I had it once after working a fire during my paramedic days. It was August in Texas and the heat was incredible. I was light-headed and nauseated and just felt like I was wrung out. Almost fainted trying to step up to the truck when we were on our way back to the station. Medics and firefighters wear so much gear, and then there was the Texas summer heat and the heat from the fire.

It took about six hours of lying down, drinking water and Gatorade and saying cool to start feeling back to normal. It takes a while. You get both dehyrated and your temperature regulation mechanism starts to get a little wacky after you can no longer cool yourself effectively with perspiration.

Fluids and rest. You don't want to take it to the next level, which is heat stroke. I think I'll move this to our medical forum, if that's OK