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Heat illness (also known as heat-related illness) is an umbrella term used to describe several conditions that can happen to your body when temperatures rise.

Heat illness generally refers to these conditions:

• Heat cramps: These can be the first sign of      heat illness, and usually involve painful muscle cramps that can happen in      the legs and abdomen, per the National      Weather Service (NWS).

• Heat rash: This is skin irritation that can happen when you sweat a lot on      hot, humid days, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.

• Heat exhaustion: Heat exhaustion is the body's      response to an excessive loss of water and salt that usually happens from      sweating a lot, according to the CDC. It can cause heavy sweating, fatigue      and dizziness, along with other symptoms.

• Heat stroke: Also known as sunstroke, this      is the most serious heat illness, the CDC says. It happens when the body      can no longer control its temperature. The sweating mechanism fails, and      the body is no longer able to cool down. Body temperature can also get to      106 degrees or higher within 10 to 15 minutes, according to the CDC. Heat      stroke can lead to permanent disability or death.

What are the symptoms?

Symptoms of heat illness vary depending on the type you experience. Here's a breakdown, according to the CDC:

Heat cramps

• Muscle cramps in the abdomen, arms or legs
• Pain in the abdomen, arms or legs
• Spasms in the abdomen, arms or legs

Heat rash

• Red clusters of pimples or small blisters
• Pimples or blisters that show up on the neck, upper chest, groin,      under the breasts and in elbow creases

Heat exhaustion

• Headache
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Weakness
• Irritability
• Thirst
• Heavy sweating
• Elevated body temperature
• Urinating less than usual

Heat stroke

• Confusion, altered mental status, slurred speech
• Loss of consciousness
• Hot, dry skin or excessive sweating
• Seizures
• Very high body temperature

How dangerous is heat illness?

· It depends on the type of heat illness you have. Heat rash and heat cramps are "generally uncomfortable if you are healthy," Dr. Lewis Nelson, chair of emergency medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, tells Yahoo Life. However, they are not usually serious.

· But anyone can experience heat exhaustion and heat stroke — the latter of which is life-threatening, he points out.

· "With heat stroke, you can develop organ problems, kidney failure, heart problems and stroke-like symptoms," Dr. Eric Adkins, emergency medicine physician at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, tells Yahoo Life. "You can die from heat stroke."

· I am having symptoms. What should I do?

· Doctors recommend getting out of the heat ASAP if you don't feel well. "The most important intervention if you feel sick in the heat is to move to a cooler area," Nelson says. "This may be as simple as moving out of the sun or going indoors."

· Using a fan can speed up the evaporation of sweat and help you cool down, but Nelson points out that it's "not very efficient" at higher temperatures. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency recommends that people don't use fans when the heat index temperature, which is a combination of the temperature and humidity, is above 99 degrees Fahrenheit.

· "Making sure you are adequately hydrated is critical and replacing the lost sweat with water, plus electrolytes will help avoid a fall in your blood sodium level," Nelson says.

· It's also a good idea to take off extra clothes and put on wet towels, if you have them nearby, to help cool you down, Adkins says. Spraying water on your body can also help, according to Taub.

· If someone is showing symptoms of heat stroke, call 911 immediately. The NWS also urges getting "immediate medical attention" if heat cramps last for more than an hour, the person vomits or if heat exhaustion symptoms get worse or last for more than an hour.

Excerpted from an article by freelance medical writer Korin Miller posted on Yahoo News 6/19/24

After long last and three years of planning and paperwork, our latest addition to the fleet has arrived. Out newest truck is a 2022 F-450 4WD Braun ambulance. The new truck replaces the yellow loaner we ran for almost a year while we waited for this one to be built. This ambulance was manufactured by Autotronics or Bangor and Frenchville, Maine. The new addition boasts not only 4 wheel drive but many other innovations that will greatly improve our response capabilities. Pictured here is Autotronics co-owner Kyle Daigle handing the keys to Chief Mike Hatch. The truck was financed by proceeds from our four towns, a grant from USDA Rural Development and a financing package from the USDA. 

Many people are dependent on oxygen to deal with problems like emphysema and COPD. Most of these folks use a concentrator that extracts the oxygen from the air in their homes and delivers it directly to the person using an oxygen line (nasal cannula). Most of these people also have several oxygen tanks on hand for power outages. Oxygen is a prescription medication and as such is dispensed and delivered by specific licensed companies.

If you fall into this category of individuals, it is extremely important that you keep your supply of standby oxygen at optimal levels. Contact your supplier and make sure you have enough bottled oxygen on hand to last up to several days. Ambulance companies typically do not have oxygen to deliver to people who are running out. We are also finding out that suppliers do not do emergency deliveries during bad storms.

Breathing is fundamental. Be sure you are prepared before the big storm hits. We seem to be having more major storms than ever before, and that's year 'round. 

More to come on Storm Preparedness......

We head out of the station for a 911 call for a person with some sort of emergency situation that is important enough that they need an ambulance right away.

We set the GPS if we are not familiar with the location and most of the time it will put us in the right neighborhood. Then we watch for the numbers on the mailboxes or on the fronts of houses. At least half the time, there is no number or the one on the box is illegible, worn out, too small or doesn't show up at night.

We suggest 3 inch reflective numbers on BOTH sides of the mailbox. We can't read what's on the mailbox door and dispatch did not give us your name. Numbers on the house should be the same. Ornate numbers usually cannot be read from the road, especially at night.

So, help us find you.  We are here to help. We just have to be able to find you.

Sacopee Rescue has been making plans to offer a Junior Rescue Program in association with Maine EMS, Sacopee Valley High School and the Explorer Program. This will give high school students the chance to be members of Sacopee Rescue Junior Rescue Program and learn what it takes to be a first responder in our area. They will have the chance to learn healthcare and organizational skills. Many program participates have gone on to be paramedics, athletic trainers, nurses and even doctors! Watch for more news here on this website.