Preventing Heat-Related Illness in the Elderly

Nearly everyone loves summer, and the Wisemans (names have been changed) are no exception. Betty and Frank Wiseman of Shelby, Ohio, look forward to summer every year so they can get out in their garden. Last summer they had a scare, though. Betty, age 72, had been picking strawberries all afternoon in the sun when she began feeling poorly. She felt weak, as if she was going to faint. She barely made it back into the house.

Frank was alarmed at his wife's condition and drove her to the local emergency room. There, the doctor said Betty was suffering from heat exhaustion and mild dehydration. He gave her some IV fluids and sent her home with a warning- no more working in the sun all day. She needed to take breaks inside where it was cool, and make sure to drink more water.

Heat-related illnesses are serious business. In August of 2003, 14,802 people died during a heave wave in France. Several of the worst heat waves of the twentieth century have occurred in the US, however. In 1955, 946 people died in eight days in Los Angeles. In 1972, nearly 900 people died during a two-week heat wave in New York City. In 1995, an extreme heat wave in Chicago killed more than 700 people in a just a few days.

The elderly and the ill are particularly vulnerable to summer's heat. Under normal circumstances, our body temperature is 98.6 degrees. When exposed to extreme heat, our body tries to regulate our temperature by changing our circulation and by perspiring. In many of the elderly, circulation is not so good to begin with. This may be especially true in people with conditions such as diabetes and heart problems. People with heart problems and other health conditions may also not sweat normally. These problems are made worse in high humidity.

There are a number of heat-related conditions to watch out for this summer while you and your loved ones are enjoying fun in the sun. You should note, though, that these illnesses don't only occur from being out in the sun; they can occur from being inside an overly-warm home as well.

Dehydration