Without emergency treatment, the victim lapses into a coma and death soon follows. Heat cramps are painful spasms in a muscle caused by excessive salt loss due to profuse sweating.
Heat exhaustion is fatigue, sometimes leading to collapse, caused by overexposure to heat.
It is most common in people unaccustomed to working in a hot environment. Unless treated, heat exhaustion may develop into heat stroke, which is a life-threatening condition. Causes Heat stroke is most commonly brought on by prolonged, unaccustomed exposure to the sun in a hot climate. It is more likely to occur in humid conditions, which reduce the body's ability to cool itself by the evaporation of sweat. Heat stroke can also be caused by working in an extremely hot environment or, very rarely, by a severe fever.