HOWARD G. SMITH MD,AM-Immunology
Heat Exhaustion Strikes The Marching Band: Best Of: Sep, 2021
It’s not just the football team that gets overheated. The marching band, wearing heavy wool uniforms, is particularly susceptible to heat-related disease. This according to an analysis by investigators at the Universities of Georgia, South Carolina, and Kansas that looked at this problem over a 31 year period using a newspaper report database.
Of the 393 exertion heat illnesses cataloged, 88% occurred in high schoolers, 32% during rehearsals, 29% during parades, 21% during games, and 15% during performances. About 50% were treated on-site, but 44% went to the ER, and about 6% had severe heat stroke requiring in-patient hospitalization.
All heat-related illness occurs during hotter weather, and we’ll certainly be having more and more of that. Band leaders, school administrators, and parents should all watch the mercury and and help school band members cool it when they are in uniform. Helpful measures include: abundant water, lighter uniforms, shorter heat exposures, and cooling.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00484-021-02183-0
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210915135126.htm
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