Deaths of 3 foreigners in Phuket attributed to heatstroke

[webfact]

Three Phuket deaths attributed to heatstroke

PHUKET – Three foreigners died in Patong Hospital yesterday (April 15) after being found unconscious. Doctors say they suffered from heatstroke.

The temperature in Phuket was high, ranging from 38º to 41º Celsius.

A Russian, Igor Kiselev, 59, was sent to hospital for treatment after he passed out at Karon beach.

Medical staff tried for an hour to revive him before he was pronounced dead.

An examination showed no sign of injuries and the doctor suspected that he died from a heart attack brought on by the hot and humid weather.

His death was reported to Kathu police station about 7pm by the hospital's emergency unit. The Russian embassy was contacted, according to Thairath newspaper.

The hospital also informed the police that two other foreigners were admitted to the hospital after falling unconscious.

Walter Federick Bell, 62 (nationality unknown) passed out on the beach road in Patong and later died at the hospital, and a 45-year-old Burmese man, unnamed, was taken from Karon to the hospital after fainting. He, too, was later pronounced dead.

The doctors said it was possible the three men died from heatstroke combined with the consumtion of alcohol, which would also have caused an increase in their temperatures.

-- Phuket News 2014-04-16

[webfact]

Phuket Songkran heatwave claims three lives on same day
Phuket Gazette


Officials are urging people to take precautions after three foreigners died from heatstroke yesterday. Photo: Atchaa Khamlo

PHUKET: -- Doctors at Patong Hospital have confirmed that three foreigners died yesterday after collapsing from heatstroke.

Russian tourist Igor Kiselev, 59, was rushed to hospital for medical treatment after he passed out at Karon Beach, Patong Hospital Director Sirichai Silpa-archa confirmed to the Phuket Gazette this morning.

“He died en route to the hospital. Medical staff tried for one hour to revive him before they pronounced him dead at 4:30pm,” Dr Sirichai said.

“He showed no signs of assault. We suspect that he died from a heart attack brought on by heatstroke.”

Hours later, British national Walter Frederick Bell, 62, was rushed to Patong Hospital after collapsing in Soi Kebsup, near the Patong beach road.

“Despite our efforts, he was pronounced dead at 7:10pm,” Dr Sirichai said.

The third victim, a Myanmar national named by one hospital staffer as Aung Aung, 41, was also rushed to Patong Hospital after collapsing at Karon Beach.

Mr Aung was later pronounced dead from suspected heat exposure.

Dr Sirichai said that he had yet to confirm with medical staff that all three men had been drinking alcohol, which would have elevated the men’s body temperatures. However, he did note that Mr Bell and Mr Kiselev had both arrived from colder climates.

“The heat could have had a drastic effect on the bodies, especially if they had been celebrating Songkran by having water fights in the sun,” he said.

Staff at the Thai Meteorological Department in Phuket reported that the heat blasted upward to 35.2ºC yesterday.

“We expect the heatwave to continue for at least the next three days,” said one TMD staffer.

“We urge everyone to take precautions to prevent being overcome by heatstroke.”

— Saran Mitrarat

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket-news/Phuket-Songkran-heatwave-claims-three-lives-same/29156#ad-image-2


-- Phuket Gazette 2014-04-16

[fatdrunkandstupid]

Heatstroke or the abscence of adequate first aid facilities?

[billd766]

It is 37 in the shade where I live and 30.5 indoors with the fans on.

I don't normally start drinking alcohol until the evening and I gave up playing Songkran 2 years ago as I felt at 68 it was about time I quit that.

I am sweating a lot at the moment but I am also drinking 2 or 3 litres of cool water a day and keeping mostly out of the sun.

This works for me though about 3 years ago I was riding my motorbike and started feeling dizzy about 4 km from home. I stopped at a small oadside place and they helped me off my bike and took off my backpack and jacket and laid me down on one of the bamboo table/seats and gave me cool water. It took me about 10 minutes before I could call my wife to collect me and somebody rode the bike home for me.

I spent a couple of hours in bed with the a/c on and lots of cool water before I felt better. It was a lesson I have taken to heart and fortunately it has never happened to me again.

It is quite dangerous if you are not used to the heat and it still gets me at times though I have lived here more than 13 years.

[thelongshoot]

Beer is a nightmare in this heat - if you drink in the daytime. Last week the air-con was broke in the bedroom for 5 days and twice during that time I had a good 7 or 8 beers in the afternoon, then at night lying on the bed, no longer drunk, I was properly hot inside. I could feel my core temp just heated up. Three fans pointed at me made no difference at all and I felt bloody horrible.

The other 3 days I had no booze and at night I just lay on the bed with one fan on me, and felt fine.

Good to have the a/c fixed again though, jesus you dont half miss it when its not there man, especialy in this heat. Murder, aint it.

