ABSTRACT
Heat illness occurs when the body's capacity to dissipate heat is exceeded by internal heat production and/or by heat stress from an external source. Heat illness is predisposed to by hot weather, exercise, obesity, fever, lack of physical fitness or acclimatization, skin disease such as psoriasis or eczema, alcohol intake, and drugs such as anticholinergic agents, cocaine and amphetamines. Hyperthermia-related syndromes may be associated with specific drug administration such as anticholinergic agents, serotonin agonists, dopamine antagonists and inhalational anaesthetics. Sepsis must be excluded as part of the diagnosis. Dysbarism is the medical complication of exposure to gases at higher than normal atmospheric pressure. It manifests clinically as decompression illness, which may be further classified by the acuity, evolution, presence or absence of barotrauma and the organs involved. Decompression illness occurs when inert nitrogen gas forms bubbles within the venous and lymphatic systems, or body tissues, rather than being eliminated by the lungs.
