When temperatures reaching 100 are predicted heat can affect anyone but is most likely to affect young children, elderly people, people with health problems and those who work outdoors.
Adam Colclasure of the American Red Cross Oklahoma Chapter explains the systems of heat distress.
Heat cramps are muscular pains and spasms due to heavy exertion.
Heat exhaustion typically occurs when people exercise heavily or work in a warm, humid place where body fluids are lost through heavy sweating.
Heat stroke is the most serious heat emergency. It is life threatening. The victim's temperature-control system, which produces sweating to cool the body, stops working. The body temperature can rise so high that brain damage and death may result if the body is not cooled quickly.
Colclasure offers some tips to protect yourself and your family:
*Slow down. Avoid strenuous activity. If you must do strenuous activity, do it during the coolest part of the day, which is usually in the morning between 4 and 7 a.m.
*Stay indoors as much as possible. If air conditioning is not available, stay on the lowest floor out of the sunshine.
*Wear lightweight, light-colored clothing to reflect away some of the sun's energy.
*Drink plenty of water regularly and often.
*Drink plenty of fluids even if you do not feel thirsty.
*Water is the safest liquid to drink during heat emergencies. Avoid drinks with alcohol or caffeine in them. They can make you feel good briefly but make the heat's effects on your body worse. This is especially true about beer, which dehydrates the body.
*Eat small meals and eat more often. Avoid foods that are high in protein, which increase metabolic heat.
*Avoid using salt tablets unless directed to do so by a physician.
