CPRMom

I've written before about heat emergencies, but with the hazy, hot, and humid weather we're having on the Seacoast this week it seemed a good idea to revisit the topic. A few week ago I was having a conversation with someone and she mentioned that with the warmer weather she'd been having leg cramps.  Not the type we work out with stretching or movement, but ones that were brief.  So I asked her if she was drinking enough water, she could be dehydrated and getting heat cramps.  She replied that she couldn't be dehydrated as she drank diet soda all day. Okay..... So here's the advice I gave her.  Diet sodas are not hydrating.  She needs an electrolyte enriched drink or water. BUT - she said doesn't like the taste of those.  So I had her try some water with a little lemon oil, and she liked that - hopefully problem solved! Flavoring water will have her drink more of it. Our bodies need good fluids to work correctly. Coffee, tea, and carbonated bever...

In Part 1 I wrote about Heat Exhaustion. This post is about Heat Stroke, the more serious and potentially life threatening heat emergency. Heat Stroke occurs when the body becomes so overheated that it begins to shut down. Your skin becomes hot, red and you lose the ability to sweat. As your body temperature rises you become confused, disorientated and can have a seizure. Eventually you will become unresponsive and permanent brain and tissue damage can result. Heat Stroke can be fatal. This is a life threatening situation. If you suspect someone is suffering from Heat Stroke call 911. Begin cooling the person with cool water and move them to a cool environment or shade. The best way to treat Heat Stroke or Heat Exhaustion is to prevent it. When we're outside in warm weather it is easy to get preoccupied with what we are doing and forget to take breaks or drink water. Keep an eye on the weather forecast. When the forecast is for hot weather or if the heat stress index is ...

Summer is quickly coming and while our prequel to summer temps in NH is over this is a good time to get ready for the heat of summer and keeping ourselves and our kids safe in higher temps. Heat emergencies are when our bodies get overheated. This probably happens to a lot of us quite frequently in the warmer months. The trick is to recognize the symptoms and take action before a true emergency develops. There are two types of heat emergencies; heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Heat exhaustion is when we move beyond just feeling overheated. We begin to feel flushed, hot and very sweaty. Kids will begin to look very hot with reddish and sweaty skin. We begin to feel very weak, lethargic and sometimes irritable. Our kids may seem sleepy or develop upset stomachs. To treat this we need quick but gentle cooling. Move to a shady and cool area. Fan yourself or your child. Placing a towel or scarf soaked in cool water on your neck, shoulders or head can also cool you down. The tric...