As the temperature and heat index rise during the summer months, staying outside during the hottest parts of the day requires more precautionary measures than most people realize.
Associate Medical Director for Ochsner’s North Shore region and Department of Family Medicine Chairman Dr. Richard Marek said danger increases as the temperature rises.
“When we have high heat and high humidity, that puts people at higher risk for heat-related illness,” Dr. Marek said. “Heat-related illness is more problematic in people that are very young and older, above the age of 65 years old.”
The real problem occurs when the heat index exceeds 98 degrees, Dr. Marek said, hindering the evaporation of sweat, one of our body’s main methods of cooling off.
“Anyone attempting to avoid heat-related illness should avoid the hot daytime hours, which in Louisiana at this time of year, would be from 10 o’clock in the morning until the late afternoon,” he said.
For those people who are outside during the hottest parts of the day, Dr. Marek recommends “aggressive hydration.”
“Normal people need somewhere around 48 ounces of fluid a day,” he said. “If they’re going to be outside this time of year, they need to compensate with an extra 18 to 20 ounces a day, assuming regular activity.”
The fluid of choice for anyone going outside in the heat should always be water or sports drinks, Dr. Marek said, but water has the advantage because of the sugar content in most sports drinks.
“There are a couple of things that people can do if they feel like they are having problems,” he said. “Get out of the sun, try to get air moving past you, like from a fan, try to take off as much clothes as feasible and spray yourself with water if you can. And of course you have to maintain hydration.”
Are you expecting or know someone who is? Click here to read how pregnant women can beat the heat!
Staying Safe in the Summer Heat
Articles From July 2011
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