[WoopyDoo]

I think ikt is strange that 3 people seem to die on the same day in the same town...

If this was heatstroke, then why isn't this happening daily in Thailand?

Here in Isaan it is that temperate on a daily basis for at least 2 months every year and people don't collapse and die.

Something else is to blame for this and the Thais are just covering up.

[kuiburi]

Probably heat-stroke , 2 of them collapsed on the beach .

The beachsand accumilates alot of heat so the temp on the beach is a lot higher then the temps the weather officers colect from the 12 meter high posts .

I had a heat-stroke in Thailand 20 years ago , for 3 days I was of and on the world . It's horrible .

Now when i work in the hot sun I drink about 7 liters of water , sometimes I add electrolites [ for sale in most farmacies ]

People with a heat-stroke should be cooled down asp .

[alphaboy123]

It is 37 in the shade where I live and 30.5 indoors with the fans on.

I don't normally start drinking alcohol until the evening and I gave up playing Songkran 2 years ago as I felt at 68 it was about time I quit that.

I am sweating a lot at the moment but I am also drinking 2 or 3 litres of cool water a day and keeping mostly out of the sun.

This works for me though about 3 years ago I was riding my motorbike and started feeling dizzy about 4 km from home. I stopped at a small oadside place and they helped me off my bike and took off my backpack and jacket and laid me down on one of the bamboo table/seats and gave me cool water. It took me about 10 minutes before I could call my wife to collect me and somebody rode the bike home for me.

I spent a couple of hours in bed with the a/c on and lots of cool water before I felt better. It was a lesson I have taken to heart and fortunately it has never happened to me again.

It is quite dangerous if you are not used to the heat and it still gets me at times though I have lived here more than 13 years.

It is 37 in the shade.

And how much in the sun?

[SOTIRIOS]

...since when did 'cause of death'.....become....total speculation......???

[MMarlow]

...since when did 'cause of death'.....become....total speculation......???

In these cases the causes of death were not speculation, it was a doctor's opinion made before postmortem were carried out which cannot happen instantly.

[MMarlow]

Heatstroke or the abscence of adequate first aid facilities?

Heatstroke.

[Som wat]

Perhaps 'heatstroke' will become the new suicide.

Samurai sword in the deceased's head in the back of a taxi... Heatstroke.

RIP to the 3 guys.

[MMarlow]

I think ikt is strange that 3 people seem to die on the same day in the same town...

If this was heatstroke, then why isn't this happening daily in Thailand?

Here in Isaan it is that temperate on a daily basis for at least 2 months every year and people don't collapse and die.

Something else is to blame for this and the Thais are just covering up.

Very simple. The current temperatures don't occur daily and some people are more susceptible to the effects of sunstroke than others.

Nobody dies in Issan? You sure about that? Maybe you could pass on your Issan tips for eternal life.

[Greer]

I think ikt is strange that 3 people seem to die on the same day in the same town...

If this was heatstroke, then why isn't this happening daily in Thailand?

Here in Isaan it is that temperate on a daily basis for at least 2 months every year and people don't collapse and die.

Something else is to blame for this and the Thais are just covering up.

Very simple. The current temperatures don't occur daily and some people are more susceptible to the effects of sunstroke than others.

Nobody dies in Issan? You sure about that? Maybe you could pass on your Issan tips for eternal life.

Yes, we have to remember that 2 of the 3 were foreigners, and it is often the case that people simply don't realise the dangers of allowing yourself to overheat.

Beer is certainly not the way, and as one poster said, you need to keep your normal fluid levels and electrolytes up, otherwise the body simply cant work.

Condolences to the families of the three men who died.

[I Like Thai]

1 foreigner maybe. 2 foreigners doubtful

A Burmese national dying from heat stroke ?

Sounds very very iffy.

[Somtamnication]

It is 37 in the shade where I live and 30.5 indoors with the fans on.

I don't normally start drinking alcohol until the evening and I gave up playing Songkran 2 years ago as I felt at 68 it was about time I quit that.

I am sweating a lot at the moment but I am also drinking 2 or 3 litres of cool water a day and keeping mostly out of the sun.

This works for me though about 3 years ago I was riding my motorbike and started feeling dizzy about 4 km from home. I stopped at a small oadside place and they helped me off my bike and took off my backpack and jacket and laid me down on one of the bamboo table/seats and gave me cool water. It took me about 10 minutes before I could call my wife to collect me and somebody rode the bike home for me.

I spent a couple of hours in bed with the a/c on and lots of cool water before I felt better. It was a lesson I have taken to heart and fortunately it has never happened to me again.

It is quite dangerous if you are not used to the heat and it still gets me at times though I have lived here more than 13 years.

It is 37 in the shade.

And how much in the sun?

Strangeeeee. Been here 13 years. Never has been 37 in the shade. Hot it is, Sahara it ain't.

