Milwaukee hospital gives tips on watching for heat-related illness
MILWAUKEE - During the current Milwaukee heat wave, hospitals have seen lots of cases of people feeling sick due to the heat.
A physician from Wheaton Franciscan St. Joseph's Hospital in Milwaukee has been among those treating people with heat-related illness, and he gives a number of tips for those who may think they're suffering such a malady.
"If they're out in the heat and they start feeling nausea, headaches, lightheartedness, malaise, these are all concerning things," Dr. Adrian Stull told TODAY'S TMJ4's Nick Montes during "Live at Daybreak."
"These are all warning signs that people need to seek a cooler place to be. They need to decrease their physical activity, and they need to start pushing fluids, things like Gatorade, Pedialyte, lots of water are all really good things."
Dr. Stull gave specific attention to people who may be experiencing some of the worst symptoms, particularly mental issues.
"A particularly concerning sign is developing a headache or an altered mental status. This is definitely a strong indication to go emergently to a hospital."
What happens if you head to a hospital with heat-related illnesses?
"Typically in the emergency department, if people are severely overheated or suffering from heat illness, we will give people IV fluids, usually normal saline. We'll usually put them in a cool environment, get a fan on them, get the temperature down fairly quickly."
Some patients may get treated more quickly than other, according to nurse practitioner Lisa Hubbard.
"When a patient comes, they are seen by a registered nurse. They are triaged and they get vital signs. Based on the severity or how bad a patient may look, we'll determined whether they may need to come back right away or if possibly they can go into the waiting room and sit for a little while," Hubbard told Montes.
"If their heart beat is a little too fast, we'll give them some fluids intravenously through an IV."
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