Cruel Days of Summer

Fun Fact: Neptune has four seasons, just like Earth, except each season is 40 years long.

Not So Fun Fact: That’s exactly what Summer feels like in Southern California. It feels never ending. My AC bill makes me want to cry.

And to add insult to injury, this year we had humidity.

I did not sign up for humidity. The only silver lining we have with Summer is that we get to say “At least it’s a dry heat!”

But my whining about the heat actually inspired the idea for this blog post, which serves as a reminder for heat illness prevention.

I know, I know…you usually see heat illness prevention content in April, right before the heat kicks in, but I wanted to post about it at the end of Summer because it’s still hot and still relevant.

Most prevention trainings talk about heat stroke, heat illness and death. I’m going to talk about some specific scenarios you may not expect:

Burns: It’s not uncommon for people to lose consciousness when they are suffering from heat illness, but here is something many people don’t think of: when someone collapses, it can be silent. This means that someone can be on the ground for several minutes before they are discovered. And if any part of their skin is touching a hot surface, like asphalt or metal, it’s going to get severely burned because it is maintaining contact against that hot surface for several minutes. I’ve seen some very severe burns arising out of these types of scenarios where multiple skin grafts and facial reconstruction were needed.

Brain Injury: Your heat illness training may briefly touch on the dangers of heat stroke and brain damage, but do you know what someone’s prognosis is after a brain injury? When someone suffers from heat stroke, the body slows blood flow, which deprives the brain of oxygen. The fancy term for this is hypoxia. This can result in long term damage affecting coordination, speech and resulting in personality changes. It’s not uncommon for someone who has suffered from hypoxia to be prone to violent outbursts, mood swings and lack of emotional regulation. This means they may not be able to live independently after they are discharged.

While “heat illness” may not be specifically listed as an excess reportable claim, the specific diagnoses resulting from heat illness usually are reportable. Assigning a nurse case manager early will help you coordinate care. Remember, severe burns and brain injuries are not common work comp scenarios, and even an experienced adjuster may not have had much exposure to these types of claims. It’s important to bring in resources to ensure the employee gets quality care and the best possible outcome.