PARCHED man almost died after boiling water to cool off during a heatwave. Now he is warning others not make the same mistake.
Adam Schaub was working in 37C heat and decided to take a break.
1
He then took two ice-cold water bottles and sat in the truck cab.
Adam wrote a Facebook warning in 2018.
“Well yesterday, I found out.”
Adam began to feel better when he got into the cab. “strange”Then, he began to see spots.
“My stomach got extremely nauseous and my hands and feet started tingling,”Adam is from Houston, Texas.
He ran for the door, but before he realized it, he was face-down on the ground.
Adam’s father, fearful, charged over, rolled him back and wiped his face.
Adam was still looking at the back of the head and didn’t move for a while. Paramedics were called.
Adam was once again told something that he didn’t expect to hear: cold water had shocked his body.
Central Recorder was told by Dr Sarah Jarvis (GP, Clinical Director of Patient.info), that Adam may have suffered from an extreme case. “ice cream head”.
She explained that “if you drink something very cold very quickly, the cold on your roof stimulates the nerves around there.”
“That in turn leads to rapid contraction, then expanding of the tiny blood vessels in your sinuses.”
Because these same nerves supply your forehead, the brain can interrupt the messages.
It is common to feel lightheaded after this happens.
“All the symptoms he’s describing sounds like the run-up to a fainting episode, which is often due to a lack of blood in the brain”The doc also added.
Dr Jarvis stated that it’s not unusual for people to feel unwell from drinking too much cold fluids.
Brits should avoid it altogether, she said.
Adam was advised that cold water was the best option to cool off after the incident. But only in small amounts.
For those who need rapid rehydration, room temperature is preferable.
The warning comes as Britain is stricken by a heatwave, which has seen temperatures of up to 35C in certain areas.
A yellow weather warning has been in effect since Thursday and will end today.
After weeks of dry spells that resulted in the driest June since 1935, next week will welcome rain.
THERMAL SHOCK
What happens to a person who is in thermal shock?
Cold water shock causes blood vessels in the skin to quickly constrict and causes a person’s heart rate to increase.
As blood pressure increases, the heart must work harder and is under more strain. It can lead people of all ages to suffer from cardiac arrest.
Cold water shock can sometimes lead to drowning. This is because of the rapid cooling of the skin caused by the water.