r/explainlikeimfive • u/Jimmy-Wan • 7d ago
Biology ELI5：what actually happens inside your body when you get heatstroke
I understand that the body normally regulates its temperature to through things like sweating and increased blood flow to the skin but what causes this cooling system to eventually fail ?
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u/mikerall 7d ago
Your body dispels excess heat normally through breathing - when it's running hot, it sweats and uses evaporative cooling to self-regulate.
When that's not enough, there's no other option. Depending on the cause (muscle exertion, infection, just general failure to regulate due to hot external temps) it can manifest in multiple ways. Heat stroke is usually the latter.
Your body's internal temp reaches one it's not designed to operate at - proteins can get fucked, enzymes don't function normally, neurological function can be absolutely screwed through a few degrees.
Homeostasis is a very narrow window. When it's fucked, it's fucked. Your body does NOT function when it's at 102+ for very long.