[shaurene]

It has been effecting me here in my village just outside of Khon Kaen, have digital thermometer/RH reader and sitting outside often touches 42c RH is low 28-45. The water just pours out of my skin, when I feel really bad my wife gets small towel soaks it in the ice water and wipes my body with it and leaves it on my back, it cools my skin down supper.

[ingvar]

A couple of years ago I met a busload of Icelanders on their first tropical holiday (some their first time outside Iceland) and they all seemed to suffer from sever heat fatigue, so I asked them what they have been drinking during their tour, they said nothing much, and they where astonished when I informed them they need to drink in the vicinity of two liters of water or more during a busy day touring around. They said they drank same as they usually do at home, i.e. a glass of liquid in the morning, some coffee during the day, a glass of some liquid at lunch and so on.

I asked them if the tour operator had told them to drink and they said yes but didn't understand the significance or the importance.

My point is, many tourists may be in the tropics for the first time and just don't understand or have the knowledge to protect themselves from heatstroke.

[marko kok prong]

Here in Petchabun province temps vary from 35 to 40c this time of year,however as a previous post mentioned this is air temp taken in the shade,in the sun,it could be 55c,also here we do not have the high humidity that Pukhet has,this plays a factor as you will sweat more.

[Guest]

When the weather is really hot, I sometimes put water on my shirt. While the water evaporates, it requires quite a lot of energy, which is on the other hand taken from the skin and therefore cools the body down.

Taking a swim in Thai style, with all clothes on, makes sense.

Another trick I learned from the red cross people who have been working in hot climates. Place an cold soda can or wet towel on wrists. This should cool down the blood in the veins, which then cools down the body. I'm not really sure if this really helps.

[billd766]

It is 37 in the shade where I live and 30.5 indoors with the fans on.

I don't normally start drinking alcohol until the evening and I gave up playing Songkran 2 years ago as I felt at 68 it was about time I quit that.

I am sweating a lot at the moment but I am also drinking 2 or 3 litres of cool water a day and keeping mostly out of the sun.

This works for me though about 3 years ago I was riding my motorbike and started feeling dizzy about 4 km from home. I stopped at a small oadside place and they helped me off my bike and took off my backpack and jacket and laid me down on one of the bamboo table/seats and gave me cool water. It took me about 10 minutes before I could call my wife to collect me and somebody rode the bike home for me.

I spent a couple of hours in bed with the a/c on and lots of cool water before I felt better. It was a lesson I have taken to heart and fortunately it has never happened to me again.

It is quite dangerous if you are not used to the heat and it still gets me at times though I have lived here more than 13 years.

It is 37 in the shade.

And how much in the sun?

Today it is 40C in the sun and 36C in the shade with no breeze. The humidity level is down to 42%.

I live backing onto the Mae Wong national park about 450 km from the sea which is why it is probably a bit drier than the beach.

[oldsailor35]

Walter Bell...............got his age at 62, but cannot find his nationality.............Amazing Thailand. Only last week the new police chief was 'blowing his trumpet' saying how good the Phuket police were and what a wonderful job they are doing ?

[oldsailor35]

A couple of years ago I met a busload of Icelanders on their first tropical holiday (some their first time outside Iceland) and they all seemed to suffer from sever heat fatigue, so I asked them what they have been drinking during their tour, they said nothing much, and they where astonished when I informed them they need to drink in the vicinity of two liters of water or more during a busy day touring around. They said they drank same as they usually do at home, i.e. a glass of liquid in the morning, some coffee during the day, a glass of some liquid at lunch and so on.

I asked them if the tour operator had told them to drink and they said yes but didn't understand the significance or the importance.

My point is, many tourists may be in the tropics for the first time and just don't understand or have the knowledge to protect themselves from heatstroke.

2 liters is not enough, one needs 4 ltrs per day at least.

[I Like Thai]

Walter Bell...............got his age at 62, but cannot find his nationality.............Amazing Thailand. Only last week the new police chief was 'blowing his trumpet' saying how good the Phuket police were and what a wonderful job they are doing ?

That's a newspaper report, not a Police report. Just because the paper doesn't have the information, doesn't mean that the police don't have it.

[Baan Buakao]

It is 37 in the shade where I live and 30.5 indoors with the fans on.

For anyone suffering heat stress with only fan cooling available; lying down and covering yourself with a very damp sheet will bring your ore temp down fairly quickly. Drinking chilled water is good too.

[techboy]

Heatstroke or the abscence of adequate first aid facilities?

"Heatstroke or the abscence of adequate first aid facilities?" Unfair and definitely unknowledgeable conjecture- This post has a different kind of stroke. Rehydration and a cool environment. Certainly available.

[keestha]

I have been worried seeing tourists keep up their jogging routine whilst on holiday in Thailand, and that in heat of the day sometimes, maybe being 40+ or 50+.