Dying in the Desert

One of the persistent icons of the American Southwest is a cartoon of a man crawling across the desert in a state of dehydration. There is nothing amusing about dehydration. Recent news stories in Arizona have focused on three Utah men who left Salt Lake City on July 6, 2010 to search for the fabled gold hidden in the Superstition Mountains east of the Salt River Valley (including Phoenix). Quoting from one news account, "But the truth of the matter is that they were amateurs, and they went into the mountains at the hottest time of the year with nowhere near enough water, and they died." Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/community/pinal/articles/2010/07/17/20100717utah-hikers-searching-for-treasure-feared-dead.html#ixzz0uWskbvkf As of the date of this post, they had not been found and were feared dead.

The part of the legend about the desert being hot and dry is very true. In another recent article, it is reported that there have been bodies of 40 illegal immigrants brought to the office of the Pima County Medical Examiner during the first two weeks of July, 2010. The Medical Examiner is quoted as saying, "Right now, at the halfway point of the month, to have so many is just a very bad sign," he said. "It's definitely on course to perhaps be the deadliest month of all time." From Jan. 1 to July 15, the office has handled the bodies of 134 illegal immigrants, up from 93 at the same time last year and 102 in 2008. In 2007, when the office recorded the highest annual deaths of illegal immigrants, 140 bodies had been taken there through July 15. See Fox News.
 
In all of the U.S. the Centers for Desease Control record the following statistics:

During 1999--2003, a total of 3,442 deaths resulting from exposure to extreme heat were reported (annual mean: 688). For 2,239 (65%) of these deaths, the underlying cause of death was recorded as exposure to excessive heat; for the remaining 1,203 (35%), hyperthermia was recorded as a contributing factor. Deaths among males accounted for 66% of deaths and outnumbered deaths among females in all age groups (Figure). Of the 3,401 decedents for whom age information was available, 228 (7%) were aged <15 years, 1,810 (53%) were aged 15--64 years, and 1,363 (40%) were aged >65 years. The state with the highest average annual hyperthermia-related death rate during 1999--2003 was Arizona (1.7 deaths per 100,000 population), followed by Nevada (0.8) and Missouri (0.6).

Because of the political implications of the deaths of so many illegal aliens, it is likely that the statistics may be skewed either to include individuals who died from other causes or to exclude individuals to minimize the impact of the actual numbers.

Hyperthermia (as opposed to hypothermia) is an elevated body temperature due to failed thermoregulation. In Arizona, we get periodic reminders of the symptoms of heat related conditions by the media. When confronted with excessive heat, the body begins to shut down. Heat exhaustion (also known as heat prostration) is a temporary condition caused by to much exposure to high temperatures or to the sun. Heat exhaustion results from excessive loss of fluids. Its symptoms are nausea, unusually profuse sweating, a sense of anxiety, and weakness or dizziness--i.e., a feeling of "faintness," caused by a drop in blood pressure and a slowing of the pulse. In fact, actual fainting is not uncommon in cases of heat exhaustion. The skin becomes clammy, pale and grayish, and the body temperature drops below normal.  eSSortment.

When heat prostration becomes acute, it becomes heat stroke. Heat stroke has the same symptoms except it is the condition when the body shuts down and the there is no sweating, and the skin is dry and hot red or flushed.

Once the condition has progressed to the heat stroke stage, in order to survive, a person's body temperature must be brought down by spraying the person with water and promoting sweating and evaporation. Cooling the body back to an acceptable range is imperative.