Military medicine/Hot weather environments

Military Medicine in Hot Weather Environments

Military clinicians practicing medicine in warm or hot weather environments (such as the desert) must have specialized knowledge on how to predict, prevent, and treat medical problems related to the heat.

This course will provide an overview of the problems that heat causes with respect to military operations, the human psychological and physiological responses to heat, the prevention of warm weather injuries, the presentation and management of common heat injuries, and military medical operational planning considerations for warm weather environments.

This course contains nine modules:

Module 1: Introduction to Heat Problems in Military Operations

• Definitions and Epidemiology
• The Six “Agents” of Heat Effects
• An overview of Heat Illness
• Host Factors
• Effects of Heat on Operations
• Effects of dehyderation on Operations

Module 2: Human Adaptations

• Importance of Tissue Temperature
• Body Temperature and Heat Transfer
• Balance Between Heat Production and Loss
• Heat Dispersion
• Thermoregulatory Control
• Thermoregulatory Responses in Exercise
• Factors that Alter Heat Tolerance

Module 3: Physical Exercise in Hot Climates

• Body Temperatures
• Physiological Response and Limitations
• Physical Exercise Performance
• Strategies to Sustain Physical Performance
• Biomedical Issues

Module 4: Psychological Aspects

• Psychological Performance in Hot Environments
• Underlying Mechanisms
• Changes in Performance Unique to the Military
• Military Applications

Module 5: Pathophysiology of Heat Stroke

• Pathophysiology of Heatstroke
• Heat Illness
• Prophylaxis and Treatment

Module 6: Prevention of Heat Illness

• Improving Heat Tolerance
• Medical Screening for Risk
• Reducing Heat Stress
• Tools for Prevention

Module 7: Exertional Heat Illness

• Clinical Features
• Heat Illness Syndromes
• Clinical Management
• Epidemiology and Prevention in the Military
• Surveillance and Reporting

Module 8: Case Study: Heat Stroke in the Israeli Defence Force

• A Preventable Condition
• Question of Diagnosis
• Clinical and Pathological Pictures
• Management and Prognosis

Module 9: Practical Medical Aspects of Military Operations

• Heat as a Threat
• Planning for Deployment
• Tips for Medical Officers

School:Medicine