Beating the heat before it beats you

The month of May, when the mercury soars to 45^OC in the northern plains, can play havoc with your health, energy levels, mood and performance.The hot blast that strikes our face when we venture out in the afternoon these days  can dry up our body (dehydration) or cause excess body heating (heat or sun stroke), both of which can be quite serious.

Dehydration is the commoner one, and claims around 2 million lives globally every year, especially from developing regions. Children are more susceptible, and once grossly dehydrated, often find it impossible to regain health.

Symptoms and signs of dehydration include fatigue, headache, low BP, dizziness, fainting, dry mouth and reduced amounts of concentrated urine. It is often precipitated by an attack of vomiting or loose motions, or sometimes, a fast. Drinking large amounts of water (around 6-15 glasses a day) and increasing the intake of salt (through pickles, papads, salted nimbu paani or lassi) are the cornerstones of prevention and treatment.

The hot air also tends to dry up or dessicate the nose and skin. Sunscreens are not of much help here as they protect only from sunlight and are not the antidote for dry hot blasts.Bleeding from the nose is not uncommon; a simple measure is to smear a moisturizer on your nose membranes. Using a moisturizer on the exposed parts of the body, especially the face, and ensuring a good intake of fluids, helps keep the skin in good turgor.

Heat stroke is common during these dry hot spells when the body’s heat regulatory mechanism fails to maintain a balance between heat production and heat loss. When the outside temperature grossly exceeds the body’s (37⁰C), we are unable to dissipate heat into the atmosphere by sweating, panting or passing urine. Therefore, when the outside temperature is 45⁰C the body temperature rises causing the person to be pale, hot, irritable, confused or unconscious. Children and elderly are at greatest risk, as are athletes, construction workers, labourers or miliatary recruits.

Heat stroke, as it is called, is a medical emergency and requires moving the person to a cool shaded place, lying him down on the floor or ground, pouring water on the head and body, placing ice cubes under the armpits and moving him to a clinic or hospital.

The reason why schools and institutions close during the peak summer period is to protect children and youngsters from getting heat stroke. Further, milder manifestations of exposure to severe heat causes fatigue, poor concentration, dizziness, cramps and fainting, when students can hardly be expected to perform well in scholastics or sports.

The hot summers therefore provide a unique opportunity to stay indoors, munch on salads and cucumber, drink lots of salted nimboo-pani and mathha, swim in the early mornings or late evenings, and use the major portion of the day to catch up on all the pending reading. 

Keep consoling yourself that whatever goes up must, come down.someday. So will the soaring mercury!

As published in HT City (Hindustan Times) dated 20 May, 2012.