Tag Archives: heat-related

Today is Heatstroke Prevention Day

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Summer is about to reach its peak, but temperatures are still soaring.  Take the time to protect yourself and your loved ones from extreme heat.  Today is Heatstroke Prevention Day.  Do you know the difference between heat exhaustion and heat stroke?

Heat_Illness

Follow these tips from Ready.gov for protecting yourself in extreme heat:

  • Find air conditioning.
  • Avoid strenuous activities.
  • Watch for heat illness.
  • Wear light clothing.
  • Check on family members and neighbors.
  • Drink plenty of fluids.
  • Watch for heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke.
  • Never leave people or pets in a closed car.

Did you know that 21 young children have died in hot cars so far in 2019?  A child’s body overheats 3-5 times faster than an adult body.  Make sure your child is never left alone in a car.  If you see a child alone in a vehicle, get involved.  Call 911 immediately.  If the child seems hot or sick, try to get them out of the vehicle as soon as possible.  For more car safety tips for children, visit www.kidsandcars.org.

For more information about heat related illnesses, visit https://scdhec.gov/heat-related-illnesses.

From Other Blogs: Keeping cool in hot weather, avoiding uninvited guests at summer outings, using trauma-informed care to inform emergency preparedness and response

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A collection of health and environmental posts from other governmental blogs.

Keep Your Cool in Hot Weather

Now is the time to prepare for the high temperatures that kill hundreds of people every year. Extreme heat causes more than 600 deaths each year. Heat-related deaths and illness are preventable, yet many people still die from extreme heat every year.

Take measures to stay cool, remain hydrated, and keep informed. Getting too hot can make you sick. You can become ill from the heat if your body can’t compensate for it and properly cool you off.  The main things affecting your body’s ability to cool itself during extremely hot weather are … — From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Your Health – Your Environment blog

How to Avoid Uninvited Guests at Your Summer Outing

In the summertime, as the weather begins to heat up, our microscopic friends, called bacteria, begin to make uninvited appearances at our cookouts, picnics and even camping trips. Sometimes these little friends can be helpful, but other times, they just make you sick.

Bacteria will grow anywhere they have access to nutrients and water. Microorganisms that cause disease are called pathogens. When certain pathogens enter the food supply, they can cause foodborne illness. – From the US Department of Agriculture blog

Using trauma-informed care to guide emergency preparedness and response

Exposure to a traumatic event or set of circumstances can negatively affect a person’s mental, physical, social, emotional or spiritual well-being for a long time after the initial incident. We know that not all individuals respond to trauma in the same way and we know that individuals with a history of trauma, especially childhood trauma, are more likely to experience psychological distress and are at increased risk for the development of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with future exposure to trauma. – From the CDC’s Public Health Matters blog

Be careful while practicing and exercising in the heat

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There is a lot of buzz about the start of football season on all levels, whether pro, college, high school or other. But the excitement over a new football season — or even the start of a new outdoor workout routine — shouldn’t overshadow the fact that it’s hot outside. Be careful.

Anyone exercising outside, whether at football practice or out jogging or hiking, should take extra precaution when exerting themselves in the heat.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cautions those exercising or practicing while it’s hot outside to take the following precautions:

  • Limit outdoor activity, especially during the middle of the day when the sun is hottest.
  • Wear and reapply sunscreen as indicated on the package.
  • Schedule workouts and practices earlier or later in the day when the temperature is cooler.
  • Pace activity. Start activities slow and pick up the pace gradually.
  • Drink more water than usual, and don’t wait until you’re thirsty to drink more. Muscle cramping may be an early sign of heat-related illness.
  • Monitor a teammate’s condition, and have someone do the same for you.
  • Wear loose, lightweight, light-colored clothing.

People who exercise in extreme heat are more likely to become dehydrated and get heat-related illness. Seek medical care immediately if you or a teammate has symptoms of heat-related illness.

Visit the CDC’s website for additional tips on how to prevent heat-related illness. The agency’s website also has more on extreme heat and how it affects various groups.

 

NEVER leave a child in a parked car

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Some things should never, ever happen. Leaving a child in a parked car, even if the windows are open, is one of those things.

And don’t leave pets in that dangerous situation either.

Despite the many warnings and, tragically, the child deaths reported due to being left in a hot car, there are still those who take the chance. Again, don’t.

Here’s what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about infants and children and heat:

Keep children cool and hydrated

  • Dress infants and children in loose, lightweight, light-colored clothing.
  • Make sure they drink plenty of fluids. Avoid really cold drinks or drinks with too much sugar.
  • Follow additional tips on how to prevent heat-related illness.

Never leave children in a parked car

  • Even when it feels cool outside, cars can heat up to dangerous temperatures very quickly.
  • Leaving a window open is not enough: Temperatures inside the car can rise almost 20 degrees Fahrenheit within the first 10 minutes.
  • Children who are left unattended in parked cars are at greatest risk for heat stroke, and possibly death.

Tips for traveling with children

  • Never leave infants or children in a parked car, even if the windows are cracked open.
  • When leaving your car, check to be sure everyone is out of the car. Do not overlook any children who have fallen asleep in the car.

Visit the CDC’s website for information on symptoms of heat-related illness.

It’s Hot: Take steps to help stay cool

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Over the next day or two, the National Weather Service is forecasting temperatures in the mid- to upper-90s in some parts of South Carolina, with the heat index reaching above 100 degrees.

The heat index indicates how hot it actually feels to the body when relative humidity is combined with the air temperature. The heat index increases as the air temperature and relative humidity increase. Humid conditions make the body feel warmer.

When the body gets too hot, it uses sweat to cool off.  If that sweat is not able to evaporate, the body cannot regulate its temperature and struggles to cool itself.  When sweat evaporates, it reduces the body’s temperature

As you move about during these and other hot days to come, DHEC urges you to follow the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s three tips for preventing heat-related illnesses: Stay cool. Stay hydrated. Stay informed.

Stay cool:

  • Wear appropriate, lightweight clothing
  • Stay in an air-conditioned place as much as possible
  • Schedule outdoor activities carefully
  • Pace yourself; cut down on exercising when it is hot
  • Wear sunscreen

DO NOT LEAVE CHILDREN OR PETS IN CARS, EVEN IF THE WINDOW IS CRACKED!

Stay Hydrated

  • Drink plenty of fluids (Avoid very sugary or alcoholic drinks)
  • Replace salt and minerals lost due to sweating
  • Keep your pets hydrated

Stay Informed

  • Check for weather updates via local news
  • Know the signs and symptoms of heat-related illnesses
  • Monitor those at high risk:
  • Infants and young children
  • People 65 years of age or older
  • People who are overweight
  • People who overexert during work or exercise
  • People who are physically ill, especially with heart disease or high blood pressure, or who take certain medications, such as for depression or poor circulation
  • Visit and closely watch adults at risk at least twice a day

Visit the CDC website for more information on extreme heat.