Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Living Well with the Carrie Connection

Don't let the heat sneak up on you this summer. I know you're wondering how anyone could possibly not notice it's hot?! However, it's one thing to realize it's hot, but another to take the right precautions.

The first rule of protecting yourself against the heat is to drink plenty of water. Most people rely on thirst to tell them to drink, but if you wait until you're thirsty, you are already behind. Your body is already dehydrated by the time you feel thirsty. If you wait until you're thirsty, drink until the thirst is quenched and then drink a few more gulps. This will re-hydrate you adequately. If you are active in the heat you should drink at least 10 to 12 8-oz. cups of fluid a day. Most active people lose more than 20 cups of fluid a day.

You should be especially concerned about fluid if you or your child participate in sports. Football practice is approaching, and you can ensure the safety of your child by being conscious of whether or not he or she is drinking enough water.

It is important to stress the importance of water to both your child and your coach. Encourage your child to drink two cups of fluid two hours before exercise to promote adequate hydration.

Coaches should mandate players to drink about four liters of fluid during practice, otherwise they may not drink enough. Larger volumes of fluid intake during exercise are associated with greater cardiac output, greater skin blood flow, lower core temperature and a reduced rate of perceived exertion.

You should only use water or sports drinks. Avoid caffeinated, highly sweetened and carbonated beverages. These have the potential to dehydrate and contribute to nausea. Water is perfectly acceptable for the purpose of re-hydration, but sports drinks are designed to make you want to drink more. Children will drink more sports drink than they will water, because it has more taste and contains salt, which will make them feel thirstier. Because sports drinks encourage you to drink more fluid, they are the beverage of choice when trying to get a child or headstrong teenager to re-hydrate.

It is important to understand the symptoms of dehydration, heat exhaustion and heat stroke given the recent temperatures. In Arkansas the relative humidity stays around 40 percent while the temperature has been around 100 degrees F. The combination of these two factors makes the temperature seem like 110 degrees F. If you increase the environmental temperature to 110 degrees F, then the temperature feels like 137 degrees F and heatstroke becomes highly likely to occur.

The symptoms of dehydration are loss of energy, performance and muscle cramps. The symptoms of heat exhaustion are dizziness; cold, clammy skin; nausea; and headaches. The symptoms of heat stroke are high body temperature and dry skin; confusion; and unconsciousness. People suffering from heatstroke will feel chilly and have tingling arms and goose bumps.

If you feel these symptoms get out of the heat and seek immediate medical treatment. Begin cooling down with ice baths or other means.

Please don't ignore your body in this heat. Plan for your fluid intake before you even go outside. Too much exposure to the heat combined with dehydration could be fatal for you or someone you love. If you don't think ahead the heat will catch you by surprise.