Experts Encourage Families to Keep a Close Eye
on Older Loved Ones During Heat Wave
Bend, Ore. – Many don’t like the extreme and prolonged heat, but such conditions can be very dangerous and potentially deadly for seniors.
According to the National Weather Service, heat is one of the leading weather-related killers in the United States, resulting in hundreds of fatalities each year and even more heat-related illnesses.
“The elderly are often the most vulnerable to severe heat,” said Todd Sensenbach, Home Instead Senior Care of Bend owner. “Their bodies do not adjust as well as young people to sudden changes in temperature, they are more likely to have a chronic medical condition that changes normal body responses to heat and they are often on a prescription medicine that impairs the body’s ability to regulate its temperature or that inhibits perspiration,” he continued.
Here are a few tips:
1 – Keep a glass of water in every room to quickly and easily access fluids. Drink plenty of fluids, even if you don’t feel thirsty.
2- Stay out of the sun during the hottest times of the day. Sunburn makes the job of heat dissipation that much more difficult.
3 -Keep shades down and blinds pulled during the heat of the day.
4 – Take cool showers or baths to cool down.
5 – Eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Foods with a lot of protein increase metabolic heat production which can, in turn, increase water loss.
And, of course, seek medical attention right away if there are signs of heat stroke or heat exhaustion.
If you see local news happen, call the Horizon Broadcasting Group News Tip Hotline at 541-323-NEWS, or email us.
