Sick from the Sun?

Sounds like heat exhaustion. She needs a sports drink as well as salt and potassium. Try Pedilyte, it's absorbs well in kids and does not irritate the stomach. Also Smart Water is good, it tastes just like water.

I get Sun Poisoning, but I get a rash as well as getting sick. It's not the same as heat exhaustion (which I've experienced). A doctor could tell you more, if she's still sick, take her to the ER. Heat exhaustion is serious.

I would take her to the doctor for an eval and suggestions. Heatstroke/heat exhaustion and other related conditions are serious.

Good luck.

I personally get sun stroke and heat stroke, although it takes longer for me than it appears to take for your daughter. I would make sure that she takes regular breaks to sit in the air-conditioned car and have lots of water. Very cold water on a hot stomach can add to the sickness, so pack lukewarm water instead of ice water. Even on an overcast day, I would make sure she stops to sit in the shade or in the car at least twice an hour. Good luck.

My Dad... once got "Sun Poisoning"... and ended up in the hospital in very bad shape.

***ADDING THIS: "Sun Poisoning" is and actual adverse reaction to heat/sun and this is the term for it... and per my Dad's case. It is DIFFERENT from heat exhaustion.

Here is a link on "Sun Poisoning":
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/sun-poisoning-symptoms.html

Yes, you can get sun poisoning...
be very careful.
It can happen regardless if you have sunscreen on. It does not matter if a person is fair skinned or dark skinned.
And when wearing a hat.. .the hat has to be ventilated, because a hat traps heat IN the body... the head is how a body releases heat. Versus if it was a cold freezing day... then wearing a hat keeps a person warm.
Having a hat on in the sun, unless it is ventilated... can be very dangerous and cause over-heating.

Also keep in mind, that a cloudy day does not mean the sun is weaker... it is still very strong.

You need to take your child to the ER. right away.
If she is NOT sweating... and is pale, hot, and flush, this is not a good symptom.

all the best,
Susan

Is it possible she is being over hydrated? That can be very dangerous just as dehyration can be. Do you give her gatorade or just water? this happened to my mother when she walked a marathon in Hawaii(so not just playing outside) but they were watering down the powerade and she drank too much believe it or not... She started throwing up and was VERY sick, they almost took to the hospital and would not release for a long time. Make sure she is drinking something that has electrolites or give her some extra salt(just ruffles would or lay's would work) before or after and see if that helps? Hope you get your answer soon.

Hi there. I just wanted to let you know that people commonly misuse the term "heat stroke". What people are most commonly referring to is actually "heat exhaustion" which is heat stroke's younger sibling. If she had heat stroke her cooling system would be shutting down, meaning that she wouldn't be sweating at all, and she may even be unconcious or in convulsions. In the Navy you have to take a course on recognizing the symptoms of both so it sounded familiar when I read your post.

I think she's suffering from heat exhaustion. She needs more time to acclimate. I found the below web page for you to check out. It has all of the info from causes and symptoms to treatment.

Best of luck!

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/heat_exhaustion_and_heat_s...

Sounds like heat exhaustion + dehydration to me, as well.

How MUCH water is she drinking? Or more to the point: Is she peeing at least once every hour? If not, she's dehydrated.

2 of my sisters couldn't be more different from each other. One is model thin and the other is reubenesque. Always have been. As children, my mum would keep IV bags in the house because they BOTH would become dehydrated and get heat exhaustion in no time flat. My brother and I would be up at dawn and out in the canyons running and climbing until dinner... they would go outside for half an hour and just wilt. It didn't matter what the sky was doing... their homeostasis just wasn't being maintained.

Later on, when I was modeling (and got super thin for it) I had a HUGE problem with temperature fluctuations. Ditto when I was preggers and gained a bunch of weight. I have to admit, it was actually living in their shoes for awhile that finally gave me some compassion for them. My body LOVES the heat... so I have to admit I wasn't a very nice sister to them. It wasn't their fault, their bodies took months and months to acclimate to the heat. Mine did in days.

Another of my sisters gets sunshine induced migraines. Put her in direct sunlight without sunglasses, and she has a migraine in 10 minutes. Guaranteed.

