Heat Safety Terms, in Plain English

Keep this page handy at preseason meetings, so everyone on the staff is using the same words for the same things.

The emergency

• Exertional heat stroke. A medical emergency where the body overheats during hard activity and can't cool itself. It can come on during practice, games or conditioning, even in athletes who seem fit. Exertional heat stroke is 100% survivable when the athlete is cooled fast, on site.
• Heat exhaustion. A heat illness that is less severe than heat stroke but still means the athlete is done for the day. Stop activity, move them to shade, cool them and watch them closely. If they get confused or worse, treat it as heat stroke.
• Heat illness. The umbrella term for problems caused by heat and exertion, from cramps and exhaustion to heat stroke.
• Change in behavior. Confusion, stumbling, odd answers or acting "not like themselves." In a hot practice, treat this as a warning sign of heat stroke, not as tiredness.

Body temperature

• Core temperature. The temperature deep inside the body, not the skin. It is the number that matters in a heat emergency, and trained medical staff are the ones who check it.
• 104°F. The point where the body loses its ability to regulate its own temperature, so it can't cool itself down.
• About 102°F within 30 minutes. The cooling goal in a heat stroke emergency.

Cooling

• Cold-water immersion. Putting the athlete's body into a tub of cold water. It is the standard treatment for exertional heat stroke.
• Ice agitation. Keeping the ice and water moving around the athlete in the tub during cold-water immersion.
• Cooling tub. The tub that is set up, filled and ready at the practice or game site before activity starts. A tub in a storage room or with no ice isn't ready.
• Start cooling within 10 minutes. Cooling should begin within 10 minutes of collapse. That is why the tub has to be at the field, not across campus.
• Cool first, transport second. The athlete is cooled on site before being moved. Cooling happens before the ambulance ride, not after.
• Call 911 and cool at the same time. One person calls. Everyone else works on cooling. Nobody waits for the ambulance to start.
• Gear. Remove anything you can quickly but don't delay cooling because of gear removal.

The plan

• Emergency action plan (EAP). The written plan for what happens when an athlete goes down: who is in charge, who calls 911, where the cooling tub is and how the ambulance gets in. Every site the team uses needs one. A school without one can make it with the free National Stay Cool Day EAP builder.
• Venue walkthrough. A preseason walk of each field or gym to check the tub location, ice supply, shade, water and ambulance path. Use the preseason venue walkthrough.
• Ambulance access route. The exact gate, road or entrance an ambulance uses to reach the field, kept unlocked and clear during practices and games.
• Person in charge. The one adult named in the plan who directs an emergency. Everyone else should know who that is before practice starts.

Everyday prevention

• Heat acclimatization. Letting athletes get used to heat gradually at the start of a season or after time off, instead of going full intensity on day one.
• Heat index. A number that combines air temperature and humidity into how hot it feels.
• Wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT). A heat measurement that takes in temperature, humidity, sun and wind. Many programs use it to decide when to change or stop practice. Follow the thresholds your school, league or state association sets.
• Water breaks. Scheduled breaks for water and shade, built into practice instead of left to the athletes to ask for.
• Athletic trainer. A licensed health care professional who works with athletes. Where a program has one, they usually lead the heat response.

Where to go next

Coaches can use the coaches page, athletic directors the athletic directors page, and families the parents page. Build or refresh your plan with the free EAP builder. For questions about the Council, contact us.