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Preventing heat-related emergencies
It's going to be a scorcher this week with daily temperatures nearing the hundred degree mark in some areas. Without preparation, serious emergencies can follow.
(FOX 2) - All around the world, temperatures are spiking into the triple digits and creating hazardous conditions for anyone caught in the heat.
The U.S. and Southeast Michigan won't be escaping the scorching weather, which is why it's not too early to be prepared to go outside. But advice for getting ahead of the temperatures' dangerous effects on the body is easy to follow: stay out of the heat and stay hydrated.
And don't forget to pay attention to one's body for how it's feeling.
Extreme Heat Warning in effect
The backstory:
The National Weather Service has issued an Extreme Heat Warning for the southern half of Michigan's Lower Peninsula that will begin Tuesday afternoon and extend through Thursday.
Over that time, daytime high temperatures will extend into the upper 90s. It will feel like 105+ degrees for those that are counting, thanks to humidity.
The danger will compound because the daily low temperatures will still sit in the mid-to-upper 70s. That prevents one's body from cooling down enough that after a hot day it can recover.
If that happens, the body begins to shut down, causing lasting damage to internal organs.
What they're saying:
FOX 2 spoke to the chief of medical staff at the Detroit Receiving Hospital about the impacts dangerous heat can have on the body.
"The vulnerable patients, we believe, are those that are elderly, over 65, infants that are very very young and people with health-related illnesses, cardiovascular disease, lung disease, kidney disease," said Dr. Roy Elrod, chief of medical staff at Detroit Receiving Hospital. "These all are high risk."
"The elements that we worry about collectively are heat humidity and the length of exposure, so is there not an actual temperature? If it’s 89, and you still got high humidity, and you're out there long enough, it could be just like if it’s 92, maybe not as high humidity, so what’s the combination of all of those and prolonged exposure and looking for symptoms is really the key.
"If you know someone whose experiencing fogginess, feeling dizzy, loss of consciousness, unable to speak. It’s almost like a stroke? Well it's probably a heat stroke and that’s the medical emergency cause it’s only a matter of time before the core temperature rises to a level because they have serious organ damage and that’s what we’re really trying to prevent."
The Source: The Detroit Receiving Hospital was cited for this story.