The month of January has turned out to be extremely hot. This form of climate is said to come with some health effects.
Experts explain that the longer one spends in the heat, the more serious the effects on their body can be. Increased body temperature is known to cause heavy sweating, clammy skin, dehydration, tiredness, headache, dizziness, nausea, cramps, and a quick and weak pulse.
According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), you can become ill from the heat if your body can’t compensate for it and properly cool you off.
The main things affecting your body’s ability to cool itself during extremely hot weather are;
High humidity; when the humidity is high, sweat won’t evaporate as quickly. This keeps your body from releasing heat as fast as it may need to. Personal factors such as age, obesity, fever, dehydration, heart disease, mental illness, poor circulation, sunburn, and prescription drug and alcohol use all can play a role in whether a person can cool off enough in very hot weather.
Those who are at highest risk include people 65 and older, children younger than two, and people with chronic diseases or mental illness.
According to the World Health Organization-WHO, exposure to excessive heat has wide ranging physiological impacts for all humans, often amplifying existing conditions and resulting in premature death and disability.
These negative health impacts of heat are predictable and largely preventable with specific public health actions.
Actions to take
Dr Joseph Ryarasa Nkurunziza, the Chairperson of Health Development Initiative Rwanda-HDI states that hot summer occurs when it is 10 or more degrees Celsius above the normal.
He says, heat can be reduced or averted depending on what you’re wearing. The kind of clothing you wear affects how well air can circulate over your skin, and allows heat and moisture (sweat) to evaporate.
"Wear as little clothing as possible when you are at home. Opt for lightweight, light-coloured and loose fitting clothing.”
He also notes to avoid dark coloured heavy restrictive fabrics and clothing as they absorb the heat of the sun and actually turn into heat.
Nkurunziza stresses that you should drink plenty of water as it helps to lower your body temperature and replace the fluid you lose through sweating.
Water should be taken to counteract dehydration in hot or humid weather, regardless of your activity level. Lack of enough water can result in headaches, dry skin, passing less urine than normal, tiredness and dizziness.
He warns against taking alcoholic beverages and caffeine, as both of these substances can act as diuretics and promote dehydration.
Eating large, protein-rich meals can increase metabolic heat and warm the body.
"Eat light foods that can keep you cool, such as watermelons, citrus fruits because these break down fatty foods,” Nkurunziza says.
WHO has issued public health guidance for the general public and medical professionals on coping with extreme heat; for instance, you should keep your living space cool.
Check the room temperature between 08:00 am and 10:00am, at 1:00pm and at night after 10:00 pm. ideally, the room temperature should be kept below 32 degrees Celsius during the day and 24 degrees Celsius during the night. This is especially important for infants or people who are over 60 years of age or have chronic health conditions.
Hang wet towels to cool down the room air. Note that the humidity of the air increases at the same time.
If your residence is air conditioned, close the doors and windows and conserve electricity not needed to keep you cool, to ensure that power remains available and reduce the chance of a community-wide outage.