Brearley, Matt

2012-04-01

Exercise together with environmentally induced heat stroke continue to pose a problem for military operations in hot climates. A variety of cooling strategies are required by the military to mitigate the risk of heat stroke due to the variety of climates and physical workloads encountered by defence personnel, combined with their individual physical characteristics and uniforms/protective attire. This paper highlights that cooling is traditionally applied as a treatment for heat stroke rather than used to prevent its onset. Recent evidence from the field of sport science demonstrated that cold fluid consumption can act as a heat sink to blunt the rise of core body temperature. Furthermore, the addition of crushed ice to beverages substantially improves its heat storage potential, resulting in decreased core body temperature and enhanced endurance performance. While crushed ice will not be universally available in defence settings, it is a strategy that requires minimal equipment, is relatively quick to prepare, is not labour intensive and does not require the removal of a soldier's uniform. The military should therefore consider the use of crushed ice ingestion as a preventative measure against heat stroke.

National Critical Care and Trauma, Response Centre, email: matt.brearley@nt.gov.au

Brearley, M. (2012). Crushed ice ingestion - a practical strategy for lowering core body temperature. Journal of Military and Veterans’ Health, 20(2), 25–30. https://search-informit-org.www.ezpdhcs.nt.gov.au/doi/10.3316/informit.722054510965857

1835-1271

https://hdl.handle.net/10137/12005

20

Exercise| |Physiological aspects Heat| |Physiological effect Body temperature| |Regulation Heat stroke Medicine, Military

Crushed ice ingestion - a practical strategy for lowering core body temperature

Journal Article

Publication