Heat Exhaustion While Hiking

Feeling dizzy and nauseous on a blazing hot hike is your body’s alarm that heat exhaustion is setting in. In this kind of extreme heat, your core temperature rises, but your mind stays clear - for now. To avoid heatstroke, here is how to spot the warning signs, treat them on the trail, and know when to call 10177.

Heat Exhaustion versus Heatstroke

A gradual rise in body temperature above 38 °C is heat exhaustion. Look for listlessness, weakness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting and a rapid pulse. Your skin might be cool and clammy or warm and moist. You may feel irritable, have trouble focusing, get headaches, muscle cramps, or feel unusually tired. In heatstroke, things become much more serious. As medical sources describe, core temperature rises above 40 °C. You become confused, start slurring, hallucinate, or even seize or black out.

What to do immediately

If you or a companion shows the warning signs on a hot day, stopping is essential. Get to shade, lie down and remove any excess or tight clothing. Sip water, but not excessively. Medical advice emphasises that allowing the person to drink despite a lack of thirst can aid recovery. Cool water or an electrolyte drink helps replace lost fluid. On the trail, fanning and wet cloths are your best tools. If you can, soak skin in water and spray or mist it with a hand pump or spray bottle. If you carry cold packs, place them under the arms, in the groin or on the neck.

When it becomes an emergency

Remember that the difference between heat exhaustion and heatstroke is clear. Food or water won't fix confusion, slurred speech, or unconsciousness. Other danger signs are very hot, dry skin, racing breath and heart, muscle cramps, weakness and neurological issues. Do not panic: call 112 from a mobile phone or 10177, move the person somewhere cool, keep them still and cool them with wet cloths and fanning. Do not give drinks to someone who is confused or drowsy.

Hiking Emergency Numbers in South Africa

If you need urgent medical help, remember that the ambulance number is 10177. From any mobile phone anywhere in South Africa, dial 112.