Sunday, July 19, 1998

Common sense can help handle hot summer days

By David Smith

As long as the heat is on, you need a good dose of common sense to handle the dog days of summer.

These hot days can turn cruel quickly if you don’t follow some basic health steps. The recent sweltering heat wave sweeping across much of the country has left many people physically fragile.

A good game plan is essential to help you enjoy the summer with just a few changes to your daily life.

First of all, remember to hydrate. One of the major problems of summer is people forget to drink enough water, especially when you’re in air conditioning all day. While the standard recommendation is to drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water each day, that number should be increased in the summer.

Danger of dehydration

Dehydration can lead to severe physical problems and possibly even death. When planning outside activity in the heat of the day, remember to drink water early and often. Fruit juice or sports drinks are good alternatives instead of soft drinks to help replenish the body’s nutrients.

Some soft drinks are diuretics and are detrimental to hydration efforts. Juice and sport drinks help in providing minerals and vitamins to bolster the body.

Children actually have more skin area than adults per body size and because of this larger body surface can lose fluids more rapidly, leading to dehydration. Make sure your child has plenty of water and juice to drink to prevent this.

Sunscreen essential

Secondly, don’t forget sunscreen. Use daily sunscreen with a minimum sun protection factor of 15 and reapply it frequently. Overexposure to harmful sun rays is a primary factor in skin cancer. Consider wearing a broad-brimmed hat to protect your ears, neck and face whenever you spend time outdoors.

In fact, studies show that 80 percent of your lifetime exposure to the sun happens before you are 18 years old. So make sure children use sunscreen during the summer months to stay happy and healthy.

Risk for seniors

Also, when it gets so hot outside, there is an added risk for seniors with chronic heart and lung problems. Hot air tends to stagnate. If there is no wind, stagnation occurs with the inversion of sulfur dioxide and carbon byproducts and this can trigger chronic lung problems and asthma.

Seniors planning to go outside should do so early in the morning or at night. Mid- to late-afternoon will be a more physically taxing time for you.

Individuals on certain medications may be more vulnerable to heat-related health problems, so always consult with your health care professional if you should have questions.

Too much shopping

Another summer problem is that many people have a tendency to continue shopping after they have purchased groceries. Avoid food spoilage and the development of food bacteria by taking your groceries home and placing them in your refrigerator and freezer as soon as possible.

While it is important to maintain a good physical fitness regimen, it also is important to choose the right time of day to exercise. Do not exercise in the heat of the day.

Instead, consider changing your workout time to early morning or later at night.

This will help to considerably reduce the possibility of heat stroke due to exertion and dehydration.

Mentally, it is also a good idea to remind yourself that this is a very trying time of year for everyone.

The heat takes its toll on all of us, so keep that in mind if someone cuts you off in traffic or snarls at you in the store. Keep your head even when those around you are losing theirs. Don’t overreact to others and their emotions. Road rage and other problems have a tendency to escalate during times of excessive heat.

Vacation reminder

And if you go on vacation please carry water, sunscreen and appropriate first aid materials. Kids have a tendency to get cuts and scratches, so have Band-Aids and first aid spray to help combat those problems.

Remember to get plenty of rest, stay hydrated, apply sunscreen and keep your head during these hot days. By staying cool, you can beat the heat.

David R. Smith, M.D., is president of the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center in Lubbock and former Texas Commissioner of Health.