Hot Weather Returns to the Community This Week

With the return of hot weather to the Decatur and Avondale Estates communities this week, Decatur Patch asked the professionals at DeKalb Medical for some advice on how to stay healthy during these sweltering weeks.

"There are essentially three types of heat-related illnesses," said Dr. Sofia Khan, who specializes in emergency medicine. "Signs of dehydration are fatigue, weakness, muscle cramping, irritability, thirst and headache.

"Signs of heat exhaustion include the ones listed above plus a fast or rapid heartbeat, heavy sweating, nausea, cool or moist skin and dark colored urine," she said. "Signs of heat stroke include very warm or hot skin, altered mental status, elevated body temperature, and fainting and passing out."

So what's the battle plan? "Prevention is water, water, and more water," according to Dr. Khan. "For children its important for them to hydrate before and after any outdoor activity.  Parents do a great job of hydrating kids after their activities; it's before the activity that they forget!

"There should also be hydration on regular intervals during the physical activity."

So what about older folks? "For the elderly, they should remember that there medications may also worsen dehydration as many can act as diuretics," she said. "Sometimes they aren't as mobile so they should keep water near them; for example, next to nightstand or the coffee table in the den. They should also stay away from caffeinated drinks."

Other prevention tips from Dr. Khan:

• Drink before your thirsty. By the time your thirsty, your already on the pathway to dehydration.
• Wear loose fitting clothes.
• Avoid caffeine-infused drinks as they are diuretics and cause water loss.
• Increase fruits and vegetables as they are a great source of water/fluids.