Long hot spells, when the sun bakes the earth and the mercury rises to create new records, pose major challenges to health and life. Our bodies dry up (called dehydration; remember that 2/3 of our body is made up of water) or get excessively heated (called heat or sun stroke due to the body’s thermostat failing to maintain our temperatures around 370C), posing a threat to life.
The simplest way to stay well and energetic during summer is to keep your body well hydrated at all times. Start the day with two or three glasses of water in the morning as soon as you wake up.
The trick is to drink fluids before you start feeling thirsty, because by the time you feel it, the body has already started signalling to you that it is getting dehydrated. When you start for school or work in the morning, make sure you drink two more glasses of water.
In dry hot weather, water is lost from the body through breathing and invisible perspiration. It is therefore wise to anticipate it before you set out. Your energy levels will be far better this way. And keep drinking water the whole day till dinner time.
The commonest mistake that many people make is to start the day without adequate hydration, and then drink water when thirst starts reminding us that our body is drying up. We often then overcompensate later continuing to drink till late evening, then often having to get up at night to urinate.
We need to synchronise our water consumption with the diurnal need of summer days. Dehydration is common in summers and claims around 2 million lives every year, especially in developing regions.
Children are more susceptible, and once grossly dehydrated, often find it impossible to regain health. Symptoms and signs include fatigue, headache, low BP, dizziness, fainting, dry mouth and reduced amounts of urine that is usually dark yellow. It is often precipitated by an attack of vomiting or loose motions. Drinking large amounts of water (around 6-15 glasses a day) and increasing the intake of salt (through pickles, papads, salted nimbu paani or lassi) are the cornerstones of prevention and treatment. It is important for children to be always hydrated; if not, growth and development could be affected. Luckily, children usually have intense thirst sensation; the trick is to help them develop a liking for water and not juices or softdrinks. Heatstroke is common during these dry hot spells when the body’s heat regulatory mechanism fails to maintain a balance between heat production and heat loss (losing it to from 370C of the body to the 460C of the atmosphere could well be impossible at times!). As a result, the body temperature rises causing the person to be pale, hot, irritable, confused or unconscious.
Children and the elderly are at greater risk, as are athletes, construction workers, labourers or military recruits.
It is a medical emergency and requires moving the person to a cool shade, lying him down on the floor or ground, pouring water on the head and body, placing ice cubes under the armpits and moving him to a clinic or hospital. Caps, sunglasses, wearing loose cotton clothing and avoiding anti-antiperspirants help.
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The simplest way to stay well and energetic during summer is to keep your body well hydrated at all times. Start the day with two or three glasses of water in the morning as soon as you wake up.
The trick is to drink fluids before you start feeling thirsty, because by the time you feel it, the body has already started signalling to you that it is getting dehydrated. When you start for school or work in the morning, make sure you drink two more glasses of water.
In dry hot weather, water is lost from the body through breathing and invisible perspiration. It is therefore wise to anticipate it before you set out. Your energy levels will be far better this way. And keep drinking water the whole day till dinner time.
The commonest mistake that many people make is to start the day without adequate hydration, and then drink water when thirst starts reminding us that our body is drying up. We often then overcompensate later continuing to drink till late evening, then often having to get up at night to urinate.
We need to synchronise our water consumption with the diurnal need of summer days. Dehydration is common in summers and claims around 2 million lives every year, especially in developing regions.
Children are more susceptible, and once grossly dehydrated, often find it impossible to regain health. Symptoms and signs include fatigue, headache, low BP, dizziness, fainting, dry mouth and reduced amounts of urine that is usually dark yellow. It is often precipitated by an attack of vomiting or loose motions. Drinking large amounts of water (around 6-15 glasses a day) and increasing the intake of salt (through pickles, papads, salted nimbu paani or lassi) are the cornerstones of prevention and treatment. It is important for children to be always hydrated; if not, growth and development could be affected. Luckily, children usually have intense thirst sensation; the trick is to help them develop a liking for water and not juices or softdrinks. Heatstroke is common during these dry hot spells when the body’s heat regulatory mechanism fails to maintain a balance between heat production and heat loss (losing it to from 370C of the body to the 460C of the atmosphere could well be impossible at times!). As a result, the body temperature rises causing the person to be pale, hot, irritable, confused or unconscious.
Children and the elderly are at greater risk, as are athletes, construction workers, labourers or military recruits.
It is a medical emergency and requires moving the person to a cool shade, lying him down on the floor or ground, pouring water on the head and body, placing ice cubes under the armpits and moving him to a clinic or hospital. Caps, sunglasses, wearing loose cotton clothing and avoiding anti-antiperspirants help.
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