By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
Summer is officially here, according to the calendar. The 100-plus-degree temperatures are also a reminder.
The National Weather Service in Dodge City has reissued a heat advisory for today, with slightly cooler temperatures later in the week.
Matt Meagher, assistant director of Ellis County Emergency Medical Services, cautions residents to be aware of the sun and the heat index, whether outdoors or indoors.
Children and the elderly are especially vulnerable to the heat.
"They have a higher chance of getting overheated quickly," Meagher said.
"Children's bodies haven't developed enough to compensate for the heat," he said. "Adults as we get older, our bodies' processes start to slow down and don't respond as well to the heat. They heat up faster and don't get rid of that heat as quickly."
Senior citizens may also be taking prescription drugs that don't allow them to tolerate the heat well, including high blood pressure and congestive heart failure medicines.
"The typical response by the body when it overheats is to speed the heart rate up, to push that heat out of the center of the body and into your skin to get rid of it," he said. "But if you're on a medicine that controls the heart rate, it's not going to be able to speed up or pump as effectively as it's supposed to."
Diuretics are also often prescribed to older people to pull fluid out of the body, and that can cause dehydration, which will make someone heat up faster.
Meagher said there are three degrees of heat illness to watch out for: heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke.
"Heat cramps, such as in your legs, are the first stage of your body saying you're getting too hot and to slow down and take a break," he said.
"Heat exhaustion brings on extreme thirst, heavy sweating, muscle cramps and spasms, along with headaches and nausea, pale and dry skin, and you may pass out."
The body is still trying to cool itself during these first two stages.
The final stage, heat stroke, is a true emergency.
"It's time to call 9-1-1 when someone starts acting abnormally, is confused or combative, all the way to being very lethargic," Meagher said.
"The body is heating up from the inside out and no longer trying to cool itself."
It's essential to stay hydrated with water or electrolyte drinks.
"Along with the salt in electrolyte drinks such as Gatorade to replace what you're sweating out, you're often getting a large dose of sugar," Meagher said, "which isn't very healthy. Maybe drink one if you really need it.
"There used to be a big emphasis on the electrolyte replacement. Now we're saying just to replace the fluids you've lost with water."
Adults should drink eight eight-ounce glasses of water daily during the summer and more as they work harder.
Meagher also reminds drivers about the dangers of leaving children or pets in a hot car.
"A car parked in the sun on a 95-degree sun can get up to 116 degrees inside within an hour. The seats can get up to 127 degrees," he said. "You're cooking at 127 degrees, and that's heatstroke level, an emergency."
Meagher said Ellis County emergency services are called out several times each year for children accidentally locked in a vehicle.