Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Prevention Tips Given For Heat

One of the best ways to treat heat-related illnesses is to prevent them. It is important to be able to recognize those at risk, and to know what to do should an incident occur.

A certain amount of heat is necessary to maintain your body's temperature. Any heat that is not needed is released from your body by sweating and through breathing.

When there is an interruption of these two systems, the temperature of your body can become high enough to cause hyperthermia, or a heat-related illness.

There are three categories of heat-related illnesses:

Heat cramps: Usually this is from prolonged exposure to heat. A person will perspire profusely, often drink large amounts of water, and complain of painful muscle cramps.

Heat exhaustion: Usually this is from exposure to excessive heat while working or exercising. Often this is most common during summer heat waves. The symptoms will be just like heat cramps, but the skin will feel cold and clammy instead of hot. This stage of heat-related illness, if not taken care of, could develop into an emergency, called

Heat stroke: This is a true emergency, and medical attention should be received immediately. The person who presents this illness could be unconscious or have seizures.

Treatment of heat-related illnesses should include moving into a cooler environment and increasing fluid intake by drinking cool liquids. It is wise to drink fluids such as sports drinks, or fruit juices to help replace the salts that have been lost from sweating.

Medical help, such as an ambulance, should be called immediately if heat stroke is suspected.

Those who would be at high risk for these types of illnesses are the elderly, young children and anyone who has medical problems that may be aggravated by exposure to heat.

The heart of summer is here. Outside activities have increased. Make prevention of heat related illnesses part of your daily activities by remembering to:

• Always carry a container of cool water when you will be exposed to heat.
• Limit activities to a minimum during the hottest part of the day.
• Take a rest period after being exposed to heat, eat fruits and drink extra fluids.
• Try to avoid excessive activity with high outside temperatures and high humidity.