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Arterioles carrying blood to superficial capillaries under the surface of the skin can shrink (constrict), thereby rerouting blood away from the skin and towards the warmer core of the body. This prevents blood from losing heat to the surroundings and also prevents the core temperature dropping further. This process is called vasoconstriction.
There are two types of heat the body is adapted to, humid heat and dry heat, but the body adapts to both in similar ways. Humid heat is characterized by warmer temperatures with a high amount of water vapor in the air, while dry heat is characterized by warmer temperatures with little to no vapor, such as desert conditions.
Warm-blooded is a term referring to animal species whose bodies maintain a temperature higher than that of their environment. In particular, homeothermic species (including birds and mammals ) maintain a stable body temperature by regulating metabolic processes.
In patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), heat intolerance may cause a pseudoexacerbation, which is a temporary worsening of MS-related symptoms. A temporary worsening of symptoms can also happen in patients with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and dysautonomia. [citation needed]
Rewarming is typically continued until a person's temperature is greater than 32 °C (90 °F). [2] If there is no improvement at this point or the blood potassium level is greater than 12 millimoles per litre at any time, resuscitation may be discontinued. [2] Hypothermia is the cause of at least 1,500 deaths a year in the United States. [2]
Blood flow to the muscles is lower in cold water, but exercise keeps the muscle warm and flow elevated even when the skin is chilled. Blood flow to fat normally increases during exercise, but this is inhibited by immersion in cold water. Adaptation to cold reduces the extreme vasoconstriction which usually occurs with cold water immersion. [5]
Heat exhaustion is a precursor to heat stroke, a severe form of heat-related illness. Heat stroke is more likely than heat exhaustion to cause pallor, hot and dry skin, syncope, and dysfunction of the central nervous system (e.g., altered mental status, loss of spatial awareness, loss of bodily movement control, seizures, etc.).
The heat shock response (HSR) is a cell stress response that increases the number of molecular chaperones to combat the negative effects on proteins caused by stressors such as increased temperatures, oxidative stress, and heavy metals. [1]