Doctors talked about the causes of a hangover in the heat
Prolonged exposure to the sun can cause a hangover-like condition that is associated with overheating and dehydration. All the details are in the Izvestia article.
Why does a heat hangover occur?
Alexey Selivanov, a general practitioner and an expert on the Presidential Platform "Russia is a Land of Opportunity," said that doctors associate the condition, popularly called a heat hangover, with overheating due to dehydration. When the body tries to cool down, blood vessels dilate and intense sweating begins, along with which critical electrolytes such as sodium, potassium and magnesium leave. As a result, the volume of circulating blood decreases, blood pressure drops, and the brain receives less oxygen.
Maxim Yenikeev, Candidate of Medical Sciences, physiotherapist at Olympus Clinic MARS, added that when cells overheat, they start to idle, and energy goes into heat instead of ATP synthesis. This increases oxidative stress and can lead to systemic inflammation. The loss of even 2% of water makes the blood thicker, which provokes headaches, drowsiness and irritability due to the activation of stress hormones.
Symptoms of heat exhaustion and stroke
Selivanov identifies several stages of overheating. With a mild degree, a person feels thirst, fatigue and throbbing in the temples. Heat exhaustion is characterized by nausea, dizziness, and sticky cold sweat. In this case, you need to rest in the cool and replenish the salt balance. Water alone may not be enough, so doctors recommend drinking mineral water.
"If the skin stops sweating, becomes hot and dry, and the mind gets confused (the temperature is below 40 degrees), this is heat stroke. There are no home remedies, just an ambulance, every minute is precious," Selivanov warned.
The elderly, children, as well as patients with hypertension, diabetes, and those who take diuretics are at particular risk. Alcohol is especially dangerous in the heat, which accelerates dehydration. It takes from one to two weeks for the body to fully acclimatize, so with the sudden onset of heat, thermoregulation does not have time to adapt.
Recommendations for recovery
Enikeev explained that in the recovery phase after severe overheating, the body requires carbohydrates, protein and proper sleep to repair damaged cells. Muscles in the heat actively waste glycogen reserves on thermoregulation, so the feeling of exhaustion after exposure to the sun is comparable to the state after heavy physical exertion.
"Mitochondria are idling: ATP synthesis is falling, energy is being converted into heat. Proteins partially denature, cells trigger heat shock proteins (HSP) — this is resource—intensive," said Enikeev.
To avoid dangerous conditions, doctors recommend reducing the time spent in the sun and drinking cool, but not icy mineral water. A full-fledged cellular restructuring of mitochondria can take up to a month, but the accumulated adaptation quickly disappears if a person returns to cool conditions for only five to seven days.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
