Health Effects of Extreme Heat, and Their Remedies

Four environmental factors work together to make it hot enough to put health at risk.

high air temperature
high air moisture content (often expressed as relative humidity)
radiant (sun) load
lack of air movement (wind - which usually moderates the negative effects of the other factors)

Even at rest your body generates heat. In the summer time it is important to constantly release this heat from your body. For your body to function properly, its inner (core) temperature should be close to 37°C. This normally varies by a few degrees over the course of the day and during physical activity. As your work load and body heat increases, so does the need to lose that heat. A core temperature of 40 or 41°C is considered life-threatening if you don't have a fever. If you are sick with an infection you may have a fever, this is not necessarily life threatening as it is the body's way of fighting off the infection.

Because heat-related deaths are preventable, people need to be aware of who is at greatest risk and what actions can be taken to prevent a heat-related illness or death. The elderly, the very young, and people with mental illness and chronic diseases are at highest risk. However, even young and healthy individuals can succumb to heat if they participate in strenuous physical activities during hot weather. Air-conditioning is the number one protective factor against heat-related illness and death. If a home is not air-conditioned, people can reduce their risk for heat-related illness by spending time in public facilities that are air-conditioned.

Summertime activity, whether on the playing field or the construction site, must be balanced with measures that aid the body's cooling mechanisms and prevent heat-related illness. This pamphlet tells how you can prevent, recognize, and cope with heat-related health problems.

Your best defense against heat-related illness is prevention. Staying cool and making simple changes in your fluid intake, activities and clothing during hot weather can help you remain safe and healthy.

Benefits Of Sweating In A Sauna

There is a valid reason why human beings have used sweat baths for hygienic and health purposes since the Stone Age. It's because sweating has proven its effectiveness in flushing out toxins and disease and maintaining optimal physical as well as mental health.

Many health experts consider sweating to be the best health benefits of a sauna. There is a lot more to sweating than meets the eye (or nose). It is a very complex and active process. Upon close scrutiny it is clear that sweating is essential to life and deserves to be at the top of the list of benefits of a sauna.

As we mentioned earlier, the skin is a major eliminative organ. Our modern lifestyle makes most people's skin inactive. Many of us don't sweat, especially during the winter months. Modern synthetic fibres or tight clothing that doesn't allow the skin to breathe, can damage our skin and our natural ability for elimination, as does excessive prolonged sun exposure. A sedentary lifestyle also inactivates the skin.

Our skin is exposed to hundreds of chemicals during the course of our life, and is affected by them. From innocent bath products such as shampoos, shower gels, lotions and soaps to deodorants. Household cleaning solvents, detergent residues on clothes and chemicals from the bath or shower water also affect the skin.

According to Dr. Lawrence Wilson, author of "Sauna Therapy for Detoxification and Healing," heating your body several degrees dramatically increases circulation and opens skin pores as the body begins to sweat heavily. This helps remove toxins from hard-to-reach places like bone, sinuses and teeth. Dr. Wilson also says that cells damaged by toxic metals and chemicals are weaker than normal cells, and their death can be accelerated by heating them up. This assists your body in removing any metals or chemicals that were trapped inside those damaged cells.