America's Healthy Summer: Avoid Heat-Related Illness in Student Athletes

July 19, 2010 — -- The United States is in the grip of a record hot summer, and children who play outdoors sports are vulnerable to heat stroke.

Earlier this month two assistant football coaches were arrested and charged with reckless endangerment after a student athlete collapsed during training. The student had been doing weight training and running in 93-degree weather, according to reports.

Police say the coaches failed to provide the players with water.

The danger is very real. Exertional heat stroke is one of the leading causes of sudden death in sports.

Dr. Marie Savard appeared on "Good Morning America" this morning to talk about what parents, athletes and active adults can do to avoid heat exhaustion.

You can go from heat exhaustion to potentially fatal heatstroke in a matter of minutes. Once you have to seek treatment for a heat-related problem, the situation can be very serious, Savard said. Heat stroke can be fatal.

Antihistamines and antidepressants can lower a child's heat tolerance, Savard said. Prime allergy season is coming up, so many children may be taking Benadryl or Allegra. One of the side effects of those medications is a drier mouth. Those medications also affect your ability to sweat. Antihistamines such as Benadryl, Dramamine and Phenergan have anti-sweating -- or anticholinergic -- properties.

Antidepressants can also impair the ability to sweat, which is a critical function to regulating the body's temperature.

If your child needs to continue taking a certain prescription, you need to tell the coach about it. You don't have to share exactly what the child is taking -- particularly if it's sensitive -- but you can say he or she is taking a drug that impairs sweating ability, Savard said.