Heat waves (typically regarded as 3 or more days in a row with a temperature above 90 degrees) are a time to take special care and to check in on the elderly and those with young children who may need help. While the heat makes many of us miserable, it’s also a killer. And because it gets misdiagnosed and is considered a fact of life in the summer by many, we easily forget what a calamity it can be for some (even for those with A/C who experience increasingly frequent power outages!).
Technically, all heat-related deaths are preventable. That’s why it’s so sad that around 658 Americans are killed by extreme heat each year. And the numbers are likely much higher since heat-related deaths aren’t mandatory to report to public health agencies.
Heat deaths as well as deaths in which heat was a contributing factor are easy to misdiagnose or mislabel. Looking back at deadly heat waves in Chicago and Paris, for example, show that far more deaths were related to heat than were recorded at the time.
Here are some sobering facts from the Environmental Protection Agency:
- Between 1979 and 2018, the death rate as a direct result of exposure to heat (the underlying cause of death) generally hovered between 0.5 and 2 deaths per million people…
- A total of more than 11,000 Americans have died from heat-related causes since 1979, according to death certificates.
- In some years, recording has included heat as a contributing factor, and in other years it has not – but in the years where only direct heat deaths “counted,” the estimates may be twice as high as the records show.
- There was a peak in heat-related deaths in 2006, one of the hottest years on record in the contiguous 48 states.
And while many kids do get special attention during traumatic weather events, it’s the elderly who are often forgotten. However:
- Since 1999, people aged 65+ have been several times more likely to die from heat-related cardiovascular disease than the general population, while non-Hispanic Blacks generally have had higher-than-average rates.
- The interaction of heat and cardiovascular disease caused about one-fourth of the heat-related deaths recorded since 1999.
According to the CDC, those most likely to suffer from heat-related illness and death include:
- infants and children up to 4 years old
- People 65 years of age and older
- People who are overweight
- People who have existing medical conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease
- People who are socially isolated
- Those who take medications that impair the body’s ability to regulate its temperature or that inhibit perspiration
- People who are poor
Behaviors that put people are at risk for serious illness or death during heat waves include:
- Those who engage in strenuous exercise during high heat
- People who drink alcoholic beverages during high heat
Heat is also worse in urban areas where buildings, parking lots, sidewalks, and roads absorb heat and create even hotter “heat islands” that aren’t recorded in the local weather estimates.
From 1999 to 2010, 8,081 heat-related deaths were reported in the United States. In 72% of these cases, excessive heat was actually the underlying cause of death (often in those who already had a cardiovascular condition). Only in 28% of cases was it a contributing factor.
So, what can you do to make sure everyone handles the heat?
- Check on people at risk, such as the elderly, disabled, or homebound.
- Never leave any living creature locked in a car. (Sometimes we don’t even know how bad the heat is getting to us until it’s too late.)
- Limit sun exposure during midday hours, even at places like beaches.
- Avoid sunburn and treat it right away if it happens by applying aloe vera and hot compresses – never pop blisters.
- Drink plenty of nonalcoholic fluids (and avoid caffeine).
- Replace the body’s salts and minerals by eating fruits and vegetables (NOT salty snacks – because while your body needs salt, they have too much for your kidneys to handle).
- Dress in cool, loose clothing (this also helps avoid heat rash).
- Shade your (and especially children’s) heads and faces from the sun – use an umbrella if that’s all you have.
- Provide plenty of fresh water for pets and put it in the shade.
- Create circulation with fans if you don’t have a/c – and make there’s a fan pointing outward to push hot air out of the room.
- Put a bowl of cold water (with ice, if possible) in front of a fan for an extra cooling effect.
- Try closing all doors, windows, and curtains right before the sun comes up to keep cooler evening air inside longer.
- Cover your feet and shoulders with wet towels and washcloths.
- Create a space in the basement, if you have one, since it’s often cooler down there.
- Turn off electronics that give off heat when plugged in (such as computers and lamps with incandescent light bulbs).
- Try not to use the stove or oven.
- If there’s no relief in your home, visit public buildings (such as shopping malls or libraries) with air conditioning.
- Avoid large, protein-rich meals to keep the body from creating its own metabolic heat.
- Lay down in a shaded area and sip water if you get clammy, pale, lightheaded, nauseous, or develop a headache – this can turn into an emergency quickly, so don’t hide away in a hot room.
- Keep some Gatorade or Pedialyte (or any oral hydration with essential minerals and potassium) to stave off dehydration.
- Call 911 if you experience: cramps, swelling, fainting, a temperature over 100 degrees and rising, confusion, a rapid pulse, severe nausea, a severe headache, and skin that’s warm and dry – it could be heat stroke, which can lead to coma and death.
Sources: “Heat-Related Illness” — CDC
“Climate Change indicators” — EPA
“11 Facts About Heat Waves” — DoSomething.org
