Summer fun could lead to heat stroke

Although temperatures have cooled this week, strenuous summer activities and longtime spans outdoors can lead to heat stoke.

Danielle Pettit-Majewski, an administrator for Washington County Public Health, knows, however, that activities such as the fair, work, and baseball games can push individuals out under the sun during this time of heat exposure.

'Do not wait until you are thirsty to drink,” Pettit-Majewski said.

Since the average person might be forced to be outside during these months, Pettit-Majewski suggests that everyone drink more than half their body weight in ounces of water. She also implores people, if they can't find shade or a breeze, to place wet cloths on their forehead anytime them feel as if the heat is causing them negative symptoms.

'Beer, alcohol, those types of things might taste good when it's hot, but really what you need is water,” Pettit-Majewski said.

Heat stroke can make itself known by many symptoms such as a higher body temperature, a fast and strong pulse, confusion, nausea, and could result in passing out. If these symptoms are present, 9-1-1 should be called right away.

'Heat exhaustion is a little different; it is not 9-1-1 immediately,” Pettit-Majewski said. 'If you are feeling heat exhaustion, you want to move to a cooler place.”

People should also consider wearing sunscreen at all times while outside and reapplying it every two hours. This is because the sun is so intense during these hot periods that you will be shedding this sunscreen pretty easily and often. A final tip also involves trying to make as much shade for your skin as you possibly can: consider wearing a hat with a large amount of surface area to keep the sun off your facial skin.

'People need to take care of their skin,” Pettit-Majewski said. 'Because when people are sunburned it is harder for their skin to regulate temperature.”