How to recognize heat stroke during hot days

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- As temperatures stay close to 100 all week, NBC 4 is taking a look at what happens when the heat takes a toll and people get sick. 

An OhioHealth doctor said heat-related illnesses can be a spectrum: from heat exhaustion to a severe situation where organs are shutting down. 

We got a walkthrough of what happens when someone comes into the emergency room with a heat-related illness, starting from where the ambulance pulls up.

This process is something NBC 4 anchor and reporter Matthew Herchik experienced firsthand. He’s sharing his story and hoping it will serve as a warning to others. 

Two years ago, Herchik was training for a bike race. That day, he set out with a 70-mile goal in mind.

"It was kind of a perfect storm, I hadn’t drank enough water," Herchik said. 

The temperature felt like over 100, just like on Tuesday.

"I started to get really, really dizzy, started to kind of see some stars, wasn't entirely sure where I was," he said. 

From there, the symptoms got worse and he ended up in the hospital where he was told just how serious his condition was. 

"The nurse literally told me if I didn't come into the hospital, I could have died," Herchik said. 

It’s something that can impact anyone, especially if you are behind on your water. 

"Sometimes you can have individuals who have a body temperature that exceeds 105," Dr. Ryan Squier with Riverside Methodist Hospital said.  

He said he's even seen as high as 109 degrees Fahrenheit. 

"They may not be able to protect their airway and what we need to do in an instance like that is we need to make sure that we are cooling them down as quickly as we possibly can," Squier said. 

Treatments can look like an IV, ice packs, or even an ice bath. 

"You see effects on the kidneys and people can enter into an episode of acute renal failure where their kidneys aren't functioning," Squier said. "These warnings are not to be taken lightly, and in particular, you know, we had to talk in my home the other day about the fact that we got a warning on Monday morning for a warning that spreads over the next five days. And that's something to be aware of."

Herchik was in the hospital for three days and his recovery lasted about three weeks after that.

"When you hear the term heat stroke now, it kind of takes me back to that moment, and I realize you hear it so much on days like this, you don't really ever think it's going to happen to you,” he said. “But it does, like I said, I don't think you really know in the moment that it is happening until you seek that medical attention.”

The important things to remember, what experts keep saying over and over, include drinking lots of water and electrolytes, taking breaks from the sun especially if you’re out working in it, and keeping to air conditioning when you can.