Firefighting Cases: A Case Study

The purpose of this lab is to see how different temperatures influence the diving reflex which involves three factors: bradycardia, peripheral vasoconstriction, and blood shift. Effect on heart rate will be determined in this experiment.

This is a longitudinal study which goal is to determine different ensembles’ effect on the body temperature change. Before taking part in this study, current health condition was assessed by physician and exclusion criteria includes: hypertension, cardiovascular disease, renal pathology, diabetes, muscular or skeletal injuries, previous incidence of heat injury or pregnancy.

To prevent EHS, the history of any past heat illnesses must be known. The athletes wearing protective equipment must have special considerations, since the equipment acts as a barrier and does not allow sweat to evaporate easily. To recognize EHS, the core temperature of the athlete must be greater than 104 F to 105 F. Central nervous system dysfunction (confusion, dizziness, vomiting, collapse, etc.) is also a major sign of EHS. To treat EHS, the core body temperature must be reduced below 102 F as quick as possible. The best way to cool down is a full cold-water immersion of the athlete. Then take it easy with athlete and do not rush him/her back into activity right away. EHS is one of the top 3 causes of death in athletes, especially in the summer. Acclimatization helps the body cope better with the heat and humidity where the practice or event takes place. Hydration should also be available at any time to all the athletes.

However, all individuals who exercise outdoors in the cold should take precautions to ensure safety. Hypothermia is can set in quickly and unbeknownst to the effected individual; that is one of the aspects that makes it so dangerous. In extreme cold situations an individual has reduced sensation of pain and with reduced blood flow to the face, toes, and fingers hypothermia can easy sneak up (Kenney, 2012). To provide maximum protection against the cold an individual should take some precautions. Proper clothing and bundling is the first line of defense when it comes to the cold. An individual’s body size and composition can dramatically affect their ability to retain heat. A larger individual who has more fat mass will be better able to conserve the heat their body produces better than a smaller individual (Kenney, 2012). So in that case they may not need to wear as many layers as a smaller individual. For either it is important to ensure that the innermost layer is a fabric that will pull moisture away from the body, like cotton fishnet or polypropylene (Exercise in the Cold, 2015). This will help in reducing the amount of sweat accumulating in the clothing of the individual, as wet clothes can lead to hypothermia quickly. Wind chill can also effect how quickly the body looses heat when

People naturally tend to adapt changes related to their surroundings, and adaptive approach to thermal comfort is generated by this natural tendency (Nicol and Humphreys, 2002). In hot arid climates thermal discomfort can be experienced when the skin temperature goes high from comfort range, even in inactive position. The temperature range of discomfort in stable condition is around 33°-34°C but it declines with any kind of physical activity (Givoni, 1998). However the comfort temperature range is different for various outdoor conditions and it is been shown in research that human bodies tend to adapt the raised temperatures after a period of time (Koenigsberger et al., 1973). The human comfort in hot

There are many factors to consider on a patient in a critical setting such as the ICU. One factor that can easily be over looked but is still just as important is temperature regulation. Hypothermia is considered any temperature below 35 C. Hyperthermia is considered any temperature over 38. A temperature is considered life threating anything above 41.5 C. Temperature control issues are common in the critically ill due to infection, trauma, or even the large impact the disease process or injury takes on the patient’s ability to regulate temperature.

Sweating involves eccrine sweat glands located on the skin’s surface, which secrete sweat onto the skin. Sweat is a dilute solution of dissolved salts and has a high latent heat of vaporisation (also known as latent heat of evaporation), which is essential for reducing the body’s temperature. The latent heat of a substance is the heat needed to transform its physical state. Therefore, when sweat evaporates from the skin’s surface, the energy, in the form heat, needed to transform the

The thermostat inhibits the adrenergic activity of the sympathetic nervous system that is about constriction of vessel and metabolic rate. That can cause vasodilation and reducing BMR(basal metabolic rate). This increase the loss of temperature though the skin and decrease generating heat of core. Sweating is a good way to lower our temperature. The cholinergic sympathetic fibers stimulates sweat glands to release ACh to cause sweat. Muscles relax under hot condition. Lowering the skin hairs that can allow more contact between skin and air so sweat are easier to evaporate and

Hypohydratation have an effect on body temperature during exercise because when we practice sports we use a lot of water to produce energy. If we don’t rehydrated regularly it can have an effect on our body. Water in our body plays an important role in thermoregulation and during an effort we produce energy so we produce heat. If we have less water in our body because of the production of energy and hypohydrataion we think that during effort thermoregulation will be less done. This study will demonstrate our hypothesis.

Take the time to learn about the health issues related to heat. Do your homework on hydration. Know your limits and never go beyond them.

Makinen et al (2008) tested 10 male subjects who were exposed to control 25° Celsius and 10° Celsius environments for 2 hours on 10 successive days in a laboratory. As a result for that experiment, acute cold exposure increased by 36%, cold acclimation resulted in higher mean skin temperature (sk) 0.6° Celsius, and lower Catecholamines (NE) by 24% response in cold. There was a smaller increase in heart rate and blood pressure occurred at 10° Celsius during the handgrip test after cold acclimation.

During exercise the body releases a big deal of heat with ranges of 37°c to 40°c. When the surrounding air is cool, heat can be lost from the body by the process of radiation. (Transfer of heat by electromagnetic waves), convection (by air movement), conduction (by contact), and evaporation (by sweating). As the nearby temperature increases it becomes more difficult to lose heat by radiation, convection, and conduction. Then, the key birthplace of heat loss in very hot conditions is from the evaporation of sweat on the skin surface. Other than air temperature, both humidity and radiant heat should be measured before athletes involve in hard training or rivalry in hot weather conditions. The most frequently used heat index in sport is the WBGT

It is important to maintain the correct body temperature because enzymes don’t work if the body gets too hot or too cold (1). The skin has receptors that detect body temperature and send messages (afferent pathway) to the brain (control center) when it changes (2). The brain sends impulses via the nerves (efferent pathway) to the muscles and glands in response to the change in body temperature

If a client decides to wear clothing that is going to inhibit the body’s ability to cool itself they may run the risk of suffering from heat exhaustion. Wearing tracksuit pants and a jumper might seem like a good idea on a cold day before the class commences, but when the client has warmed up they will quickly become too hot. Before a client attends a spin bike class they should be advised on what attire to wear. Comfortable clothing that doesn’t inhibit their range of movement, and is not going to cause them to overheat is

Electrical equipments generate heat over time while functioning, if the situation is not noticed and taken care of properly machine malfunction may occur, which could cause severe damage to devices or even people. So measuring ambient temperature and temperature of equipments frequently become a crucial procedure in industries and other places where temperature must be kept in a certain range. But while people is far away from the equipment or specific environment, real-time monitoring of and response to any temperature changes become troublesome.