d. Excessive Use of Alcohol. Excessive use of alcohol can contribute to
heatstroke.
e. Age. Older adults are more likely to have heatstroke than younger adults.
f. General Health. A person is more likely to have a heatstroke if he is
suffering from dehydration, cardiovascular problems, lack of sleep, or poor general
health.
Section VIII. PREVENTION OF HEAT INJURIES
4-27. INTRODUCTION
a. In order for military personnel to perform their mission, there must be
knowledge about how to prevent heat injuries. Successful prevention of heat injuries or
disorders is the responsibility of both personnel who might be exposed to heat and
those persons charged with the supervision of such personnel. The key to successful
prevention of heat injuries includes the following: development of procedures to alert
individuals to the existence of dangerous heat stress levels; the application of any
practicable measures to reduce both the severity and the duration of the exposure; and
the adoption of techniques to increase the resistance of exposed persons. (NOTE:
Heat stress-- exposure to high environmental temperature--produces stress on the
body.)
b. The severity of the effects of a given environmental heat load is decreased by
reducing the work load, increasing the frequency and/or duration of rest or relief
periods, and by introducing any measure which will protect a person from a hot
environment. A person's resistance to heat can be increased by allowing the individual
to gradually get used to the hot environment (become acclimatized), or by letting the
person's work load be light at first and gradually increasing the work load each day.
Resistance to a very hot climate can be increased also by making sure soldiers
replenish water and salt they have lost. A final way to build up resistance to heat is to
make sure soldiers working in heat are in the best physical condition possible.
4-28. PREVENTIVE MEASURES
a. Water.
(1) The human body is highly dependent on water to cool itself in a hot
environment. An individual subjected to high heat stress may, by sweating, lose water
in excess of one quart per hour. These losses must be replaced or rapid rise in body
temperature and heart rate, decrease in the ability and motivation to work, and
deterioration in morale will occur, followed eventually by heat exhaustion.
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