In the past weekend and Sunday, the weather was scorching hot and there were many suspected heatstroke accidents during hiking. Government flying services were frequently dispatched to rescue people.
In Anaconda Point, Phoenix Mountain and Jigong Ridge, unfortunate hikers lost their lives on the mountain.
Zhong Haoran, a specialist in emergency department, recalled his 15-year career as a flight doctor, saying that the tip of the anaconda is a black spot for heat stroke, and he must have been there if he worked hard in the flight service team.
He lamented that the previous experience on duty in the summer was very hard. Before he flew to the scene, he was soaked all over, and he would feel dizzy and his heartbeat would be racing even when he was saving people in the wild.
A few years ago, I interviewed Zhong Haoran at the headquarters of the flight service team. Although the temperature that day was only in the 20s, it was not too hot, but he was sweating profusely after returning from the mission.
(Photo by Zhang Haowei/File photo)
Zhong Haoran has served in the flight service for 15 years as a flight doctor, and handles many heat-related field first aids every summer, such as heat fainting, heat cramps and heat exhaustion.
He said: "Every summer, there are a lot of them. When the temperature on duty is 35 or 36 degrees, you can expect to be very busy, especially on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. You know there must be a lot of cases."
Zhong Haoran needs to wear a thick uniform when he goes out on a mission.
(Photo by Zhang Haowei/File photo)
Wearing a thick uniform and holding a heavy first-aid kit, Zhong Haoran said that it was very hard to rescue people in the summer.
He said: "We are not going to rescue people empty-handed. We have to hold the first aid kit. That first aid kit is very heavy, weighing ten to twenty kilograms. Think about it, wearing a very thick uniform and holding heavy things, you have to go up the mountain or even Running and working is really hard. We all feel a little dizzy, have a hard heartbeat, and breathe hard. In fact, we often have these feelings. This is the effect of heat on the human body. Heat exhaustion is not surprising.”
"We were soaked all over. In fact, we were soaked all over before we landed. In the past, although helicopters had air-conditioning, the air-conditioning was so bad that it could hardly be called air-conditioning. Soon after taking off in summer, they were already soaked." Zhong Haoran ended his flight doctor in 2018. The reason for his career is related to a summer assignment. He said: "One of the reasons was that in a hot summer, I was helping people with extra-cardiac pressure in the suburbs. That time, I had a strong feeling, dizziness, and my heart was beating. I’m a little old when I’m older, but after that experience, I stopped doing it, that was a warning sign. I’m most worried that I’ll faint next time I do it, and I’ll ask someone to help me, which will hurt my teammates.”
Zhong Haoran, who ended his 15-year career as a flight doctor in 2018, said he once warned of physical discomfort during first aid in the wild.
(Photo by Zhang Haowei/File photo)
Zhong Haoran said that many citizens misunderstood that heat stroke is called heat stroke. He pointed out that there are different degrees of fever, and heat stroke is the most serious type and is relatively rare.
He shared a trip to the anaconda tip a few years ago to save two hikers who were uncomfortable walking on the anaconda tip in summer, and explained the difference between different fevers.
【Hiking.
Flying Service Team] What do flying doctors fear most when they go up the mountain to save people?
"We received a report that two friends were going hiking, but both of them couldn't stand it and developed symptoms of fever. Usually, the flight attendants landed first and brought up a young man with a body temperature of 38 degrees and his twenties. He reported passing out for a minute or two and had woken up with dry mouth and tiredness."
"It's a very common symptom, a few hours in the sun, sweating a lot, dizziness, passing out and waking up, regaining consciousness, we call it heat fainting. He got on the helicopter and knew he was heat fainting, which was easy to deal with. , give him water, let him rest, that's enough."
Zhong Haoran used to be on duty in the flight service team. When he changed into his uniform, the first thing he did was to check for dangerous drugs, such as morphine.
(Photo by Zhang Haowei/File photo)
"The other one was much more serious. He couldn't move on his own. He had a fever of 39 degrees, his heartbeat was fast, and he was weak. The aircrew was asked to hang him up with a wire rope and then rescue him from the helicopter. What is heatstroke? Human? The body temperature is very important. It is higher than 40 degrees, confusion and coma. Seeing these phenomena is considered heatstroke. Although he is very tired, he is conscious and responds normally. There is no real heatstroke, which is called heat exhaustion.”
