Schedule An Appointment

Symptom Checker

Heat Exhaustion and Heatstroke

Heat exhaustion is illness caused by the body becoming overheated and losing too much fluid and salt. Heatstroke is a more severe form of heat illness in which body temperature rises dangerously and brain function is affected.

Hot weather, strenuous exercise, dehydration, heavy clothing and prolonged exposure to heat can cause both conditions.

Call a nurse All symptoms

AAP Guide to Heat Exhaustion and Heatstroke

The AAP guide below explains how to cool your child, how the two conditions differ and when to call 911.

AAP Symptom CheckerHeat illness

If the Symptom Checker does not appear here

It is the American Academy of Pediatrics’ own tool and it loads from their site, so a lost connection or a content blocker leaves this space empty. Open it on HealthyChildren.org with the button below, or call your office and a nurse will answer.

Open on HealthyChildren.org

Symptom CheckerHeat illness New tab

When to see a doctor

Contact your pediatrician or another healthcare professional if:

  • Your child remains weak, dizzy, nauseated or has a headache after cooling and drinking fluids.
  • Vomiting prevents your child from drinking.
  • Symptoms keep returning with heat exposure.
  • You are unsure whether the child has heat exhaustion or heatstroke.

Call 911 or get emergency care if:

  • Your child becomes confused, collapses or has a seizure.
  • Your child is very hot and is not acting normally.
  • Your child is very difficult to wake or has another sign of heatstroke.

Talk to a nurse now, at any hour

When can my child be seen

Be seen today.

Every office keeps same-day appointments for illness and injury.

This evening or at the weekend.

Most offices run After Hours Care, by appointment rather than walk-in.

If you are worried, call. We would rather answer a question that turns out to be nothing.

More on knocks, pain and injuries

See the rest of this group and all 164 symptoms