DISASTER MEDICINE No. 1 •2026

https://doi.org/10.33266/2070-1004-2026-1

Review article

Heat Illness: a Review of Current First Aid Guidelines

Birkun A.A. 1,2

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1 Medical Institute named after S.I.Georgievskiy of V.I.Vernadskiy Crimean Federal University, Simferopol, Russian Federation

2 Crimean Republican Center of Disaster Medicine and Emergency Medical Services, Simferopol, Russian Federation

UDC 616-001.16:614.88(048.8)

P. 66-73

 

Summary. The purpose of this study was to review international scientific evidence and practical recommendations on first aid (FA) for heat illness.
Materials and methods of research. In June 2025, a search was conducted for scientific articles on the topic of providing FA for heat illness, as well as international and national guidelines on FA containing provisions concerning heat illness. The search was carried out without restrictions on the year of publication in Russian and English across the eLIBRARY.RU, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases, as well as using the Google search engine.
Research results and their analysis. The article presents an overview of modern principles and methods of providing FA in various forms of heat illness, including heat cramps of skeletal muscles, heat oedema of the extremities, heat syncope, heat exhaustion and life-threatening heat stroke. The methods of passive and active cooling of the body (including immersion and dousing of the body with ice-cold, cold or cool water, immersion of hands and feet in cold water, application of ice packs, ice sheets or towels, fanning, evaporative cooling), approaches to thermometry, and hydration are considered. Attention is paid to the issue of normative and legal regulation of the provision of FA for heat illness. The predicted increase in the number and intensity of heat waves determines the need to form a unified, effective organizational basis for the provision of FA in heat illness. The priority task is to develop and approve lists and sequences of measures to provide FA in case of heat illness, taking into account the best evidence-based principles and methods.

Key words: emergency care, first aid, heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat illness, heat syncope, heat stroke, hyperthermia, overheating, sunstroke

For citation: Birkun A.A. Heat Illness: a Review of Current First Aid Guidelines. Meditsina Katastrof = Disaster Medicine. 2026;1:66-73 (In Russ.). doi: 10.33266/2070-1004-2026-1-66-73

 

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The material was received 30.07.25; the article after peer review procedure 16.02.26; the Editorial Board accepted the article for publication 16.03.26
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