Football Deaths Prompt Parents to Action to Prevent Heat Illness

A 16-year old Georgia football player died at a Florida football camp August 2, 2011, while another Georgia high schooler died in Atlanta from what is presumed, heat exhaustion or heat stroke from an optional team workout he attended on July 25. A week earlier, a 14 year old boy died following a morning football practice in Darlington, South Carolina. This was only the team's second day of practice for the season, but temps in the area were 101 degrees.

As a mom to a high school football player, this has me concerned. Football practice starts up in my area next week, right in the middle of a heat wave. Sadly, these recent deaths are not isolated cases. Every year, student athletes die from heat-related causes. According to the Annual Survey of Football Injury Research, eleven deaths were attributed to indirect causes such as heat stroke in 2010.

Coaches should know the drill; limit practice duration at first, watch the heat index and allow for plenty of water breaks. It is also extremely important for coaches, parents and the players themselves to know what to watch for regarding heat illness. Being able to recognize warning signs could save lives.

1. Parental involvement. Rotate parents to help watch practice. Coaches have a job to do and cannot monitor everyone at all times. While they should be held accountable for calling water breaks and paying attention to the heat index before pushing athletes too far, parents have more freedom to scan the players and watch for children who are having difficulty.

2. Identify at-risk athletes. Profiling is perfectly acceptable in this situation. The children who come into practice poorly conditioned or overweight, as well as any child with an underlying illness such as diabetes, or have had a previous encounter with heat illness should be watched more closely.

3. Know the symptoms. Educate the players to recognize the signs. If they begin to feel weak or nauseous, have a headache, become disoriented or start to experience muscle cramping, stop sweating or get the chills, they need to alert an adult. If they see a fellow teammate trying to push through visible illness, they should "blow the whistle." This is especially important during the first two weeks of practice.

4. Act fast. If a player is feeling any of these, do not wait until the next water break, immediately remove them from the field to cool down in the shade. Remove excess clothing and administer fluids with electrolytes. Putting an ice pack behind neck also helps.

5. Call for help. Seek medical attention, if there is no improvement, or if the player has dry, hot skin, a swollen tongue, rapid pulse, vomits, has visual disturbances or if the player losses consciousness. Heat stroke can damage the central nervous system and, as in the above situations, cause death. While waiting for help to arrive, continue to apply ice-cold water over the body to help cool down the core.

It will be some time before the heat dissipates, take precautions and stay on guard to help prevent any more athletes from dying before their time.



More by Sylvie Branch:
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Avoid Heat-related illness
Common sports injuries in children