How To Treat Heat Stroke (Sunstroke) At Home

The scorching summer Sun can cause a heat stroke even in a healthy person. The heat just seems to suck away all your energy, making you feel weak and lethargic. Extreme dehydration can occur, and this heat stroke can easily progress into an illness that lasts longer than required. If you or anybody you know suffers from a heat stroke, use the remedies mentioned in this article for quick relief.

A heat stroke is also called sunstroke and is quite common during the summer months. It is important to understand the cause of this and also know how to identify the signs and symptoms. This way you can choose the right remedy for its treatment.

Hence, before delving into the home treatment solutions for a heat stroke, let’s examine the causes and symptoms.

What Causes Heat Stroke?

The fluids in our body are responsible for maintaining the body’s temperature during the hot weather conditions. The body sweats to release the excess heat and cool down when it is exposed to heat for a longer duration. When the body loses sufficient fluids (hydration), we experience dehydration and heat stroke. This heat exhaustion can easily progress to a life-threatening condition wherein the body temperature can rise up to 105 degrees Fahrenheit and cause neurological damage. A heat stroke can happen due to two reasons-

• Exertion of the body in hot weather conditions, for example, playing a sport in the heat for many hours
• Older people, children, and people with illnesses usually have trouble regulating their body temperature. They may suffer heat stroke on exposure to high temperatures, even without any physical activity .

Heat stroke can be tackled easily by paying attention to the following symptoms.

Signs & Symptoms Of Heat Stroke

Few warning signs indicate the onset of a heat stroke. These are as given below –

• High body temperature (104 degrees Fahrenheit and above)
• Nausea and vomiting
• Headache
• Dizziness and weakness
• Flushed skin
• Rapid breathing and increased heart rate
• Muscle cramps and abdominal cramps
• Lack of sweat or sweating heavily

Heat stroke starts after these warning signs appear and the symptoms of this are usually neurological. The patient may experience –

• Irritability
• Delusions and hallucinations
• Bizarre behavioral changes
• Seizures

A heat stroke can even progress to coma. Hence, these signs and symptoms should not be ignored and should be dealt with as soon as possible . Here are the best remedies that you can use to treat heat stroke and alleviate the signs and symptoms.

How To Treat Heat Stroke

1. Buttermilk
2. Cold Bath
3. Chinese Medicine
4. Essential Oils
5. Onion Juice
6. Tamarind Juice
7. Coriander Water
8. Apple Cider Vinegar
9. Sandalwood Paste

1. Buttermilk For Heat Stroke

You Will Need

• 2 tablespoons yogurt
• A glass of water
• A pinch of salt
• A pinch of cumin powder (optional)

What You Have To Do

1. Blend the yogurt with water.
2. Add salt and cumin powder, and mix well.
3. Drink this chilled.

How Often You Should Do This

Drink 1-2 glasses of buttermilk every day during summers.

Why This Works

With water as its main constituent, this refreshing drink hydrates and cools down the body. It also contains probiotics, proteins, minerals, and vitamins that replenish the body’s requirements for these .

2. Cold Bath For Heat Stroke

You Will Need

• Cold water
• Bathtub

What You Have To Do

Soak in a bathtub full of cool water and stay in there for 15-20 minutes.

How Often You Should Do This

This is a first-aid remedy and can be used before the patient can be taken to the hospital for treatment.

Why This Works

This treatment is recommended by specialists in the case of heat stroke due to exertion. The coolness of the water helps to lower the entire body temperature, which has shot up due to heat stroke .

Caution

Do not use ice-cold water as this may drop your body temperature drastically and cause further complications.

3. Chinese Medicine For Heat Stroke

You Will Need

• 1 cup dried mung beans
• 3 cups water

What You Have To Do

1. Boil the mung beans and strain the liquid obtained.
2. Let it cool down and then, drink this.

How Often You Should Do This

Use this remedy as and when required.

Why This Works

Even though the mung beans originated in India, they are now grown all over the world and often used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to treat heat stroke. Boiling mung beans gives a nutritive tonic that hydrates the body and also lowers the body temperature. This is because mung beans are antipyretic in nature. This drink is also great for detoxifying the body 

4. Essential Oils For Heat Stroke

You Will Need

• 2-3 drops peppermint oil
• 1-2 drops lavender oil
• 2 tablespoons olive oil or almond oil

What You Have To Do

1. Mix both the essential oils with a carrier oil.
2. Apply this oil blend on the back of the neck, on your soles, and inside your wrists.

How Often You Should Do This

Apply this once as the body temperature starts to rise.

Why This Works

Lavender oil is soothing on the sunburnt skin and also for the nerves . Peppermint oil exerts a cooling effect on the body and helps to lower the increased body temperature .

5. Onion Juice For Heat Stroke

You Will Need

• Onion juice
• Honey

What You Have To Do

There are two ways to use onion juice for heat stroke –

1. After an attack, apply onion juice behind the ears, under the feet, and on your chest. Leave it on.
2. After the heat stroke symptoms are gone, drink a teaspoon of onion juice mixed with a teaspoon of honey.

How Often You Should Do This

The onion juice application is just once during the stroke, whereas you can drink the onion-honey mix twice a day for a few days after the sun stroke.

Why This Works

Onion juice is known to alleviate the symptoms of heat stroke . Its exact mechanism of action is, however, not known.

6. Tamarind Juice

You Will Need

• Few tamarind pieces
• 1-1 1/2 glasses water
• A pinch of sugar or honey

What You Have To Do

1. Boil the tamarind for a few minutes.
2. Strain this liquid and add sugar or honey for taste.
3. Drink this herbal concoction once it has cooled down.

How Often You Should Do This

Use this remedy as soon as the symptoms start to appear.

Why This Works

Tamarind is known to cool down the body while supplying essential nutrients and electrolytes depleted by dehydration