With the season’s first heat wave expected to arrive this week, a Huntington Hospital doctor is encouraging residents to take steps to avoid heatlh problems.
Dr. Jennifer Goebel, an emergency medicine physician, said that she recommends that people stay as hydrated as possible, to stay indoors when the heat is especially intense, and to be prepared. Make sure ahead of the heat wave that air conditioning and fans are working.
If you have to go out in the heat, wear light-color clothing and avoided crowded places.
“We also have concern for the elderly,” she said. “In general, they don’t regulate their body temperatures as well, they’re not as good at adjusting” for the heat. Many also take prescriptions such as beta blockers that decrease blood pressure or are taking diuretics that can affect them in the heat. “The body doesn’t recognize when they should’t be outdoors,” she said.
And children have the same guidelines. “In extreme heat, we don’t want them outdoors,” she said. They have to hydrate and take breaks.
People also have to be aware of the dangers of heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
Exhaustion can show symptoms of dizziness, nausea, fatigue, headache, unsteady gait. The more dangerous heat stroke can mean a a core body temperature above 104 F., change in mental status, such as confusion, delirium, combativeness, seizures, and loss of consciousness.
Untreated, heat exhaustion can lead to heat stroke, Goebel said. Patients will have a progression of symptoms so they need to receive medical attention.
The first heat wave of the season will likely start on Tuesday, peak Thursday and may last through Saturday. Peak heat index values of 95 to around 100 are possible, the National Weather Service said Sunday.