Every year, the global climate gets hotter and hotter, which potentially affects our health. Our body reacts negatively when exposed to the scorching heat of the sun's rays during the day. This makes us feel more uncomfortable because too much heat causes our body unable to adjust its own metabolism. During summer, the weather is at its hottest because if we are located in a certain hemisphere that is more exposed to the Sun's heat, the seasonal temperature will get its highest.
Summer season is the most favored season because it is the time we experience sunny moments all day long. We can do everything we want without being restricted to any weather related hazards. However, many of us don't know that there are health risks that could affect our health when we expose ourselves to extreme heat. We often see news reports that there were several individuals who suddenly collapsed due to being exposed to sun's rays for a long period of time. Each year, there is an escalating number of morbidity and mortality rates attributed to heat-related illnesses reported to several health institutions.
The growing number of individuals who are turning into patients are now causing an alarm to the public due to the intense heat brought about by excessive exposure to the sun. Every year, temperatures continue to rise in a gradual fashion due to expanding human settlements and decreasing land areas that are saturated by vegetation such as forests. Heat-related diseases are causing a public alarm because there are still many people who are unaware brought about by potential impacts of being exposed to extreme heat. Being unable to know the hazards that can be affected by the heat can significantly affect a person's health and longevity.
Health tips to prevent heat-related diseases during hot weather
1. Drink plenty fluids: it is better to increase the number of glasses of clear fluids to at least more than 12 per day each summer season than the regular between 10 to 12 per day. During the summer season or every hot weather days, our body can easily release its own fluids. This is done through the process of perspiration and respiration. Profuse sweating brought about by the intense heat loses water rapidly, risking our body to dehydration.
2. Always stay indoors: It is better to stay inside at home or any structure during the daytime, especially when the weather is hot. Most patients who acquire heat-related disorders were caused by the direct heat to outside environment. Staying indoors will help yourself to be at lesser risk to be exposed from the intense heat from the sun if the weather is very hot. If you go somewhere, make sure that you should always seek shelter from any structure by staying inside or along its shade to block the sun's rays towards you.
3. Do not overexpose your body to sun's rays: Summer is the best time for everyone to take a sunbath. However, overexposing your body from the sun will give you skin related disorders such as skin cancer, sunburns, blisters, and first degree burns. If you are persistent to do sunbathing, the maximum time should be for only between 20 to 30 minutes. Exposing your body for more than 30 minutes will cause serious heat-related diseases to your body.
4. Avoid excessive consumption of foods that are rich in protein: If you are planning to stay, work, or accomplish something important that exposes your body outdoors, avoid eating foods that are high in protein. The reason behind is that protein increases your body's heat due to the metabolic response of your body towards tissue build up. Examples are excessive consumption of legumes, meat, eggs, milk, fish, turkey, and chicken, which are just some of the most commonly consumed items.
5. Prevent yourself from over exhaustion: Heat-related illnesses can be attributed from over exhaustion when a person continuously do strenuous activities while being exposed from the sun. Minimize excessive physical activities that can conserve your body's energy level. When you exert too much energy, your body will start to feel weak, which can lead to immediate health related distress.
6. Stay away from spoiled foods: Spoiled foods are foods that are already expired, infected by molds, cooked raw, or contaminated by other pathogenic microorganisms. Food poisoning directly affects your digestive system. During summer, our body can easily suffer from fluid loss because another outlet will be opened when the digestive tract will be irritated. Stools will be transformed into watery substance due to the irritation of the intestines caused by consuming spoiled foods that could further lose more fluids than perspiration or urination.
7. Prefer to consume foods high in carbohydrates: Aside from hydrating your body, it is also important to consume edible materials that can boost your energy. These are foods that are rich in carbohydrates that energizes your body to combat against the impacts of intense heat. Energy boosting foods prevents exhaustion that prevents cardiovascular distress and fluid deficit disorders. These are sugary drinks, cakes, flour, honey, potato, white bread, pasta, rice, wheat, and other whole grain foods.
8. Take a bath regularly: Taking a bath promotes circulation to the body. Every flow provides a natural palpation activity that aims to massage the top layer of your skin. The body's temperature normalizes when we take a bath. Aside from boosting circulation, taking a bath regularly during summer promotes hygine because it can eliminate unwanted microorganisms responsible for causing risks for infection throughout the body.
9. Always consider having a bedrest for at least 8 hours a day: It is always recommended that we should sleep at least 8 hours a day because it is the maximum time that our cells will be completely rehabilitated. Prolonged heat can easily damage our cells and tissues that usually happens during summer season. Sleeping at least 8 hours a day completely recharges our body and restores normal balance to allow cells to do normal perfusion activities. Sleeping for less than 8 hours a day will easily cause your body to exhaustion because cells are not regenerated completely.
10. Never drink too much alcohol: Alcoholic beverage consumption on a minimum amount is considered as a stimulant because it affects neuron impulse by slowing its activity to transmit information. Beverages containing alcohol easily cause your body to dehydrate. This is why we suffer from hangover because less than 5% of our body's fluids are drained. The brain is always the first to be affected when there is a fluid deficit in the body because it affects synaptic impulses that transfers information from one neurons to other neuron cells. Alcohol causes the body to lose more energy as it causes the body to excrete more fluids.
