Would You Know if Your Kid Was in Danger of Heat Exhaustion?
Kids often don't recognize the signs of heat exhaustion and with the higher temperatures coming up, would you be able to before it's too late?
We're in the middle of summer, and with it comes hotter than comfortable temperatures in the Capital Region. Your kids are off of school and they want to play with their friends outside but sometimes it's unsafe. CBS 6 reported that Mark Cocco of Mohawk Ambulance said "Kids don't recognize the signs. They're very active so they're not going to tell you what's going on" and that they make up a good number of patients with heat exhaustion in the summer.
What you're looking for, according to the Mayo Clinic, is heavy sweating, a rapid pulse, faintness, fatigue, headache, low blood pressure upon standing, cool/moist skin with goosebumps, just to name a few.
To start, Cocco recommends regulating the time your children spend in the heat but if they do end up with heat exhaustion there are a few things they do that you can use to treat it as well. First, if they're unconscious, confused, agitated, unable to drink, older than 60/younger than 4, or their core body temperature reaches 104 F, call an ambulance. No matter what, calling for help isn't a terrible idea but you can also turn on the air conditioning and use an ice pack to try and bring down their body temperature. Crush the ice and place it at crucial points on the body to keep them from going into shock.
You can prevent heat exhaustion by regulating time outside, by wearing loose-fitting clothing, drinking plenty of fluids, use topical sun protection, and be aware of how your medication may react to heat and hydration.