![]() Don't ignore the early signs of heat-related illness ![]() Ask your doctor whether any of your medicines could be dehydrating. In general, older people are more vulnerable to heat, so if you're older and on these medications, take extra precautions to stay cool and hydrated. "Lots of medicines work by dehydrating us - excreting excess fluid. These include anticholinergic medications, anticonvulsants, bladder medications and sedatives. Other types of medications can have this effect too, says Schumann. And if you then add heat, which also causes you to lose excessive amounts of fluid, "that can cause a very dangerous situation." "Those medications are trying to get rid of fluid from your body because of underlying heart issues," he says. Some heart medications such as blood pressure drugs, which millions of people take, are diuretic, he explains. Heat + (certain) medications don't mixĬertain medications can make people more vulnerable to heat, explains Momin. Kids can be more vulnerable to heat-related illness, and it takes them longer to acclimatize to sudden hot weather.Ĥ. "In these heat-dome times, though I pooh-pooh all the millennials who carry water bottles everywhere, the kids - they're right about this," he says. In Tulsa, he says, in recent weeks they've seen bouts of 100-degree weather. Water is the best way to hydrate - and it's free! Sports drinks add electrolytes and can be helpful if you've gotten overheated or if you're participating in a marathon or other endurance event - but they're not necessary when you're simply trying to stay hydrated throughout the day, says Schumann, who also serves as a medical director for Oak Street Health, a chain of primary care clinics. "Make sure that you're peeing frequently and that your urine is pale" - almost clear, says Eisenman. The best test of hydration is to check the color of your urine. His advice is to double the amount you'd drink in a typical day. Most people aren't even hydrated enough on a normal day, Eisenman notes, so it's easy to start at a deficit on a hot day. "The moment you begin to feel thirsty, you're likely anywhere between 10 to 25% dehydrated already," says Gandhi. So if you're planning a hiking trip, summer sightseeing or any other extended exposure to heat, plan to spend short periods in the heat each day in the days leading up to your outdoor adventure.Īnd note that kids acclimatize much more slowly than adults, says Eisenman, so give them extra days to prepare.Īnd bring plenty of water with you, and don't wait until you're thirsty to start drinking during an outdoor activity. "It's going to happen over the space of several days of exposure," Eisenman says. And your thirst increases, so you're less likely to get dehydrated.īut this doesn't happen immediately. Also, blood flow to the skin improves, which has the effect of cooling us down by carrying heat out of the body's core. "Our body starts to sweat sooner at a lower body temperature and at a greater rate," explains Eisenman. And every year, about 650 people die from heat-related illness in the United States.įortunately, once acclimatized, the body gets better at fending off heat-related illness. Your body isn't "acclimatized to handle the stress," Gandhi says. ![]() If you go from mostly spending time in air conditioning to an outdoor activity in the sweltering heat, you could be caught off guard. ![]() When a heat wave strikes, your body needs time to adjust, says Neil Gandhi, a physician at Houston Methodist Hospital: "You can't do too much too soon." Too much, too soon: You need to acclimatize Here are mistakes to avoid and ways to plan ahead to protect yourself from the heat. "Heat can envelop and pummel you."Īnd there are a lot of misconceptions about the best ways to protect yourself, warns David Eisenman, a physician at UCLA who is co-director of the UCLA Center for Healthy Climate Solutions. It might be OK to mow the lawn or go to a cookout, but "don't overdo it," warns John Schumann, a primary care physician in Tulsa, Okla. But if you need to go outside, or if you're somewhere with more moderate heat, remember that high temperatures can be dangerous. If you're in a place with a heat advisory, you should try to stay indoors as much as you can. and the National Weather Service has dubbed this a summer of " excessive" weather. ![]() As the heat breaks records, remember that preventing heatstroke or heat exhaustion takes planning ahead to ensure you stay hydrated and can cool off frequently.Įxtreme heat is baking much of the U.S. ![]()
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