“Summer heat can cause quite significant damage to human health,” says Mikhail Lebedev, leading expert, head of the scientific and information support group for medical institutions of the Center for Molecular Diagnostics CMD Federal Budgetary Institution Central Research Institute of Epidemiology from Rospotrebnadzor. – It is more difficult for older people and young children: their bodies react to heat more acutely than young and middle-aged people. In the summer heat, people with cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes, thyroid pathology and obesity should be especially careful.
To do?
1. First of all, try to be outdoors as little as possible during the day, under the scorching sun, and limit your physical activity. And for heart and hypertensive patients, it is generally better to stay in an air-conditioned room when the air temperature exceeds 250°C. And be sure to monitor your blood pressure and strictly take the medications prescribed by your doctor.
2. If you go out, clothing should be loose-fitting. Avoid dark colors and synthetic fabrics. A hat is a must!
3. You need to drink enough water.
“There are recommendations for fluid intake,” notes Mikhail Lebedev. – For a person weighing 50-55 kg at temperatures up to 230 ° C, 1.5 liters per day is considered optimal. At a temperature of 25-290C, already 2 liters. In heat above 300 ° C – 2.5-3 liters. With prolonged exposure to the sun and physical activity, doctors recommend adding another liter to the daily norm.
Of course, these recommendations are very conditional and approximate; everything is quite individual. On the one hand, there are diseases in which it is advisable to limit the amount of liquid consumed. On the other hand, a healthy person can drink as much as he wants.
IMPORTANT! Water (and any other liquid) should not be too cold, just cold. Ice cold water can even raise your body temperature as your body uses extra energy to warm itself. And it is very possible to catch a “summer cold” from drinking cold water.
How to protect yourself from “summer colds”? Everything is quite simple – use climate control equipment correctly and wisely (air conditioners should be set to a temperature of at least +26 degrees and away from people, fans should not blow directly into the ear, for example), do not drink too much cold drinks, do not swim in unheated water.
