Sunny skies this week might motivate Central New Yorkers to jump outside and pull weeds, mow the lawn, or take an extended walk, but medical experts warn to do it gradually. The initial days of temperatures climbing toward the 90’s carry serious risks for people who are most vulnerable to heat-related illnesses.
"It’s especially true for people who have health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, or kidney disease,” explained Dr. Kaushal Nanavati with Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse.
While that generally includes the elderly, he said young children, immunocompromised adults, or simply people who work outdoors are also at risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke if they’re out in the elements for prolonged periods of time and haven’t given their bodies time to acclimate.
“It's definitely a bigger risk in those first few days of weather transitioning,” Nanavati noted.
As Assistant Dean of Wellness at Upstate he often educates patients on the symptoms the body faces during increasing phases of heat related illnesses.
It starts with muscle spasms, followed by “muscle cramps, muscle fatigue, that sort of thing,” he described, then it can progress to symptoms, “that can even feel dizzy, or you start getting a pounding headache, and nausea,” until their pulse gets faster, then “they suddenly start to sweat,” uncontrollably.
He recommends at that moment to get back inside and cool off, but underscored, “not to an extreme where suddenly you step in a cold shower because if you do that, that can also affect your blood pressure a bit,” which he warned can make people pass out.
Instead, he advised, “transition slowly, sit in a cool place, drink some room temperature or slightly cool water, but not full of ice.” It may seem counterintuitive, but Nanavati explained the heart is working overtime already trying to overcome one temperature extreme as “it pumps blood to the skin while trying to regulate temperatures at the body’s surface.”
Pushing the heart further by staying out in the heat too long or transitioning too fast to cool down, he warned, can trigger another phase of symptoms, “when mental confusion, or sweat turns to suddenly really dry or clammy skin, or even seizures. These are all life-threatening conditions [indicating] heat stroke,” which can also lead to heart attacks. Each year the State Department of Health reports an average of 350 heat-related deaths, a number that's been growing as the climate warms.
The American Heart Association backs up Nanavati’s advice with a list of similar recommendations, with warnings that high humidity increases the chance of heart attacks, especially among the elderly.
Here in Central New York, it’s safer to avoid going out between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. when there’s direct sunlight. If heading outside for extended periods of time, Nanavati said preparation is key.
Drink plenty of water ahead of time, the doctor advised, preferably with natural electrolytes to replace lost sodium and potassium.
“By that I mean natural as much as possible,” he clarified, then shared a favorite recipe of “homemade lemonade or homemade limeade where you add a little bit of salt, natural sweetener, like local honey, agave, or Maple syrup. Even add a little bit of fresh ginger that helps to settle our stomach because nausea is one of the symptoms with heat exhaustion.”
Dressing in light colored clothes and a hat helps, along with SPF sunscreen over 45.
Time is of the essence when heat exhaustion devolves into life threatening heat stroke. Rather than second-guess the symptoms, Nanavati recommended erring on the side of survival by seeking immediate medical attention.
“When in doubt,” he summated, where heat illness is the suspect, “definitely call 9-1-1."