【Hiking.
Flying Service Team] The flying doctor sees all the accidents in the mountains and gives 3 advices to the hikers
"Heat exhaustion is also serious and needs treatment. We took off his shirt, wiped his body, and sprinkled water. There was ice-cold mineral water on board, and we put the water on his neck, inner thighs, armpits. The place under the hood helps to cool down, plus hanging salt water. These are ways to help the patient cool down in the wild, and if you still have free hands, you can help him turn on a fan.”
Zhong Haoran said that the two patients were fine in the end, "But if these two people are not rescued in time and continue to be exposed to the sun at the tip of the boa snake, the heat exhausted patient may become heatstroke after a period of time. Heatstroke is serious, you don't In the ICU (intensive treatment) you can die.”
Zhong Haoran, a flight doctor, said that the tip of the boa snake is a black spot that often has accidents in mountain climbing.
(Photo by Zhang Haowei/File photo)
The Anaconda Point in Sai Kung is 468 meters high and is one of the "Three Points in Hong Kong". The mountain road is rugged and sloping and lacks shade.
Zhong Haoran said: "I'm not someone who is used to walking on the mountain. When I go up the mountainside, my physical strength declines, and I'm in a dilemma because it is very sloping. If I continue to be exposed to the sun in the middle of the mountain, it is easy to cause accidents."
When asked if Anaconda Point was a black spot for heat stroke, Zhong Haoran said, "I have been a flying doctor for 15 years and have been to (Anaconda Point) at least two or three times, and I must have been there. It's a (heatstroke) black spot." He followed up and added: "Actually, there is a chance of heatstroke in every place. The temperature was high that day, and if you didn't prepare enough and don't act within your means, you might get heatstroke."
Anaconda Jianshan Road is rugged and there is no shade.
(Photo by Yan Minghui/File photo)
Last Saturday, when a man was walking on the mountain on the tip of the boa snake, he told his friends that he was not feeling well, and suddenly fainted. The friend called the police, and the flight service team helicopter sent the man to the hospital for rescue, and eventually died.
In the past Sunday, a woman was suspected of heatstroke in Anaconda Bay, and she was sober when she was sent to the hospital.
【Hiking.
Flying Service Team] Rescue free mountain hikers abusing helicopters?
"I remember going to Longji to rescue patients with overheating and cramps. Longji is not difficult to do, but in such an easy place, there will be fever under exposure to the sun. A pair of his feet kept cramping, and the cramps were very important, and he had a little fever. It doesn't matter, the point is whether you have enough equipment and water. If you don't have the habit of exercising and suddenly go to challenging places at 35 or 36 degrees, you will be prone to heat stroke."
The Dragon's Back is located in the east of Hong Kong Island, overlooking the scenery of Shek O.
(Photo by Yan Minghui/File photo)
Whether hiking or outdoors, listen to your body's response to avoid the worst.
Usually before heat exhaustion and heat stroke, the body will sweat profusely, feel tired, breathe hard, feel dizzy and have a headache, and have a racing heart that feels like the heart is "thumping".
Zhong Haoran said: "If you have these conditions, this is a warning sign of danger. You should rest immediately, find shade, dry your body, sprinkle water to cool off, replenish moisture, and don't die."
Zhong Haoran wrote his experience as a flying doctor this year as "Flying with Love and Dreams--Documentary of the Work of a Flying Doctor".
(Photo by Yan Minghui)
Zhong Haoran said that the sudden death of hikers in extremely hot weather is not necessarily due to heat stroke, but a more serious and terrifying myocardial infarction. The patient may not have a heartbeat at the scene.
He explained: "As people get older, they have high blood pressure, diabetes or even coronary heart disease. Exercising in the heat will increase the load on the body, and the heart will beat a lot faster, which will increase the load on the heart. It's fine, but the load may not be up to the load in the heat."
"I often appeal that in such hot weather, it is not recommended for everyone to do outdoor strenuous exercise. If you really do, please do your best, bring enough water, and choose a route according to your ability. If you don't do exercise, It is very easy to get into trouble if you walk the tip of the boa at 35 degrees.”
Zhong Haoran is a specialist in emergency department and has also served as a flight doctor for many years.
(Photo by Zhang Haowei/File photo)
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