In Traditional Chinese Medicine, summerheat stroke is divided into two types:
Yang-type summerheat
When a person stays in a high-temperature environment for too long or engages in intense activity, causing profuse sweating, leading to the loss of water and salt in the body, resulting in involuntary muscle spasms or pain, this is known as "heat cramps." The person should be immediately moved to a cool place and given water and salt.Due to the dilation of a large number of capillaries in the skin to dissipate heat, a significant amount of blood flows to the skin surface, causing insufficient blood supply to the brain and resulting in temporary dizziness, known as "heat syncope." The person should be immediately moved to a cool place. If conscious, they can be given water and salt, and medical treatment should be sought.
If excessive sweating leads to significant electrolyte loss, dehydration, pale complexion, weakness, nausea, vomiting, headache, and a body temperature that rises but usually does not exceed 40°C, this is known as "heat exhaustion." The treatment is the same as above.
If the body's middle warming mechanism malfunctions, preventing sweating and causing the body temperature to soar above 40°C, with dry and hot skin, dizziness, rapid heartbeat, spasms, and even shock, this is known as "heat summerheat stroke." Immediate cooling and medical treatment are required, as any delay in treatment could be fatal.
Yin-type summerheat
During hot weather, people often seek coolness by consuming a lot of ice-cold drinks and food, which can chill the gastrointestinal organs, leading to digestive dysfunction, resulting in abdominal distension and fullness, chest tightness, nausea, abdominal pain, loose stools, or diarrhea. Consuming Chinese medicinals that warm the stomach and intestines or ginger soup can alleviate these symptoms. Some people may also catch a chill from overly cold air conditioning, direct fan exposure, or cold showers, causing the capillaries and sweat glands in the skin to contract, inhibiting heat dissipation and sweating. This leads to a feeling of coldness but internal heat; muscles may tighten, causing shoulder tension and headache; the microcirculation on the skin surface is obstructed, causing water vapor that should be dispersed to stagnate on the skin surface, leading to a feeling of heaviness; the smooth movement of qi throughout the body is inhibited at the skin surface, causing fatigue. Consuming warm exterior-releasing Chinese medicinals or ginger soup can alleviate these symptoms.In the scorching summer, people instinctively turn to ice-cold drinks and cool breezes, thinking they can counteract the heat. However, humans are warm-blooded animals, and a body temperature below 30°C can be life-threatening. When cold enters the mouth, the salivary glands chill and stop secreting saliva; when cold enters the body, the capillaries and sweat glands in the skin contract, preventing heat dissipation; when internal organs are chilled, they stop functioning. After the initial cool sensation, one may feel even thirstier and more stifled! And the harm of cold to the human body is cumulative.
The best way to relieve summer heat is actually to drink warm water, which can dilate the capillaries in the skin and open the sweat glands, making it easier for the body to dissipate heat and achieve a balance with the warm environment, thus not feeling hot. If you don't believe it, you can try it.
