Woman suffers multiple organ failure after using sauna at local gym
The woman suffered severe heat stroke after using a sauna at her local gym.
Sauna users are being urged to stay hydrated after a woman suffered severe heat stroke and multiple organ failure after sitting too long in the heat.
The woman, aged in her early 70s, spent 12 days in a Birmingham hospital after being found unconscious in a sauna in her local gym, with doctors finding damage to her heart, kidney, and liver.
Before getting in the sauna, she had been performing stretching exercises for around 45 minutes. Paramedics found her with an extremely high core body temperature of 42C, very low blood pressure, and a fast heart rate.
The woman, who has a history of type 1 diabetes and thyroid problems, was taken to the emergency department at Heartlands, where she was unresponsive. She also suffered a seizure shortly after getting to A&E.
The patient was cooled with wet towels and a fan, which saw her body temperature return to normal levels, medics said.
The patient said: "My experience has emphasised the dangers of saunas and how important it is to be fully hydrated on entering a sauna and for them to be regularly checked by staff.
"As a regular sauna-user, I never suffered any issues and, on reflection, I believe I had not drunk enough water.
The woman regained consciousness two hours after returning to normal body temperature, but she was confused and drowsy for two days.
Further investigations revealed she had suffered acute kidney injury - which had resolved 48 hours after she was admitted to hospital.
On the second day of her hospital stay, doctors found she had abnormal liver function.
She was also found to have suffered a form of heart attack.
The patient continued: "I am pleased to say I'm feeling well and appear to have made a full recovery.
"As a side note, considering what I have been through, I know that I am very lucky and cannot thank the medical staff enough."
Doctors wrote in the journal BMJ Case Reports: "The most likely diagnosis was likely to be classical heat stroke with multi-organ failure.
"To the best of our knowledge, there have been fewer than 10 previously reported cases of heat stroke secondary to sauna use," they said, including three deaths.
Medics saw the woman in hospital 26 days after the heat stroke and found she had "returned to her baseline health status" but was still suffering from fatigue.