So there are 3 possibilities for you:

- Heat exhaustion
- Dehydration
- Migraine

I suspect my youngest daughter, age 8 can become sick from too much sun. Every spring, after the first nice weather, she either gets a rash, a stomach ache, or both after spending her first long day or afternoon out in the sun. This year after the one of the first nice days, we spent it all day at the zoo. On the way home, she got the stomach ache and vomitted. She felt sick the rest of the evening, but was fine the next day. She does recover fairly quickly, and seem to be fine once she is used to being outside in the sun again. It's like after a long winter, sun exposure is kind of a shock to her system. Also, she gets hot easily, turns red when exercising, and doesn't sweat easily.

When I was a child, I had something very similar. The dr's said I basically had an "allergy" to the sun. As a kid in Houston, during the summers I had to stay wet - swim, run through sprinklers, etc.

I out grew it eventually (probably by end of middle school). By high-school I was a lifeguard and could spend hours in the sun - so hopefully she will grow out of it too!

Good luck.

I wonder if he processes Vit D correctly.

I remember the first time you posted. I agree that your what you described is heat stroke. It can come on pretty quickly. It really takes the energy out of her. She may even vomit when this happens. She may be extremely weak even once she has had a chance to rest.

I could also be that since she is not used to this heat, she is even more sensitive to it than a native Texan.

Today here in Austin it was extremely humid. I knew I would be running a lot of errands so I was prepared with a huge cup of ice water for the air conditioned car. I also knew there was no way I could really do anything out side, so everywhere I went, I went inside immediately. This was not a day for me to do anything physically outside, unless it was swimming,. Even then, I would have gone to a pool with a shaded area.

I did not go swimming, instead after 3 hours of errands, I came home, cooled off and then took a 3 hour nap. I am still a little shaky.

Your daughter is small so she can overheat even quicker. You say she does not perspire? Or she Perspires very little? This is usually a way the body helps to cool itself off. Maybe she needs a spray bottle to mist herself, even one with a fan on it.

Before she over heats or if she is over heating, have some wash cloths that can be wet with cool/cold water and place them behind her neck, in the crease of her arms and behind her knees. This will help cool her off very quickly. We keep a cooler full of ice in the car all of the time in the summer.

Make sure her hat is well ventilated. Have her take off her hat in shady places and spray and fan her head.

Also ask her doctor or a pharmacist about salt tablets. They used to give them out a summer camps to help our bodies hold in more water.

I am so sorry she is suffering with this heat. Just give her time and she will probably become more used to the heat and humidity. It is just going to take a little time.

i think you can purchase something called a "personal air conditionare" it looks like headphones; goes around your neck, and lowers yr body temp.......i think they only sell it online; and for some ppl it does work........have to get one for myself; im in arizona..lol.......good luck!!!

I don't know if you have taken her to the doctor to discuss this. If not I would certainly consider it and ask if she might have an actual allergy to the sun. Good luck.

L.

I would take her to the doctor and explain to them the situation. It probably is heat exhaustion, but keep in mind there are many autoimmune diseases that can cause extreme sensitivity to the sun/heat. Lupus being one of them. I would get her checked out, better safe than sorry!

Also Something called Utoph Syndrome. Please google this.
No thyroid condition blood test totally fine which she had a eight years old.

My daughter suffers from heat stroke, Hyperthermia and has a medical bracelet. If she dose Sport more than 15min she is crying. Her temperature can go up to 40 degrees on a 20 degree day. This occurs say six times a year. We live in Sydney Australia. ( recently we had her eyes examined and found optic nerve was different to everyone elses) On top like flower. (I am looking into a recessive Albino gene may be our answer as they have abnormalties in the optic nerves) I will also look for Thyriod and kidney problems. She cryed a lot as a baby. Never like to wear much clothing. Played soccor through winter and came off crying every game. Apart from this she is just a normal Kid. Has a health plan at school an emergency bracelet. Carries water everywhere. I have met an adult with the same symptoms once. He carries a spray bottle with him. At night her hands and feet get very hot. Carries an ice pack. We always have water, She drink lots. She dose not have diebeties Dr checked.