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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffHeatstroke treatment centers on cooling your body to a normal temperature quickly to prevent or reduce damage to your brain and vital organs. To do this, your doctor may:
- Immerse you in cold water. Your doctor may immerse your body in a bath of cold water or ice water to quickly lower your temperature. However, this method of cooling restricts access to your body if additional medical evaluation or treatment needs to be done, such as inserting an intravenous (IV) line or performing chest compressions.
- Use evaporation cooling techniques. Some doctors prefer to use evaporation instead of immersion to lower your body temperature. In this technique, your doctor mists cool water on your skin and fans warm air over your body to evaporate the water on your skin.
- Pack you with ice and cooling blankets. Another method is to wrap you in a special cooling blanket and pack your groin, neck, back and armpits with ice packs to lower your temperature.
- Stop your shivering. If any treatments to lower your body temperature make you shiver, your doctor may give you a muscle relaxant, such as a benzodiazepine. Shivering increases your body temperature, making treatment less effective.
References
- Extreme heat: A prevention guide to promote your personal health and safety. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat/heat_guide.asp. Accessed July 7, 2009.
- Heatstroke. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/print/sec21/ch318/ch318d.html. Accessed July 7, 2009.
- Zimmerman JL, et al. Hyperthermia. In: Hall JB, et al. Principles of Critical Care. 3rd ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Professional; 2005. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2282701. Accessed July 7, 2009.
- Bouchama A, et al. Heat stroke. New England Journal of Medicine. 2002; 346:1978.
- Hyperthermia: Too hot for your health. National Institute on Aging. http://www.nia.nih.gov/HealthInformation/Publications/hyperthermia.htm. Accessed July 7, 2009.
