Some may drop an evil eye on me right now, but we are hitting 90 degrees down here in South Florida. With that comes the warnings for Heat Related Injuries at the range and time to remind everybody about them.

This guide is a sticky in out club’s forum and we bump it every time the temp goes back to abnormal hell on earth. I hope it helps and please share with everybody.

Heat Exhaustion & Heatstroke. (Please read carefully)

Since we are blessed by living in South Florida and enjoy hot weather, this is a reminder for EVERYBODY on Heat Exhaustion & Heatstroke.

Please do take a moment to read through and learn the symptoms. As one that has suffered both, the first thing I will tell you is that it sneaks on you and by the time you realize you are sick (if at all) you are on your way to a hospital.

If during a match you suspect somebody is suffering from Heat Exhaustion or Heatstroke, don’t be shy and pull him/her out to safety. Notify the Match Director or any Club Officer or anybody you know with first aid, paramedic, medical experience so treatment can start right then and there. Range Safety also includes accidents other than gunshot wounds and ricochets.

Heat exhaustion

Definition
By Mayo Clinic staff

Heat exhaustion is a condition whose symptoms may include heavy sweating and a rapid pulse, a result of your body overheating. It’s one of three heat-related syndromes, with heat cramps being the mildest and heatstroke being the most severe.

Causes of heat exhaustion include exposure to high temperatures, particularly when combined with high humidity, and strenuous physical activity. Without prompt treatment, heat exhaustion can progress to heatstroke, a life-threatening condition. Fortunately, heat exhaustion is preventable.
Signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion may come on suddenly or may develop after days of heat exposure. Possible heat exhaustion signs and symptoms include:

* Cool, moist skin with goose bumps when in the heat
* Heavy sweating
* Faintness
* Dizziness
* Fatigue
* Weak, rapid pulse
* Low blood pressure upon standing
* Muscle cramps
* Nausea
* Headache

If you think you’re experiencing heat exhaustion:

* Stop all activity and rest
* Move to a cooler place
* Drink cool water or sports drinks
Contact your doctor if your signs or symptoms worsen or if they don’t improve within 60 minutes. Seek immediate medical attention if your body temperature reaches 104 F (40 C) or higher.

Heatstroke

Definition
By Mayo Clinic staff

Heatstroke is a life-threatening condition that occurs when your body temperature reaches 104 F (40 C) or higher. Heatstroke can be brought on by high environmental temperatures, by strenuous physical activity or by other conditions that raise your body temperature. Whatever the cause, you’ll need immediate medical attention to prevent brain damage, organ failure or death.

Heatstroke is the escalation of two other heat-related health problems: heat cramps and heat exhaustion. In these conditions, you develop signs and symptoms that are milder than those of heatstroke. You can prevent heatstroke if you receive medical attention or take self-care steps as soon as you notice problems.
Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staff

Heatstroke symptoms include:

* High body temperature. A body temperature of 104 F (40 C) or higher is the main sign of heatstroke.
* A lack of sweating. In heatstroke brought on by hot weather, your skin will feel hot and dry to the touch. However, in heatstroke brought on by strenuous exercise, your skin usually feels moist.
* Flushed skin. Your skin may turn red as your body temperature increases.
* Rapid breathing. Your breathing may become rapid and shallow.
* Racing heart rate and strong pulse (tachycardia). Your pulse may significantly increase because heat stress places a tremendous burden on your heart to help cool your body.
* Headache. You may experience a throbbing headache.
* Neurological symptoms. You may have seizures, lose consciousness, slip into a coma, hallucinate, or have difficulty speaking or understanding what others are saying.
* Muscle cramps or weakness. Your muscles may feel tender or cramped in the early stages of heatstroke, but may later go rigid or limp.

When to see a doctor
If you think you have heat cramps or the beginning signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion, first try to cool yourself and replenish your water and salt levels. [b]If your condition has progressed past heat cramps and heat exhaustion and you feel any of the symptoms of heatstroke, seek immediate medical attention.

It was kinda frightening. I am getting my daily dose of Snark from Tam about the dumb pretty faces in the news just talking crap about the Japanese Tsunami Aftermath & Nuke Troubles when my TV, tuned to a Television Española’s (Spain’s Government TV) Talk Show where seriously dumb overbleached hostesses comment about the future of the poor Japanese travelers who will be checked out everywhere they’ll go in the world for radiation and isolated to avoid possible contamination.

I guess they Japanese will be glowing in the dark too so they won’t be needing light-bulbs in their homes at night.

It is a good thing I love my Española mother and she lives with us. I was this close to cuss the hell out of the land of my ancestors at 160 db.

Note to self: Apparently sharks do not speak Spanish.

” A 21-year-old man put a 9mm handgun up to his cheek and pulled the trigger in front of friends — apparently forgetting there was a round in the chamber.”

Not enough faceplam to quantify stuff like this.

Acceptable to anybody who is not a Taxpayer. This has to be a joke.

Sebastian over Snowflakes in Hell comments about an “article” in MPR News by Brandt Williams titled: “Following the firearms: A reporter’s notebook.” Let me rephrase that, it is not an article but a mercenary piece of propaganda bought and paid by the Joyce Foundation.

I won’t go over the same points Sebatian cleverly slices and dices, but some stuff did catch my attention.

First presenter Tom Diaz had some interesting insight into the gun industry. Diaz is senior policy analyst at the Violence Policy Center. He says the industry is “sick,” meaning its sales have been flat for decades.

Say what? Has Mr. Diaz checked the NICS records lately? Since 1999 NICS checks on firearms sales have gone from 9 million to 14 million. That is a 55% increase! Maybe this lack of basic research and math explains why gun control groups must seek funding by begging from the Joyce Foundation or selling their email lists to spammers.

Ben Van Houten, Legal Community Against Violence, summarized the gun laws for Minnesota, Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan. Apparently, strong gun laws don’t necessarily mean fewer gun crimes.

I wonder how many decades have we been saying that. But we are not to be trusted…noooo. I am guessing Mr Van Houten was tarred and Feathered after the presentation.

Hayes also said just because you can trace a gun back to its original owner doesn’t mean you’ll find out how it came to be used in a crime. The original owner could have given it to a relative, sold it to a pawn shop, etc.

If you keep this up, you will not get paid by the Joyce Foundation. Again, we could have told you that long ago. Or better yet, you could have done a Google search and find the same info.

I talked to Bob Schmidt and Bernie Zapor from the St. Paul ATF yesterday. They told me that even if the MPD wants to give us gun trace data, they are forbidden from doing so. They told me that instead, we’ll have to get our trace data from court records, which is not what I understood from Ben Hayes, the ATF agent who gave a presentation at the Chicago seminar.

ATF agent not knowing Federal firearms laws? How come we are not surprised over this side.

The bad news is, he still doesn’t have his hands on a homicide case we can use as the centerpiece for this project. I told him time is running short. However, Cruz will get me in front of one of the prosecutors who specialize in gun cases next week, and I’ll press my case with them.

Seriously, you sound a tad ghoulish right there. Desperately seeking Homicides? It sounds like Serial Killer by proxy.

If you feel like it, read the whole article. Mr. Williams does not appear to be in search of the truth at all. His notes reveal lack of flexibility or a smidgen of open mindedness. He wants a homicide with a gun and track it. The info he wrote down is indication of self-imposed ignorance and complete bias just as it should be when you are taking money from the Joyce Foundation.