If you are in a tropical country or where summer stays for the majority of the year, then the heat can be extreme indoors and outdoors especially if humidity gets mixed into it. Extreme hot weather can be a reason for heat-related illnesses. At the same time if you are in a cold region, then spending time in the sun is nice. However, too much sun can put your health at risk by developing a heat-related illness.
With the rise of temperature, our body’s natural cooling mechanism that is sweat evaporates to cool our body. But as the humidity in the air increases, evaporation slows down. As a result, your body can’t be able to keep itself cool. The problem occurs more for children and teens as they are more active than adults and generate more heat.
As per the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggestions people older than 65 years, or younger children and individuals who have chronic diseases or any mental illness are at the highest risk of heat-related illnesses. But the good news is that heat-related illnesses and deaths are preventable.
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What are heat-related illnesses?
If you are exposed to a hot temperature for a prolonged period, that can cause heat-related illnesses such as heat stroke, heat exhaustion, heat cramps, and many more. But why does it happen? Well, our body has its own automatic mechanism to cool it down. For that process, when our body becomes excessively hot, more blood flows to the surface of our skin. As a result, your muscles, brain, and other organs receive less blood flow which means less oxygen. This hampers both our physical and mental strength, capacity, and put us in serious danger. This unwellness is known as heat-related illness.
Heat-related illness can strike anyone. However, people who work in hot or humid environments, exposed to the sun in a hot and humid afternoon, are most at risk. At the same time, people who are chronic alcoholics, the young, the elderly, the obese, and also those who have compromised immune systems are more prone to heat-related illnesses. Not to mention, individuals who are taking certain drugs, like antihistamines, or antipsychotic medications are also prone to heat-related illness.
We must be most careful about elderly people, as they don’t adjust to sudden temperature changes. Additionally, they could have a chronic medical condition that restricts their body responses to heat than in a normal way. Prescription medications also affect the body’s ability to cool itself through perspiration.
Here is a list of heat-related illness and their prevention methods as per the CDC guide:
However, by reducing excessive exposure to high temperatures and taking preventive measures most heat-related illnesses can be avoided. Though heat-related illness like heat stroke is deadly, most of the heat-related illness can be recovered with prompt treatment.
What Causes Heat-Related Illnesses?
Is the extremely high temperature is only responsible for heat-related illness? For your information, high humidity also increases the risk of heat-related illness as it interferes with the evaporation of sweat. As the body can’t cool off properly you can get sick from the heat.
We can categorize the reasons for heat-related illnesses into two main categories:
- Exercise-associated heat exhaustion
- Non-exertional or classic heat stroke
How to avoid heat-related illness?
You can get many guidance from different websites like the CDC, orAccuWeather, etc. regarding how to stay cool to avoid heat-related illness.
Here are some quick tips on the same:
- Drink plenty of fluid like water or fruit juice than you usually do. In extremely hot weather you should not wait until you feel thirsty. Lack of fluid in the body cells can cause muscle cramping which is an early sign of heat-related illness.
- Always keep some backup of frozen or cold-water bottles with you. It can serve the purpose of an instant remedy to cool down your body or as a source of cold drinking water.
- If you’re exposed to outdoors, you should drink water frequently. Also, take frequent breaks to avoid heat exposure and ultimately heat-related illness as mentioned in the chart.
- Be cautious with your dressings also. Wear loose, choose light-colored cotton-based dress so that your skin can breathe.
- Apply sunscreen
- Limit your outdoor activities during midday. Try to do it early in the morning or late on the day when the temperatures are cooler.
- Keep a close watch to the danger signs of heat-related illness for yourself and the people surrounding you.
- When you are indoor, stay in an air-conditioned location as much as possible if you have that chance.
- If there is heatwave outside, keep the windows and doors closed.
- Use nearby fans along with ceiling fans in extremely hot weather
- You can use a reverse fan in the window to blow out hot air from indoors and replace it with cooler air.
- Keep unnecessary lights turned off and the curtains closed to keep out the heat.
You should be careful related to food also…
As we know the best defense against heat-related illnesses is prevention, hence, when we will consider food during summer, we must be careful enough.
Whether or not you are a foodie, that comes second if you consider the food-making process. It is no doubt a painful job to cook hours in front of a stove or oven. This adds another level of discomfort during the heatwave. Why not shorten your menu?
Do some microwave cooking or slow cooking, or make something quick on the stovetop. Have some cold salads and sandwiches. This will not only give you relief but also prevent build-up heat in the kitchen. Moreover, eat smaller meals to make your summer better.
Prepare smoothies. Instead of hot coffee, drink cold liquid like iced tea. This works wonders in the summer. You need to stay hydrated. So even if you are not thirsty, drink plenty of water. This will increase your sweating. In addition to that, avoid caffeinated and alcoholic drinks. Also, if you think those sugary cold drinks give you momentary relief during extremely hot, you must remember all these drinks like coffee, alcohol, or cold drinks cause your body to lose more fluid than in normal conditions.
Hence, you must avoid food or drinks which have a warming effect on your body. On the contrary, you should intake those things which have a cooling effect on your body to avoid heat-related illness. Here is a list of such items.
| Foods to avoid | Food to eat more |
| Fried foods | Vegetables like cucumber, cooked beets, leafy greens, cabbage, celery, sprouts, fennel, beans, asparagus, zucchini, carrots, snow peas, broccoli, cilantro, cauliflower, peas, lettuce, kale, daikon radish, and radicchio |
| Alcohol | Fruits like all melons, pears, pomegranates, bananas, blueberries, grapefruit, pineapple, cranberries, mango, coconut, papaya, avocado, and kiwi. |
| Caffeine | herbs like basil, coriander, mint, and dill. |
| Spices like garlic, cayenne, ginger, paprika, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg | |
| Vegetables like raw onion, green onion, horseradish, mustard greens, raw beets, radish, raw ginger |
Final verdict
So far, we have discussed the reasons, effects, and prevention of heat-related illnesses. However, beyond this, there is something more we should consider. The average global temperature has risen due to global warming. So, to calm down the earth, we must be conscious enough regarding nature. Like our body has its own biological rules, nature too. So, stress on nature-friendly activities like plantation, pollution control, and energy conservation.
If you buy some electrical gadgets have a close look at their energy consumption, or even buying your favorite car, pay attention to fuel efficiency. Do some plantation at home. This not only gives a soothing effect to your eyes but also gift you more oxygen.
Let’s make a better world and this way we can contribute little to prevent heat and heat-related illness.