Exhaustion occurs when a person cannot sustain sweating, Oakes said. These people also should be taken into a cool area and given plenty of fluids. Oakes said symptoms of heat exhaustion include clammy, ash-gray colored skin, dizziness, fainting, nausea and headaches. Exhaustion victims also may have a drop in awareness and become confused or agitated, he said.

Oakes said people usually start sweating very heavily when they are nearing heat exhaustion. This actually hinders the body’s cooling process, he said.

Oakes said when a person sweats too much, the excess liquid on the body prevents evaporation. Evaporation of the liquid, not the liquid itself, cools the body, he said.

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Heatstroke occurs when the body simply cannot cool itself any longer, Oakes said.

You’ve sweated yourself out. You have nothing left to give, he said.

Debbie Newbold, a clinical preceptor manager for the Quality of Life Services branch office in Rosiclair, said people experiencing heatstroke will stop sweating, dehydrate and have an initial increase in their heart rate, followed by a quick drop.

Oakes said a person experiencing heatstroke will have hot, dry and red skin.

He said these people should be taken to a shaded, air-conditioned space and be given about a liter of water an hour. Victims should be laid down and have their clothes loosened. Sweating can be simulated by covering a person with wet towels and blowing a fan on them, Oakes said.