Just before she started, Erica Christensen drank a couple glasses of Gatorade. With feelings of insecurity, she began running. For Christensen, an exercise science major from Kaysville, it was the last stretch of the race. Only eight miles remained, but it was more important than ever for her to monitor her body’s reactions.

The cold air whipped around her. Raindrops began to sprinkle on her face. Christensen kept thinking, “only to the top of the hill, only to that bush —  then I’ll stop.”

As she was about to give up, Paul Eliason, her captain and an economics major from Alta, Wyo., cheered her on, “Erica you can do this!” 

Christensen, a participant in the Ragnar Relay — Wasatch Back — was one of 12 members on her team that ran 188 miles in two days. Before the race, the runners ate lots of healthy foods and increased their water intake, the techniques used to decrease the risk of heat exhaustion.

This race is just one of many in Utah that allows runners to compete in adverse, vigorous conditions such as high temperatures, dry heat and intense sunlight.

All of those conditions contribute to heat exhaustion, an important illness to diagnose immediately. During the two hottest months of the Utah summer, July and August, awareness of heat exhaustion and prevention techniques are vitally important for students to know to be safe while outside.

During the summer months, the number of students entering the Student Health Center with heat exhaustion increases. Dr. Keith Willmore, a family physician at the Student Health Center, said, “The hotter it is outside and the more vigorous the activity the more likely a student is to experience heat exhaustion, although it is rare for a college-age student.”

Heat exhaustion can be classified into two different categories — water depletion and salt depletion. Dr. Alton Thygerson, a faculty member of the Health Science Department, said, “Water depletion occurs in individuals working in a hot environment with inadequate water replacement. Salt depletion occurs when individuals working in hot environments have heavy sweating resulting in a loss of sodium. Salt depletion takes longer to develop.”

Each type can result in the deadly illness called heat stroke.

“Heat stroke can have a mortality rate up to 80 percent,” Willmore said.

To prevent heat exhaustion and heat stroke, students are advised to monitor their health more closely.

“If you stop sweating and yet you feel really hot, very tired, your body is experiencing heat exhaustion,” Willmore said.

If someone begins to experience mental confusion, a symptom of the illness, they need to stop and possibly seek medical treatment.

The athletic trainer for BYU women’s soccer, Carolyn Billings, said, “I think of the whole scenario — skin color, sweat patterns, headaches, nauseas and breathing rate.” Billings said athletes naturally have high pulse rates and sweat rates, so knowing each individual person is critical. Students who have been athletes in the past or who are in excellent physical shape should look for the same signs as athletes at BYU.

Other common symptoms to look for are headache, dizziness, fatigue, sweating, thirst, nausea and vomiting.

“Early symptoms of heat exhaustion are often unrecognized or mistaken for malingering. Failure to recognize heat exhaustion places an individual at risk of developing heat stroke,” Thygerson added.

Being aware of the symptoms and then treating them can help keep a person healthy and prevent future injury.

Ultimately, the best way to treat symptoms is to prevent them from happening. To avoid these symptoms, drinking enough fluids is critical.

“Drinking enough throughout the day is important,” Billings said. “People don’t regularly drink enough fluids to get the needed 64 ounces a day recommendation.”

Billings recommends drinking proper fluids such as water and Gatorade and not sugary drinks such as soda. Thygerson agrees.

“The best fluids are those that leave the stomach fast and contain little sodium and less than 8 percent sugar,” Thygerson said. “Soda pop contains about 10 percent sugar and, therefore, is not absorbed as well as water or commercial sports drinks, which contain about 5-8 percent sugar. Drinks containing caffeine, which is a diuretic, should be avoided since they increase water loss through urination.”

Other precautions include the avoidance of direct sunlight, wearing lightweight, light-colored and loose-fitting clothing, not taking salt tablets and avoiding vigorous physical activity during the hottest part of the day.

Jim George, a professor in the Exercise Science Department, said, “Exercise or hike during the coolest times of the day. Hiking up the Y Mountain is a fantastic activity that every BYU student should do before graduating. Get with your buddies and hike the ‘Y’ early in the morning or late in the evening.”

With all these preventive measures, heat exhaustion can still occur if people push themselves too far. If heat exhaustion does occur there are several ways to remedy the condition. The first is to stop physical exertion. Then, the person should move out of the sun into the shade or a cooler area. The use of a fan to blow the hot air away from the body helps the evaporation of sweat.

inally, drink fluids in small amounts. Thygerson recommends adding a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar to a quart of water for drinking. However, do not take aspirin and acetaminophen as it will not lower the body temperature in heat exhaustion.

To maintain health and top performance levels, avoiding heat exhaustion is important.

“People underestimate the impact on performance and overdoing it. When people get close to that exhaustion point their performance drops off,” Billings said. “When people push themselves into unhealthy situations, their future performance is jeopardized.”

For Erica Christensen, her health is crucial to doing well in upcoming races. During her eight-mile run, she drank fluids about every 15 minutes.

“It’s super important, especially if you want to run your best. Your body can’t run on nothing,” she said.

When Christensen finished, she was exhausted but gratified. She ate grapes and drank lots of fluid to replenish her body. She summed up, “In order to enjoy the race, you have to prepare and be smart.”