3. Alcohol Interferes With Your Internal Thermostat
“Alcohol dilates your blood vessels, so you feel sort of warmer than you are, then drinking further dehydrates you on top of the heat,” says Miriam Fischer, MD, an emergency physician at MedStar Health based in Washington, DC.
It’s important to listen to your body carefully so you can notice symptoms, which is harder if you’ve had too much to drink, Dr. Fischer adds. “If you start feeling symptoms of heat exhaustion, like getting lightheaded, dizzy, getting a headache, or starting to feel nauseous, you’ve got to get yourself out of the heat.”
Again, call 911 if you think you or someone else may be experiencing heatstroke.
Every summer, Fischer says her emergency department sees multiple patients who have had too much alcohol and passed out outside in the heat because they didn’t realize how hot they were getting. In these situations, people can start with heat exhaustion and then progress to heatstroke or die of the heat.
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