Question

Matthew runs track at school and is practicing for the 10,000 meter event. It's been incredibly hot out lately, so he tries to run in the morning when it's cooler, but he overslept today and needed to get his run in after school. It was only 86 degrees out, but the humidity was 60%. He usually takes some Dasani with him, but in a rush, he forgot it and all he has is a Mountain Dew. Matthew falls at mile 3 of his run with throbbing pain in his calves and shooting pains up his legs. His skin is flushed and moist. What heat-related illness does Matthew have? How should he treat it?

Answer 1

Answer:

Matthew is dehydrated. He must treat this by drinking liquids, such as water or an isotonic drink.

Explanation:

The physical exercise that Matthew is practicing, already promotes the loss of fluids from his body. When he decides to practice this exercise in a high temperature environment, the loss of fluids is even greater, requiring Matthew to replace these fluids if he does not want to be dehydrated. However, he did not take any fluids with him, which caused his body to lose excess fluids through sweat and cause uncomfortable symptoms such as the throbbing pain in his legs.

To treat this, Matthew must drink fluids constantly.