Dizziness, confusion, nausea and extreme thirst are some of the symptoms that people exposed for a long time to the high temperatures that are currently affecting the southern United States and that are spreading to other major cities in the country and the region may experience.
Medical experts warn of the dangers of extreme heat for the human body, which could even have fatal consequences.
“High temperatures are a problem because everyone is vulnerable in some way. Anyone can get sick, anyone can die if they are exposed to extreme enough heat, or have underlying conditions that can cause a problem,” Christopher Lemon, professor of Emergency Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, told the Voice of America.
Heat-related illnesses, such as exhaustion or heat stroke, occur when the body is unable to cool down adequately, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Even, it is not necessary to be directly under the sun to suffer the effects of a heat stroke. Humidity, especially in places without access to air conditioning, can also cause illness.
“High temperatures are especially dangerous for the elderly and children, because they are not as good at regulating their own body temperature,” he told the VOA Stephen Ramaley, an academic and emergency physician in Austin, Texas.
Other populations at greatest risk are construction, agricultural or day laborers, who are overexposed to heat during their work outdoors, as well as athletes who are exposed to heat for long hours.
The CDC warns that heat is one of the leading weather-related causes of death in the US, with about 618 deaths each year.
How to identify that you are suffering from extreme heat and when to seek medical help?
The first symptoms of heat stroke are thirst, dizziness, lightheadedness, and darkening of the urine. Excessive sweating and confusion may also occur.
“You should seek medical attention before you feel confused. Probably once your urine starts to turn dark, you start to sweat a lot, you start to feel dizzy, or if you drink water and start to vomit, it means you can’t keep fluids down, then it’s time to seek medical attention,” Ramaley said.
These symptoms, however, do not occur “like a switch,” Dr. Lemon explained. Usually, the body will “begin to show clues” that heat exposure is “becoming a problem”, so other symptoms such as swollen hands and feet and skin rashes are also early warning signs.
“The hard part is if you don’t do something about it at those points, it can progress to much more troublesome problems like seizures and coma, or even cardiac arrest,” Lemon said.
The medical expert pointed out that if a person is suffering from heat stroke in front of you and is not yet in a hospital, “the most important thing is to bring their temperature down as quickly as possible” to try to take the heat out of them in an action that “can save their lives.”
When receiving patients in extreme heat in an emergency room, Ramaley explained, several measures are taken to cool and hydrate them. “Usually we put cooling blankets on them, we put fans on them, we give them fluids,” she said.
Recommendations to face the heat
Meteorological authorities and doctors told the VOA several preventive methods in the middle of the heat.
Drink water with electrolytes or sports drinks that contain minerals to compensate for the salts lost through sweating.
Stay in the shade as much as possible. “At least once an hour,” Dr. Ramaley said.
If you are outside, you can moisten your body with cool water that allows cooling through evaporation, or even put a wet towel around your neck.
“The best way to prevent heat-related illness is to wear appropriate light or loose-fitting clothing, stay indoors in a cool environment, avoid strenuous activities, and stay well hydrated,” he told the VOA Julia Turner-Shanus, a nurse practitioner at ChristianaCare, a network of hospitals in the eastern United States.
The National Weather Service advises never leaving a child, disabled person or pet locked in a car, even in winter. In 2022, some 33 children died in hot cars.
These recommendations will continue to be relevant, according to experts, in the coming summers. Especially since global temperatures will continue to climb.
“It’s not just acknowledging that you’re vulnerable today because it’s hot. You are vulnerable because we are living in a warming world, so people need to adjust their understanding that heat is going to be a part of life,” said the Johns Hopkins University professor.
This implies that places that traditionally did not have extreme temperatures, could now experience them and would lead to people having to “adapt” their behaviors and activities to compensate for it, according to Lemon.
The phenomenon extends to the Caribbean in places like Puerto Rico, which in the last month has suffered “dangerous” conditions due to heat and temperatures that have exceeded 40 degrees Celcius.
Last Tuesday, the entire planet had the hottest day on record in at least 44 years, marking a global average temperature of 17.01 Celsius, and although it may not seem that high, it is the first time that the set of data exceeds this mark.
Robert Rohde, lead scientist for the Berkeley Earth organization, said in Twitter that the world “could well see some even warmer days over the next 6 weeks.”
He Climate Prediction Center of the National Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, for its acronym in English) published its climate outlook for July in the US, in which it detailed that excessive and persistent heat would remain during the month.
These conditions will promote “drought expansion” in states like Texas and New Mexico.
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