations. This results in a variety of symptoms brought on by the disruption of organs.

Hyperthermia and heat illness are other terms for heat stroke.

It frequently develops from less severe heat-related conditions such as heat exhaustion, heat syncope (fainting), and cramping.

There are two main types of heat stroke. According to Harvard Medical School, when someone is physically active in a hot environment, they may suffer from exertional heat stroke. The second is non-exertional heat stroke, which affects individuals with weak body temperature regulation, including the elderly, young children, and those with chronic conditions.

Because they heat up more slowly than other people, infants, kids up to age four, and adults over 65 are especially vulnerable. People who drink less fluids are also at risk.

However, it may still happen even if you have never experienced a heat injury before.

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It can be quite serious

Heat stroke has the potential to kill or harm internal organs, including the brain.

“It can affect the brain, making a person foggy, drowsy, and in severe cases may also lead to a person going into a coma. It can lead to kidney and liver damage as well. A cascade of such symptoms leads to death due to heat stroke,” Dr Suranjit Chatterjee, senior consultant of internal medicine at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi, told Indian Express.

According to Craig Crandall, an internal medicine professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre, higher body temperatures cause your cells to become unstable and disorganised, affecting the central nervous system, the brain, and eventually the organs.

In terms of the brain, Crandall told CNN, “It starts to shut down” as it begins to swell.

Because of this, “the organs stop receiving the appropriate information from the brain.”

A snacks vendor rests in front of his stall as he waits for customers outside Alipore Zoological Garden on a hot summer day in Kolkata, India. Reuters

Additionally, inflammation might start to interfere with nerve and brain function as extreme temperatures cause the body to create cytotoxins, which are harmful to organ function, according to Crandall.

“One of the things that happens is your intestines, your gut, the permeability increases because of these cytokines released,” Crandall told CNN, adding. “Some of the substances that are normally kept within the gut get suddenly released.”

This happens because of the blood vessels’ enormous dilatation and decreased pressure.

“A septic shock would be an analogous scenario. That can be a big problem,” Crandall said.

“When it gets too hot, the blood can clot or start to and that obviously will affect the circulation and transportation of oxygen and nutrients,” said Crandall. The body and all of its organs, including the brain, depend on oxygen and nutrition as nourishment.

“So the person would pass out and likely be in a coma and can convulse and if it continues, it will lead to organ failure and ultimately death, which happened, tragically, in some of these individuals who were in that trailer,” said Crandall. “It’s just a bad scenario all around.”

Symptoms

Heat stroke can come on suddenly, but warning symptoms often appear first.

Fainting may be the first sign.

Other common symptoms include throbbing headaches, dizziness and lightheadedness; lack of sweating despite the heat, red, hot and dry skin, muscle weakness or cramps, nausea and vomiting, rapid heartbeat, which may be either strong or weak, rapid and shallow breathing, behavioural changes such as confusion, disorientation, or staggering, seizures, and unconsciousness, as per WebMD.

To bring down the core temperature of the body fast, pour cold water over the person, and offer cold drinks and electrolytes to balance salt levels.

Dr Chatterjee told Indian Express that a person should be taken to a hospital immediately if they are exhibiting these symptoms:

• Despite having an extremely high body temperature, they are not sweating at all.

• They are not urinating, they are vomiting, and they feel drowsy.

• Their breathing is irregular.

The elderly, the young, and those with comorbidities should receive special attention because they are more vulnerable to the negative effects of heat.

“However, this does not mean that young people cannot get heat stroke, it can happen at any age,” said Dr Chatterjee.

The body’s cooling system

A temperature of 37 degrees Celsius is ideal for our bodies to function, according to The Conversation.

Brian Drummond, assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of Arizona, wrote in The Conversation that the body uses homestatic mechanisms, such as shivering and sweating to generate or dissipate heat.

To cool down, human bodies use conduction, convection, evaporation, and radiation.

Conduction involves direct physical contact with cooler objects, for instance, touching ice water.

Convection accounts for around 10 per cent of heat loss. It involves heat transferring to air or water around the body, for example, using a fan or having a cold shower.

About 35 per cent of heat loss comes from evaporation.

According to Drummond, about 65 per cent of heat loss is through radiation, which transfers heat away from our bodies in the form of electromagnetic waves.

“Unfortunately, once ambient temperatures are greater than 35 degrees Celsius, radiation becomes ineffective,” he says.

There are numerous variables that can affect each of these several heat regulators, including clothing, hydration, humidity, and acclimatisation.

Prevention

• It is advisable to avoid going outside during the hours of midday to 3 pm.

• Avoid vigorous activities during this time.

• Even if you don’t feel thirsty, make sure you continue drinking water if you have to go outside.

• Other hydrating liquids that help maintain electrolyte levels, such as lassi, buttermilk, lemon water, or ORS, should be consumed.

• Avoid consuming tea, coffee, alcohol, and carbonated soft drinks, as they might cause severe dehydration.

• Put on shoes, an umbrella, goggles, and loose-fitting cotton clothes in light colours.

• Apply sunscreen with at least a 30 sun protection factor (SPF).

• Take cold showers and use a damp cloth to keep body temperature low.

With inputs from agencies