How to Stay Healthy During the Months of Extreme Heat
By hola | Published | No Comments
The summer months can be a fun time of year with kids out of school and the pools and beaches open. It’s a season of happiness and no stress for some. But many people suffer through the months of extreme heat — especially in Washington, D.C., where a heat emergency has been in effect since Sunday, the latest of several heat waves recorded since the warm weather began in the spring.
Exposure to summertime heat can affect people’s health, according to Dr. Matthew Levy, an emergency physician at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and a faculty member of the university’s School of Medicine. Sometimes, he says, heat-related maladies become so seriously that people have to be rushed to the hospital in life-threatening condition. In a recent interview with Hola Cultura, he explained how summer’s rising temperatures affect his patients, and how to stay healthy during these months of extreme heat.
In the summer, Levy says the kinds of seasonal-related injuries and illnesses that send people to hospital emergency departments includes excessive heat illness, traumatic injuries, exacerbations of chronic conditions, as well as drownings and injuries that take place during recreational activities.
“Humidity does amplify the effects and can make it harder to breathe, particularly for those folks with respiratory illnesses as asthma and lung disease,” Levy says.
Experts measure the heat and its impact using a concept known as the heat index, which determines the effect of heat and humidity on an individual’s body. It includes additional factors that can increase the risk of getting a heat-related illness. Levy says there is such a strong relationship between summertime extremes and human health that whenever the region sees consecutive days of high heat, he and his colleagues brace for more emergency room visits by patients most vulnerable to the consequences of extreme heat.
Heat illnesses are “really a spectrum of conditions,” Levy says, “that start off with heat cramps and the symptoms of dehydration and maybe some mild not feeling well or fatigue-type symptoms. Unfortunately this can progress to a more life-threatening emergency.”
A person suffering from heat illness may lose consciousness or have trouble breathing. In extreme situations, a person’s brain can’t auto-regulate the body’s temperature. Without immediate action, the results can be dire: ending in death or severe brain damage.
Levy says the effects of the heat can also make it hard for people to make good decisions when they are dehydrated and suffering from the effects of heat illness — which could play a role in the sorts of traumatic injuries that also send people to emergency rooms this time of year. Fortunately for many patients, doctors can recognize these signs and treat patients before heat-related illnesses get too serious.
Even people living and working in air-conditioned homes and offices may still run a higher risk of heat illnesses when their central air or window air conditioners break down or can’t keep up with rising temperatures. But Levy says even more at risk are essential workers, such as construction and other outdoor workers, first responders, postal workers and delivery drivers.
“There are a number of professions in the services industry where they don’t really have a choice,” he says. “They’ve got to be outside to do their jobs so that we can enjoy the quality of life that we want to have.”
The elderly, children, pregnant women and people with chronic medical conditions are among the most vulnerable to the heat. Respiratory illnesses can also be affected as the humidity increases, as well as illnesses such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases affect a person’s lungs’ ability for air to flow smoothly. Diabetes is another disease that makes an individual more susceptible to dehydration since some medications increase the frequency of urination.
Medication for chronic medical conditions may also affect how well people can tolerate the heat, Levy says. An example is high blood pressure. High blood pressure makes an individual more susceptible to the heat for several reasons. For instance, pills that make an individual urinate more often than usual make them more susceptible to dehydration and more vulnerable to suffering heatstroke. Accurate information about medications is a crucial part of keeping one safe and preventing other medical complications from occurring.
“Many primary care providers will also educate their patients [saying:] ‘Hey, you’ve got to be cautious,’ because this could go further. There’s always a need for more information about the medication’s potential consequences,” Levy says.
“People need to be aware of their own multiple medications,” Levy says. “They should check with their health care provider about potential risks they can face from heat-related situations.”
Everyone can prevent heat illnesses by taking precautionary measures immediately. Some of the simplest actions, Levy says, include the following:
- Take 15 to20-minute breaks frequently when working outdoors
- Wear loosely fitting, lightweight clothes and a hat
- Do not leave children or pets in vehicles, since car interiors can quickly heat up to dangerous temperatures
- Stay hydrated but avoid beverages with caffeine and alcohol, because oftentimes they contain chemicals that will dehydrate you
—Interview by Hola Cultura’s Environmental Justice storytelling group
—written by David Moreno
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