In Georgia, summer rarely waits until summer to arrive. It’s
usually scorching long
before June 21 announces the season’s official start.

This year’s spring stayed mild to the end, but it’s almost gone
now. Summer’s coming
on, and you can count on this: its intense heat can be deadly
for the unwary.

“We’re better prepared to handle intense heat in the South —
most housing has
air-conditioning or at least fans for cooling. But many people
are still at risk,” said
Connie Crawley, a food, nutrition and health specialist with the
University of Georgia
Extension Service.

Intense heat leads to hyperthermia, with a range of symptoms
including dizziness, rapid
heartbeat, diarrhea, nausea, cramps, headache, intense weakness,
breathing difficulty
and mental changes. Another sign is an inability to sweat, which
leads to a vicious
cycle of worsening symptoms.

At the top of the at-risk list, Crawley said, are the elderly.

“As people get older, they aren’t as sensitive to body changes,”
she said. “They tend to
get into trouble faster and recognize it slower.”

Drinking more fluids is the best way to fight the deadly
dehydrating effect of high heat.
But older people may even resist drinking more fluids, Crawley
said, to avoid more
frequent bathroom visits.

“Thirst lags behind the body’s need for water,” she
said. “That’s especially true for
older people, who may not be as conscious of thirst cues as
younger adults.”

The very young are also at risk, she said, at least partly
because they, too, aren’t very
aware of health-threatening changes around them.

“Infants and young children also have a high proportion of water
to body weight,” she
said. “They need more fluids, but they aren’t aware of it.”

Both the elderly and the very young aren’t as likely, or as
able, to tell others of their
needs. “So the people around them need to do proactive things
that help prevent heat
stress,” Crawley said.

In general, she said, “use common sense.” Find easy ways to
lower at-risk people’s
exposure to heat and raise their intake of fluids.

Encourage them to drink water regularly. Plain, moderately cool
water is best. Ice
water isn’t as well absorbed, and it can upset the stomach. But
if people who need
water resist drinking it, try making it more appealing by adding
a little ice and maybe
lemon juice for flavor.

“Some people prefer the taste of certain bottled waters, too. If
they can afford it, that’s
fine,” she said. “But most people can get used to the taste of
tap water.”

For kids, making Kool-Aid may help, “but cut down on the sugar,”
she said. “It’s best
to teach children to enjoy plain water.”

Any nonalcoholic fluid will meet the body’s needs, Crawley said.
Alcohol dehydrates
the body and can make a person even less aware of heat stress
signals.

Caffeine can have the same dehydrating effect. “Coffee, tea and
caffein-containing soft
drinks probably aren’t the best choices,” she said.

Use commonsense approaches to reduce the heat’s effect, too.
Wearing light-colored,
loose-fitting clothes can help greatly. “The most breathable
fabric you can wear is
cotton,” Crawley said.

Schedule your most active times, particularly outdoors, in the
early morning or very
late, just before dark. “People often think of noon as the
hottest time,” she said.
“Actually, the temperature is usually highest in mid- to late
afternoon.”

If you don’t have air-conditioning, baths and cold compresses
can help reduce the heat.
A fan helps but can give you a false sense of coolness, she
said.

“You can’t trust your senses when it comes to the body’s need
for water,” she said.
“Just know you need to drink fluids regularly when it’s hot. And
remember to watch
out for others, especially the elderly and the very young.”