{"id":36628,"date":"2021-07-16T09:30:46","date_gmt":"2021-07-16T13:30:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/?p=36628"},"modified":"2025-06-20T13:08:15","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T17:08:15","slug":"heat-illness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/heat-illness\/","title":{"rendered":"6 heat-related illnesses you should watch out for this summer"},"content":{"rendered":"

The warm, sunny days of summer are here again, and with the warmth come heat-related illnesses like heat exhaustion and heat cramps. Collectively known as hyperthermia, heat-related illnesses are mostly preventable conditions that occur when your body temperature gets too high, and they can range from a mild rash to life-threatening heat stroke.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you or your kids are going to be out in the hot sun for any extended period of time, you should know the signs of heat-related illnesses and what you can do to prevent or treat them before they become dangerous.<\/span><\/p>\n

How does the body regulate temperature?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Most of the time, your <\/span>body temperature<\/span><\/a> hovers at roughly 97\u201399 degrees Fahrenheit (F) thanks to a part of your brain called the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus compares your current body temperature to normal body temperature, and if your current body temperature is too low, the hypothalamus directs your body to generate more heat for your internal organs. If your body temperature is too high, the hypothalamus sends signals to nerves in your skin to generate sweat to cool your skin down.<\/span><\/p>\n

But sometimes when you get too hot, your hypothalamus just can’t keep up. When this happens, “the sweat production and evaporation process is slowed down, and your body temperature rises,” says<\/span> Mary Campagnolo<\/span><\/a>, MD, a family physician in Bordentown, New Jersey.<\/span><\/p>\n

Amy Cram, MD<\/span><\/a>, a pediatrician with Greenwich Hospital in Greenwich, Connecticut, adds: “You cool down by sweating and by your blood vessels dilating and releasing heat. You warm up by blood vessels constricting and preserving heat.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A body temperature greater than 100.4 F is considered a fever<\/a>. Anything greater than 103 F is considered a high fever.<\/span> Hyperthermia<\/span><\/a> is defined as a body temperature greater than 104 F, and during heat stroke, your body temperature can climb as high as 106 F in just 10 to 15 minutes, according to the<\/span> Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/span><\/a> (CDC).<\/span> \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n