Quickly cool off heat stroke patients
Heat stroke is a life-threatening emergency: If the patient is at risk for seizures, cardiac arrhythmia and death could occur if they are not cooled quickly, stresses Renee Holleran, RN, PhD, chief flight nurse and clinical nurse specialist at Cincinnati Medical Center.
A quick and simple method for cooling patients involves removing all of the patient's clothes, covering them with wet sheets, and directing a large fan to blow over the patient's body, she suggests.
Heat will dissipate by evaporation and convection from the patient's body. Monitor the patients closely so their body temperature does not drop too quickly, which might cause further complications.
This method is one of the fastest, safest, and least expensive to cool heat stroke patients, says Holleran. "Sometimes people use ice or ice baths, which could potentially cause injury to the skin and cool the patient too fast," she warns.
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