For you guys working in the desert areas....
Don't forget Hyponatremia. It is much more rare than most of the others, but for the guys who frequent this board it is a possibility. Severe cases can lead to seizure and usually mimick the s/s of overheating. Remind your guys to drink water with electrolytes(not just plain H20) when replenishing mass quantities of fluid after hard work.
As to differentiating the cause, obviously the history either from the patient and/or the people standing around him before the incident are extremely important. That is why I posted the low Na+ cause... without asking the right questions one might become focused on heat stroke only without addressing the other possible causes.
Any others common ones?
|