Protecting yourself from heat illnesses as temperatures surge across Kentucky

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – With the heat bubble firmly planted over south-central Kentucky, concerns now will rise over heat illnesses as we experience some of the hottest temperatures of the year.

The most common concern is heat exhaustion, caused by spending too much time in the heat without water. So what are the signs you need to look out for if you plan on heading outside?

“We’re looking for more of the heat exhaustion. Is that heavy sweating, or that the sweating with dizziness, tiny weakness, fatigue? Early stage will be headaches associated with that. And then you know that, muscle cramps, you know, and that’s all signs of your body being depleted, of the, you know, of water, essentially,” said Med Center EMS director Seth Wilson.

Heat stroke, though, is a whole different concern that could lead to potentially deadly consequences that requires immediate medical attention.

“Heat stroke, it is life threatening. And that’s, you know, where you have that, that neurological issue that, you know, the increased body temperatures, you know, I and I’m talking about not just, low grade fever, you know, you’re looking at, you know, 103 or four or five, or even higher at times, you know, depending on how long you maybe exposed out in the elements,” Wilson said.

Daily schedules rarely stop for heat, however, from working outdoors to taking the kids to their sporting events. It’s important to be prepared if you plan on spending an extended amount of time outdoors.

“So outside of, taking breaks, you know, and kind of get them out of the elements. You can drink water, drink lots of water. And, you know, Gatorade, Pedialyte, all that stuff is great options. Sports drinks in general. Because they had, some other electrolytes that a lot of times are depleted when you’re sweating a whole lot. I would generally tend away from just normal fruit juices. You know, it is water, and I guess it’s better than nothing, but they’re gonna have a high sugar content. And sugar is a good thing, but it’s not necessarily what we want to replenish everything that we have depleted,” Wilson said.

Wilson also mentions that these temperatures can be extremely brutal on specific vulnerable populations like the elderly. Even a walk to get the mail in heat like this can be overwhelming for some. Wilson recommends to check in on your elderly neighbors, and make sure they are doing alright as everyone waits for the heat bubble to pass through.