Heat Stroke

A lecture and slide presentation on the effects of heat stroke will be sponsored by the city and Fairfax High School on Wednesday in Hall A at Plummer Park, 7377 Santa Monica Blvd. The presentation, which will start at 9:30 a.m., will show residents how to prepare themselves for summer heat by understanding and preventing heat strokes.

Exercising in hot weather used be considered somewhat dangerous for kids. Doctors believed that children's bodies couldn't handle heat stress as well as adults' bodies. According to recent research, however, that is simply not true. Kids and adults exercising or working in hot weather have the same skin and rectal temperatures and cardiovascular response. That is good news for a nation with high rates of childhood overweight and obesity. "Most healthy children and adolescents can safely participate in outdoor sports and other physical activities through a wide range of challenging warm to hot climactic conditions," wrote the authors of a new policy statement in the journal Pediatrics on Sunday.

A Redondo Beach woman whose body was found Wednesday in Angeles National Forest after a three-day search died of heat stroke, a Los Angeles County coroner's investigator said Thursday. Blayne Marie St. John, 19, was found at the bottom of a ravine less than a mile from her campsite. She was last seen in Texas Canyon on Sunday when she set out on foot to find help for herself and a friend after their motorcycles became stuck on a steep dirt road.

Jose Rosario Valencia started feeling nauseated just after 9 a.m. on July 17. His heart rate sped up and his knees buckled. Valencia was scared. He'd heard of other farmworkers dying of heat stroke in the fields. "I thought about my family and how they would suffer," said Valencia, 46, who moves irrigation pipes in the onion fields.

A North Orange County Municipal Court judge Wednesday dismissed probation violation charges against the mother of infant twins who died of heat stroke after she left them unattended in her car last month. Beverly J. Ernst, 25, was arrested in Garden Grove on July 20 on suspicion of manslaughter and willful cruelty to children resulting in death.

The tropics and the desert are great vacation destinations, but they can increase the risk of the body's "thermostat" going awry. Even a visit to the American South or humid Midwest, during the heat of the summer, can cause health problems for travelers who overexert themselves or don't heed the body's warning signs that exhaustion is imminent.

Signs of heat exhaustion include cool, moist, pale or flushed skin; heavy sweating; headache; nausea or vomiting; dizziness; exhaustion. Body temperature will be near normal. Signs of heat stroke include hot, red skin; changes in consciousness; rapid, weak pulse; rapid, shallow breathing. Body temperature can be as high as 105 degrees. If the person was sweating from heavy work or exercise, skin may be wet; otherwise, it will feel dry.

A infant died of heat stroke in Escondido Saturday afternoon after he spent two hours in a car seat, police said. The car, which was parked in the 200 block of W. 13th Avenue, had its windows rolled up, said police and Deanna Boggs, a spokeswoman at Palomar Medical Center. Victor Martinez, who had just had his first birthday, was pronounced dead at the hospital at 1:48 p.m., said Boggs. "Apparently each parent thought the other parent had the child," she said.

Exercising in hot weather used be considered somewhat dangerous for kids. Doctors believed that children's bodies couldn't handle heat stress as well as adults' bodies. According to recent research, however, that is simply not true. Kids and adults exercising or working in hot weather have the same skin and rectal temperatures and cardiovascular response. That is good news for a nation with high rates of childhood overweight and obesity. "Most healthy children and adolescents can safely participate in outdoor sports and other physical activities through a wide range of challenging warm to hot climactic conditions," wrote the authors of a new policy statement in the journal Pediatrics on Sunday.

City Atty. Michael Aguirre refused Monday to approve a $50,000 payment to a San Diego police officer whose police dog died of heat stroke after being left in a squad car. The payment, endorsed by the City Council, was to be Officer Paul Hubka's share of a settlement of a lawsuit filed by three police officers against the city alleging that they deserve extra pay for their duties as canine officers. "I cannot justify payment of $50,000 to a police officer for care of an animal that he allowed to die under his protection," Aguirre said in a statement.

Michael E. Flynn owns one of the hottest entertainment systems around. How hot is it? After two cable boxes failed from the heat his electronics gear emitted, the Newport Beach lawyer stationed a 3-foot-tall oscillating fan in front of his stereo cabinet to keep his gadgets from suffering heat stroke. "We blew it all day long and all night long for four years," said Flynn, who ultimately hired an audio-video specialist to craft a customized ventilation system.

Question: What are some tips for avoiding heat-related illnesses? Answer: Drink plenty of water but avoid caffeine and alcohol, which cause fluid loss. Drink fruit juice or sports drinks to replace salt and minerals lost through sweat. Take advantage of shade and air conditioning. Children, the elderly and pets should never be left in an enclosed vehicle, even briefly. The temperature can quickly rise to life-threatening levels even with the windows partly open.

An Antelope Valley woman whose foster sons died after she left them in a sweltering sport utility vehicle last summer pleaded no contest Thursday to two counts of involuntary manslaughter in a plea agreement that helped her avoid a possible life prison term. Leslie Sue Smoot had faced two murder counts and child-abuse charges for leaving the two young brothers in her Cadillac Escalade on July 8 as temperatures in the High Desert city of Lancaster reached 100 degrees.

It's so hot here windshields are shattering or falling out, dogs are burning their paws on the pavement, and candles are melting indoors. People who live in the Valley of the Sun don't usually sweat the summer heat. But this July is off the charts. With the average high for the first three weeks of July at 110 degrees, Phoenix is on track to have the hottest July since the National Weather Service started keeping records in 1896. The average July high is 104.

Afghan children living in squalor in northwestern Pakistan are dying daily, most of them from dehydration and heat stroke in temperatures pushing past 100 degrees, doctors said Thursday. Sixteen people died this week, most of them children, said Dr. Javed Pervez, director of health for the Afghan Refugees Commissionerate, a Pakistani government office.

City Atty. Michael Aguirre refused Monday to approve a $50,000 payment to a San Diego police officer whose police dog died of heat stroke after being left in a squad car. The payment, endorsed by the City Council, was to be Officer Paul Hubka's share of a settlement of a lawsuit filed by three police officers against the city alleging that they deserve extra pay for their duties as canine officers. "I cannot justify payment of $50,000 to a police officer for care of an animal that he allowed to die under his protection," Aguirre said in a statement.

With nature's most recent onslaught making many people cringe at each weather forecast, the annual summer battle to beat the heat has switched into high gear. A recent study at the University of Chicago Medical Center shows some of the reasons why that battle must be taken seriously. The researchers analyzed records of patients admitted to Chicago hospitals during the devastating 1995 heat wave that killed more than 600 people in nine days.

Many of us look forward to the heat of summer. Unfortunately, hot days increase the risk of heat-related illness, especially for people who are exerting themselves physically. Actively working muscles generate additional heat that, on very hot days, can raise your internal body temperature to dangerous levels. Normally, your body gets rid of the extra heat from muscular activity by dissipating it into the cooler surrounding air. When temperatures rise, however, it is harder for this to occur.

Compared to the rest of the nation, Orange County has experienced a mild summer so far. But when the next heat wave does strike, health officials said, they expect many residents to place themselves at risk by refusing to change their behavior. When the mercury climbs into the 90s and above, people run the risk of dehydration and even heat stroke if they don't drink more fluids, reduce outdoor activities, wear lighter clothing and seek air-conditioned places to spend their time.