QuestionQUESTION: Dear Dr. Borucki,
I wonder if I could have your advice please on what check up examinations I should be doing, if any, after suffering a heatstroke four days ago.
There was a heatwave in Croatia with temperatures of between 36 - 40 C and I arrived for a sailing trip with two friends who are experienced sailors and had already spent two months in the heat. We set off late morning and after an hour of some reasonable physical activity in the sun, putting up the sails, I said that my head was starting to prickle and that I needed some shade. Unfortunately, they didn't realize how bad I felt and told me not to go down into the cabins. I stayed on in the sun as we sailed on but after an hour I suddenly felt very faint, pins and needles very quickly rose from my finger tips up to the shoulders at which point I could no longer move my arms. Very shortly afterwards, my legs became paralyses too and my only feeling was of a sharp pain along both inner thighs. They poured cold water over me which instantly helped and after 20 minutes we reached shore. I crawled into an air conditioned pharmacy and thought I might feel better but after a couple of hours I was taken to hospital. The EKG was normal and I was given an electrolyte drip for 30 minutes and sent home. No blood samples or other examinations were performed but the doctor told me it was some, and I cannot remember if she said hypo or hyper kalemia.
I have now flown back home to France where it is much cooler but have been feeling weak and dazed with some difficulty concentrating since. Yesterday I went for a short walk for some light grocery shopping and had to lie down for 3 hours. A blood test taken yesterday (4 days after the incident) showed potassium levels of 4.6 mEq/l which I am told is a little high.
I would be very grateful for you advice on what I should do next. Could I have some brain, kidney, heart consequences, are there any tests I should be doing, should I be resting, taking some supplements or is all alright and should I just carry on as normal.
Any advice on what this all means for future holidays would be very much appreciated as well. Does this mean that I will now be particularly sensitive to heat?
Thank you very much in advance for any advice as it was a rather frightening experience.
Kind regards,
Angela
ANSWER: from your description, it doesn't sound like you damaged anything permanently... But it may take a few weeks to recover from this..... Make sure you keep really well hydrated as you are a little more susceptible to this having already had a reaction. But I doubt if you will have permanent consequences....... I hope this helps.
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QUESTION: Dear Dr. Borucki,
Thank you for your advice. May I ask if in your experience it was hypo or hyperkalemia. The reason I'm asking is that I'm not sure if I should be drinking just water or electrolyte drinks. I had started drinking electrolytes but am hesitating when I was told that it could be hyperkalemia.
Very best wishes,
Angela
Answerit depends on what was damaged.... you can sweat out some potassium, however with severe dehydration, you can get muscle damage with releases potassium and raises the level, so you can't really tell without checking. The muscle cramps/paralysis suggests low potassium, low magnesium.
As long as your kidney function goes back to normal, you should be able to easily handle the electrolyte drinks... and they don't have a lot of potassium because it tastes too bad.
I am looking forward to visiting France.... My sister is moving there permanently next year to the country for semi-retirement to an area to live with her husband and horses..... Loire Gites..... not sure if I am spelling it correctly.
I hope you are feeling better.....
