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Pat's PBS Special

smart tips for summer temperatures

Patricia Carroll, RN,BC, CEN, RRT, MS

Smart Tips for Summer Temperatures

For more information about heat-related illness, click here

Summer heat means vacations, baseball, and lemonade. People head outside to exercise, garden, or sunbathe. But to nurses like me, summer also means more cases of heat-related illness: dehydration, heat exhaustion, even heat stroke.

The good news is that heat-related illnesses are completely preventable – here’s what you need to know.

Treat Heat Stroke First -- It's Life Threatening

Heat stroke is characterized by disorientation and a body temperature of more than 103 degrees—and rising. Anyone can get heat stroke, even people who are accustomed to being in the heat. Heat stroke is a major medical emergency. Call emergency services immediately if someone you’re with has these symptoms. Delay can lead to death.

Heat Exhaustion and Dehydration -- More Common

Symptoms of heat exhaustion are dizziness, headache, feeling tired, and perhaps sick to your stomach. The key difference from heat stroke is that people with heat exhaustion feel lousy, but their body temperature doesn’t rise, and they aren’t disoriented. Heat exhaustion is caused by dehydration (your body doesn’t have enough fluids). If you or someone you know has symptoms of heat exhaustion, the remedy is to drink more fluids and get to a cooler place – cool, not ice cold, water, and air conditioning are ideal.

When your body has given off more fluids than you’ve taken in, you’re a prime candidate for dehydration. The most common symptoms of dehydration are thirst and headache. Remember that your body is at least 60% water – your brain is 75% water, and your blood is more than 80% water. You need to maintain those fluid balances for your body to work properly.

Four Tips for Preventing Heat-Related Illness

By the time you have symptoms, you’re already fluid-depleted—in other words, you are already playing catch-up. The best strategy for combating heat-related illness is prevention. Here are some tips for preventing heat-related illness.

TIP 1: RECOGNIZE WHEN YOU’RE AT RISK

Many people think they have to be exercising to be at risk for dehydration and heat exhaustion – that’s why heat-related illnesses are summer’s hidden danger.

Many summertime activities can put a person at risk including:

Physical activity in a warm or hot environment – not only recreational sports or exercising, but also yard work and gardening

Sun bathing, which can be dehydrating, as can being a spectator at sporting events (where you sit in the sun), or spending time in the sun for any reason – even If you’re not exerting yourself

Vacationing – did you know the humidity in an airplane is lower than in the desert? And when you’re traveling, you don’t have ready access to fluids as you do at home, so you need to plan ahead

TIP 2: STAY HYDRATED

Always have water available.

There are plenty of fluid choices, but water remains the best. Drinks with more than 10% sugar or carbonation delay stomach emptying, and thus don’t get fluid back into your cells as quickly (not to mention all those calories). If you are training for a triathlon or are an elite athlete, you may need a drink with sugar or salts added. But for the rest of us, water is just fine. And, it's calorie-free.

How do you know if you’re properly hydrated?

You’re not thirsty
You are producing plenty of clear, light-colored urine
Your weight is stable (if you weigh less after exercise or being outside in the warm outdoors than you did before, you’ve lost fluids and need to replace them)

The best solution? Carrying a bottle (or two) of natural spring water. It’s easy to carry, tastes good, and since it doesn’t stain if you spill it, it’s ideal for kids on summer trips. Before you buy, check the label. The FDA requires bottlers to identify the source of bottled water. If it’s spring water, the label will tell you the name of the natural spring from which it comes. If the label says "PWS" that means "public water supply"—in other words, the same thing that comes out of your tap, only run through filters, and often called "purified." Many people are surprised to know that not all bottled water is spring water.

Click here to learn how the FDA regulates bottled water & provides standard definitions for labeling

TIP 3: PLAN AHEAD

Keeping hydrated means that you drink before you get dehydrated. That means planning ahead, for example:

Start drinking water about 2 hours before you begin any activities.

Don’t restrict fluids while you’re active. Keep those sips of water coming. If you’re with kids playing sports, never restrict their fluids—and make sure that coaches don’t either.

Carry your water with you

TIP 4: AVOID UNNECESSARY HEAT EXPOSURE

Of course you can’t always stay out of the heat, but you can work to lessen the heat’s effects on your body.

Avoid exercising or activity during the hottest part of the day. Try to plan outdoor activities for days or times of day when the heat index is below 80 -- click here to learn about the heat index

Wear light colors, which absorb less heat from the sun.

Wear fabrics such as natural cotton that breathe and allow sweat to evaporate.

There’s nothing wrong with saying, "I’ve had enough." Take a break. Go sit in the shade. If there’s a heat wave and you don’t have air conditioning at home, go to the movies, or a shopping mall, or the public library, where it’s cool and you can get a break.

Remember, if you’re in hot temps and start to feel woozy or develop a headache or nausea, recognize it could be heat exhaustion. Get out of the sun, into a cooler area, maybe in front of the fan, and keep the water coming. Which would you rather have? An intravenous in the ER, or a nice refreshing bottle of spring water?

Here’s to a fun and healthy summer!

Written June 2003

Reviewed: May 2004