HEAT RELATED ILLNESS

As the Northern hemisphere embraces the warmth of the summer sun, so heat related health issues become prominent in many people’s minds. Irrespective of whether you buy into the concept of global warming, given trends in recent years, extremes of high temperatures seem set to continue into the future. Higher than usual summer temperatures can cause significant problems in those areas which are not used to them. The heat wave in France in August 2003 was associated with a large number of excess deaths and rightly made headlines across the globe. A team from an emergency department in Paris reflect and report upon their experience during one of the hottest weeks of that year. They identify several risk factors of short-term mortality which may be helpful in determining the need for intensive care …