Center Feature ... Too Much Heat Is Dangerous

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Heat disorders generally have to do with a reduction or collapse of the body's ability to shed heat by circulatory changes and sweating, or a chemical (salt) imbalance caused by too much sweating. When heat gain exceeds the level the body can remove, or when the body cannot compensate for fluids and salt lost through perspiration, the temperature of the body's inner core begins to rise and heat-related illness may develop.

Ranging in severity, heat disorders share one common feature: the individual has overexposed or overexercised for his/her age and physical condition in the existing thermal environment.

Sunburn, with its ultraviolet radiation burns, can significantly retard the skin's ability to shed excess heat.

Studies indicate that, other things being equal, the severity of heat disorders tend to increase with age -- heat cramps in a 17-year-old may be heat exhaustion in someone 40, and heat stroke in a person over 60.

Acclimatization has to do with adjusting sweat-salt concentration, among other things. The idea is to lose enough water to regulate body temperature, with the least possible chemical disturbance.