Recognize heat symptoms to stay safe - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

We're expecting another hot day today. But the temperature will be even hotter inside your car. Which is why sticking to your routine and checking on your children is more important than ever.

The majority of cases where kids are left in hot cars happen when they are with a caretaker.  Already this year, seven children have died in the United States because they were left in cars. And with vacation time, and a holiday week, when you are out of your routine, kids are somehow easier to forget.

To illustrate just how hot it can get, we put a thermometer inside a car, and checked the temperature every five minutes for just 20 minutes.  The outside temperature was 103 degrees when we did this, and in only five minutes, the car temperature inside rose to 97.   
    
At ten minutes, the temperature shot up to match the outside temperature of 103 degrees. But at 15 minutes, the temperature inside shut up to 112-degrees. After 20 minutes, the temperature inside the car was 13 degrees hotter than outside - at 116-degrees.
    
In addition to the air temperature inside a car, you also want to be mindful of seatbelts and car seats if they are metal or hard plastic, because their hard surfaces can cause burns.

At 104-degrees, the human body temperature is in dangerous territory regardless of whether your kids are in a hot car or elsewhere.

Dr. Marcus Hendry works in the St. Vincent Hospital emergency room.  "Kids don't recognize symptoms in themselves," according to Dr. Hendry. "We have to be paternalistic and look out for them.  They are not going to know when they're not feeling good, or pay attention to how they're acting."

Hendry said a child may act tired when they may not actually be tired, "They may be overheated."

Symptoms of heat danger include:

• light-headed
• weakness
• tired

Usually we're advised keep an eye on young people and the elderly on hot days. But when heat indexes reach over 100-degrees, health professionals say everyone needs to be on alert.

Even a dip in a swimming pool may not be enough to keep your body temperature down to safe levels on these extremely hot days, because pool temperatures are often 90 degrees and above. You still sweat even when you're in the water, and that combination may not allow your body to cool itself off. Even though you are in the water, you can still overheat.
   
"Even if they're young adults, in good shape, the capacity (to stay cool) is not the same in this heat," according to Hendry. "So you have to make a conscious decision to adjust levels of activity when they're outside."

Health professionals recommend that if you have yard work or other work around the house, do it in the morning or later in the evening when temperatures are cooler, and stay hydrated by drinking before and during activity.
    
And even if you're swimming, take breaks out of the pool in a cool place, and get something to drink.