Extreme Heat

Charity Robinson, MD

Given the weather forecast for this week I felt it was a good idea to address this issue even though I have touched on heat conditions and prevention in the past during summer articles. Our ER is often much busier on hot summer days with many visits related to symptoms of weakness, dizziness, and passing out.
Extreme temperature kills 100s of people every year, although heat related deaths and illnesses are preventable. It is important to take measures to stay cool and stay hydrated during the summer heat. Your body can become ill if you get too hot and this can lead to significant symptoms and even death. Things that can affect your body’s ability to stay are age, obesity, fever, dehydration, heart disease, poor circulation, sunburn, medications, and alcohol use. People at highest risk include those over 65 and children younger than 2, as well as people with chronic diseases that make them more susceptible to the heat. In order to prevent overheating, it is important to stay in air conditioned buildings as much as possible. If you do not have air conditioning at home you may want to go to public facilities that do have air conditioning or spend some time in an air-conditioning vehicle. Make sure you drink more water than usual, limit the use of stove and oven to keep your house cooler, and open the house during the night to help cool off the house and keep it cool as long as possible during the day.
Strenuous physical activity can also make people sick from the heat whether you are outdoors working, gardening, recreating, or participating in sports activities. If you do have to be outdoors during the hottest part of the day make sure you move slowly, drink more water than usual, and wear lightweight loose fitting clothing to allow skin to ventilate and help you cool off. Try avoid being outside in the heat of the day and do outdoor activities in the morning and evenings as much as possible.
If a person becomes overheated they can cool off more quickly in an air-conditioned environment, drink ice cold water, take a cool shower or bath, or use cool cloths, but if symptoms are not improving one may need to get medical care. Symptoms of a heat related illness include elevated body temperature, hot, red, dry or overly damp skin, fast and bounding pulse, headache, dizziness, fatigue, weakness, nausea, confusion, and passing out. It is also very important never to stay in an enclosed car without AC on hot days or leave pets or children in a car. Stay cool out there, and fall is just around the corner.