Heatstroke
Heatstroke is a life-threatening emergency. Cool the body while waiting for 119.
Signs of heatstroke
- Very high body temperature — the body feels hot to touch.
- Sweating has stopped — the skin is dry despite the heat.
- Clouded consciousness — slurred speech or strange behaviour.
- Severe headache, dizziness, vomiting
- Seizures
- Rapid pulse
Heavy sweating with dizziness is heat exhaustion, which often improves with rest somewhere cool.
What to do immediately
- Call 119. Don't hesitate.
- Move them into shade or air conditioning.
- Loosen their clothing and cool the body.
- Apply cold wet cloths or ice packs to the neck, armpits and groin.
- Fan them, or wet the skin.
- If fully conscious, give cool water or an electrolyte drink in small sips.
- If consciousness is clouded, never give fluids.
What not to do
- Leaving them alone
- Giving fluids to an unconscious person
- Relying on fever medication — it doesn't work here.
- Putting it off with "a rest will fix it"
Where to go
- 119 immediately
- 1339 Korea Disease Control Agency
- 1345 interpretation support
- 1350 Ministry of Employment and Labour (if it happened at work)
Questions people ask
Someone collapsed working outdoors. It may qualify as an industrial accident. Get it on the hospital record and ask 1588-0075. See heat-illness and industrial-accident.
Can it happen indoors? Yes. Poorly ventilated rooms, plastic greenhouses and cars all cause it. Older people and children are especially at risk.
Can they go back to work after recovering? No. They must be seen by a doctor and rest properly — the risk of recurrence is high.
How do I prevent it? Water, shade and rest are the basics. See heat-illness for detail.
Take care
Never leave a person or child alone in a car — even briefly, it can be fatal. On outdoor worksites during a heatwave, water, shade and rest breaks are part of the employer's safety duty. If they are absent, you can report it to 1350.
Related
heat-illness · heatwave-emergency · first-aid-basics · emergency-symptoms · hypothermia
Source
Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency www.kdca.go.kr / As of 2026-08