Summer is upon us, and the heat is already brutal. It is crucial to protect ourselves from dehydration and heat strokes. Here’s a quiz to find out just how much you know about the impact heat can have on the human body.
Science Quiz: On dehydration and heat strokes
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A baby being treated for dehydration at a hospital in Gulbarga, Karnataka. File photograph.
START THE QUIZ
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Dehydration can be a serious heat-related condition. It can occur when a person is overexposed to the sun and not drinking enough water, causing the body to lose water as well as crucial electrolytes like sodium and potassium. Which two categories of persons are particularly susceptible to dehydration and in whom it is most dangerous?
Answer : Children and elderly persons (older adults aged over 60)
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True or False: Thirst is a reliable indicator of the body’s need for water.
Answer : False. Many people, especially the elderly, do not feel thirsty until they are already dehydrated.
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The three stages of heat injuries are heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Untreated heat exhaustion can lead to a heat stroke. Some common symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke are nausea/vomiting, headache and dizziness. But there is one key difference in a heat stroke that relates to the brain. What is this?
Answer : A heat stroke can cause brain dysfunction (encephalopathy). A person’s mental state or behaviour can change, causing confusion, agitation or disorientation. They can also lose consciousness.
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A heat stroke is a life-threatening emergency and occurs when the body’s cooling system fails and heat builds up to a dangerous level. This happens when the body’s temperature rises to ____ or higher.
Answer : 40 degrees Celsius or 104 degrees Farenheit
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People with certain lifestyle conditions are at a higher risk for heat strokes. Name any two of these conditions.
Answer : Hypertension or high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, kidney disease.
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Symptoms of dehydration can differ by age. In infants and young children as in the picture above, they include: dry mouth, no tears when crying, no wet diapers for three hours and lethargy/irritability. One other symptom to check for involves the soft spot on top of the skull, known as the fontanelle. What happens to it when a baby is dehydrated?
Answer : The fontanelle gets sunken.
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Published – April 09, 2025 07:08 pm IST
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