A Unit Conducts Heat Stroke Prevention and Treatment Training at the Training Ground

"Someone is showing symptoms of heat stroke!" In the height of summer, a unit conducted heat stroke prevention and treatment training at the training ground. Upon receiving the report, the unit's medics immediately moved the "patient" to the shade of a tree. Cutting open clothing, applying cold compresses to major blood vessels, establishing an intravenous line… the medics carried out emergency treatment in accordance with the requirements of training materials such as the "Collection of Typical Cases of Heat Stroke Treatment in Military Units."

"Heat stroke is not the same as ordinary heatstroke. It not only causes the patient's body temperature to rise, but can also lead to multiple organ dysfunction." After the first round of training concluded, Wang Jie, an expert from the medical team of Joint Logistic Support Force No. 901 Hospital, produced comparative pathological slide images of heatstroke and heat stroke to explain to everyone the dangers of heat stroke and methods for its prevention and treatment. "In the past, many of our comrades had similar experiences — when training in high-temperature, high-heat environments, even if they felt severely dizzy and nauseous, they would grit their teeth and push through it," said one squad leader after listening to the expert's explanation. He added that this "old habit" must be changed going forward: organizing training under high-temperature conditions must respect science and proceed in a gradual, step-by-step manner (循序渐进).

After the rest period, officers and soldiers moved into heat acclimatization (热习服) training. Several soldiers, while organizing their gear, consulted the medical team experts: would conducting heat acclimatization training in hot weather increase the risk of heat stroke? "This is a second misconception that many comrades hold," the expert explained. "Heat acclimatization is a specialized form of training to improve the body's heat tolerance. Unlike physical fitness training, it works primarily through repeated heat stimulation to gradually enhance the body's ability to adapt to high-temperature environments, and can effectively prevent the occurrence of heat stroke."

At the training site, under expert guidance, officers and soldiers engaged in a variety of combined exercises — including basketball and shuttle runs — to allow their bodies to gradually adapt to the high-temperature environment. Experts periodically measured the heart rates and body temperatures of officers and soldiers to gauge their physical tolerance, and adjusted the intensity of heat acclimatization training accordingly. Soldier Xiao Wang, having just completed the shuttle run, took a bowl of mung bean soup handed over by medical personnel and said: "In the past, I always thought heat acclimatization was just warming up. The expert's explanation not only gave us a correct understanding of heat acclimatization, but also helped us master the scientific methods — we now feel much more confident about high-temperature training."

After heat acclimatization training concluded, simulated medical rescue training followed in succession. A "patient" suddenly collapsed from heat stroke. After assessing the "patient's" condition, the medic immediately arranged for others to call an ambulance, while personally using ice blankets, ice caps, and other means to cool the "patient" down on the spot. "If officers or soldiers display symptoms of heat stroke, rescuers must lower the patient's body temperature to below 39°C within a short period of time. Once the 'golden thirty minutes' is missed, even if the patient's life is saved, sequelae such as brain damage will remain," the medical team expert told reporters. The expert noted that during their grassroots medical rounds, they had found this to be a third "old habit" common among officers and soldiers: upon discovering a heat stroke patient, the instinct is to call an ambulance first, without promptly cooling the patient down. The correct approach is to rapidly cool the patient while simultaneously arranging for emergency transfer.

"Since the onset of the hottest period of summer (入伏), we have drawn together multidisciplinary medical personnel from emergency medicine, critical care, and other specialties to form more than ten medical teams, which have gone deep into grassroots units to conduct heat stroke prevention and treatment training," the hospital leader heading the team told reporters. The purpose of this visit, he said, is to help officers and soldiers develop a correct understanding of heat stroke and respond to it scientifically, ensuring safe and effective training.