Heat-related illness
Heat stroke is a serious condition, and is sometimes fatal, so immediate medical attention is essential when problems first begin. A person with heat stroke has a body temperature above 104° F. Other symptoms may include confusion, combativeness, bizarre behavior, faintness, staggering, strong rapid pulse, dry flushed skin, lack of sweating, possible delirium or coma.
Heat stroke occurs when the body becomes unable to control its temperature. The body’s temperature rises rapidly, the sweating mechanism fails, and the body is unable to cool down. Body temperature may rise to 106°F or higher within 10-15 minutes. Heat stroke can cause death or permanent disability if emergency treatment is not given.
Read Also:
- Heatliness
A characteristic of certain foods or other substances believed to cause emotional or physical reactions associated with temper, fever, passion, and excess. Coolness and heatliness are the yin and yang of a principle of Chinese philosophy. Heatiness produces a feeling of unpleasant warmth, stickiness of the eyes and dark urine. Certain foods and herbs are […]
- Heberden node
A small fixed bump on the finger, usually at the last joint of the finger, Heberden’s node is a calcified spur of the joint (articular) cartilage and is a sign of osteoarthritis. Named for the English physician William Heberden (1710-1801) who made a number of celebrated medical discoveries (including angina).
- Heberden disease
Angina pectoris, chest pain that is often severe and crushing, due to an inadequate supply of oxygen to the heart muscle. Osteoarthritis of the small joints with nodules (Heberden nodes) in and about the last joint of the finger. Both diseases were described by the respected English physician William Heberden (1710-1801).
- Hecht syndrome
An inherited disorder that is transmitted as an autosomal dominant trait, in which short, tight muscles make it impossible to open the mouth fully or keep the fingers straight when the hand is flexed back. The small mouth creates feeding problems. The hands may be so tightly fisted that infants with Hecht syndrome crawl on […]
- Hecht's pneumonia
Also known as giant cell pneumonia, this is a deadly but fortunately rare complication of measles. It tends to strike children who are immunodeficient as from leukemia or HIV/AIDS. The postmortem examination (autopsy) shows multinucleated giant cells lining the alveoli (air sacs) of the lungs. Named for the early 20th-century Austrian pathologist Victor Hecht.