Glowing summer in Bavaria: heat stroke, sunstroke and co - experts clarify and give tips

Created: 07/13/2022, 09:08

By: Andreas Beez

Cooling down and drinking a lot are important: High temperatures are not to be trifled with.

© Wolfgang Kumm/dpa

The forthcoming extreme summer temperatures in Bavaria are not to be trifled with.

But how do you recognize heat stroke?

And what to do if you get sunstroke?

Experts clarify.

Munich – The most violent heat wave of the summer so far is rolling in Bavaria, meteorologists predict temperatures above 35 degrees for the coming week.

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) even fears fatalities due to the heat.

His concern is no coincidence: high summer temperatures cost the lives of thousands of people between 2018 and 2020, according to a study recently published in the “Deutsches Ärzteblatt”.

Heat wave rolling towards Bavaria: Doctors warn - increased risk of stroke possible

For the first time since 1992, there was excess mortality due to heat in three consecutive years.

Scientists from the Robert Koch Institute, the Federal Environment Agency and the German Weather Service (DWD) were involved in the study.

This June, too, the heat wave caused the number of deaths in Germany to rise, as the Federal Statistical Office announced yesterday.

In order to protect the population from the consequences of heat waves, the DWD has developed a heat warning system and integrated it into its routine forecast (www.dwd.de).

Doctors point out that extreme temperatures can increase the risk of a stroke, heart attack or venous thrombosis.

The background: The body loses fluid through sweating and the blood becomes more viscous.

"This leads to a reduced blood flow speed up to blood congestion in the veins," explains medical meteorologist Prof. Andreas Matzarakis from the German Heart Foundation.

There is also a whole range of heat-related problems - from blood pressure problems and cardiac arrhythmia to fatigue, difficulty concentrating and muscle cramps.

Weather in Bavaria: Anyone who has high blood pressure suffers particularly from extreme heat

Especially for older and chronically ill people, the danger increases with the thermometer.

Prof. Heribert Schunkert from the German Heart Center Munich warns that extreme heat can put a strain on the weakened body in the case of cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure, narrowing of the coronary arteries, cardiac arrhythmia or cardiac insufficiency.

"Anyone who has high blood pressure, for example, suffers particularly from extreme heat because it puts the body under such stress that blood pressure can rise further."

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Conversely, the blood pressure can also drop sharply due to the heat and the dilating vessels.

Then threaten: fainting, dizziness or cardiac arrhythmias.

"Sometimes the blood pressure drops so much that the dose of the blood pressure medication has to be adjusted after consultation with the doctor," says Schunkert, who is a member of the Heart Foundation's board of directors.

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Not only heart patients should be on the lookout for extreme temperatures.

If you stay too long unprotected in the blazing sun, you are threatened with heat stroke as the most severe form of heat illness - and in the worst case it can even be life-threatening.

"It can become critical, for example, if the patient has a red head and feels completely overheated - a body temperature of over 41 degrees Celsius can be reached here," explains Munich cardiologist Prof. Volker Klauss.

A warning sign is when the person concerned no longer sweats at all.

"Further warning signs are rapid, shallow breathing and a staggering gait to the point of unconsciousness." First responders should cool heatstroke patients with wet towels until the emergency doctor arrives.

Heat wave in Bavaria: Sunstroke – “Stay in the shade for the next few days and drink a lot”

Sunstroke is usually less dramatic.

The meninges are irritated because the head has been exposed to the sun for too long without protection.

“The symptoms often appear with a delay, for example in the evening after a long day in the sun.

Those affected often suffer from headaches, nausea and dizziness.

They can't sleep properly and sometimes feel overstimulated," says Klauss.

Greater danger is not usually in default.

After sunstroke, the following applies: “Stay in the shade for the next few days and drink a lot.

However, you should see a doctor if you experience severe circulatory problems or clouded consciousness,” advises Klauss.

However, the sun can also pose a long-term danger: "With every sunburn, the risk of skin cancer increases," warns the Munich dermatologist Dr.

Christopher Liebich.

"This danger should not be underestimated, because black skin cancer in particular is considered to be extremely aggressive and quickly forms metastases in other organs."

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