How to spot heat illness and keep kids safe during the Sacramento summer

Sacramento is no stranger to hot days. 

Currently, the region is under a heat advisory through Wednesday night, with temperatures expected to reach the mid-90s or even the triple-digits. But more hot weather is almost certain through this and every summer, making it important for residents to know how to stay safe when temperatures rise.

Dr. Kylie Abeson, a pediatrician at UC Davis Health, said it takes time for people to get acclimated to the heat, and that children should avoid exercising outdoors when the sun is strongest.

“Not to say that you can’t walk outside of your cool house and into the sun,” she said. “But it takes about 8-10 days for your body to get sort of prepared and ready to be exercising fully in the heat.”

Abeson joined CapRadio’s Insight to talk about the dangers high temperatures pose to our health and what the symptoms of heat illness look like.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

Interview highlights

What are some of the warning signs people need to look out for when it comes to heat related illnesses?

Usually I divide it up into one of three categories.

First we have heat cramps. This is the least severe and typically it involves cramping of the calves, the thighs, the stomach, even the hands. People sort of describe it as a tightness or some sort of spasm. There's no fever when it comes to heat cramps. And when you experience this really you need to stop, take a rest and drink plenty of fluids and typically those go away within a few hours. 

The next most severe, or middle severity, is that folks go on to develop heat exhaustion. That involves sweating, nausea, pale skin, sometimes people experience fevers up to 102 degrees Fahrenheit, dizziness, weakness, feeling faint, even passing out. This is a sign of heat exhaustion. You’re profusely sweating and then have resulted in dehydration. At this point you need to sort of rest and make sure you're drinking plenty of fluids. Depending on how severe the symptoms are, I would advise seeking medical attention at this point because things can really go on to progress to the most serious reaction, which is a term a lot of folks are familiar with, either called heat stroke or sometimes sunstroke. 

This is where we really get into dangerous territory. Mostly that's just because your body's ability to regulate its own temperature is now breaking down. Signs of this include a higher fever — 104 to 105 degrees — even things like seizures and coma, confusion. Notably, kids do not necessarily always sweat in this condition, only about 50% of the time, so how much someone is sweating isn't necessarily the best indicator of whether or not someone is experiencing a heat related illness. So at this point definitely either engage emergency services or contact your doctor just because some sort of medical attention is needed at that point.

This is a time of year where young kids and teens are out in the heat. Are there specific risks for children? And what can parents and other adults do to protect them both before, during and after they're out in the sun?

We're seeing a lot of this in the clinic, in the emergency department, particularly this time of year. Kids for one have a different body surface area ratio then older children or adults so they actually heat up three to five times faster, so this is all the more relevant for them. Then for all folks — adults and kids — exercising muscles create about 10 to 20 times more heat than resting muscles. And while sweating is the main way our bodies get rid of that excess heat, when it's more humid outside our sweating isn't quite as effective at cooling us, so our internal body temperature starts to rise and then can result in some sort of heat illness.

It's important to remember a few things. One, if you have any ability to sort of either sway the coaches or you're the one taking your kids out to play in the summer, [make] sure that you're trying to do it at cooler times of the day. Earlier in the morning or late afternoon in the evening, really avoiding that 10 a.m. to 4 to 5 p.m. slot just because the sun's at its strongest. If you're going to be exercising for more than an hour straight, make sure to every 20 minutes have about half a cup to a full cup of water depending on the age of your kid. You can get dehydrated pretty quickly. 

Something else that a lot of folks don't know is it actually takes some time to get acclimated to the heat. Not to say that you can't walk outside of your cool house and then into the sun, but it takes about eight to 10 days for your body to get sort of prepared and ready to be exercising fully in the heat. I hope that a lot of coaches are aware of this but you can't really expect kids to play like a full outdoor soccer game in the heat if they haven't sort of been ramping up that activity level in the outdoors for some time. So making sure not to go full monty is important.

Our region has adults out in the sun: farmworkers, construction workers and other people who are out in the elements. What recommendations do you have for those individuals who are out in their workplace?

Regardless of who you are, trying to seek out any sort of respite is helpful. Obviously, that is more possible for some populations rather than others. But seeking out shade, wearing sunblock and drinking plenty of fluid would be my general recommendations. Clothes with tighter weaves — so when you hold up a shirt to the sun, seeing how much light gets through the less light is better and it's more protective from the sun. But it can make you a little bit warmer, so wearing lighter color clothing can also be helpful, particularly if you can't avoid being out and about.

If you witness someone who appears to be experiencing heat exhaustion or heat stroke, what is the best thing for them to do?

It really depends on how that individual is doing, but I always tell my patients that I would much rather you come in, either to the emergency room or to see me in the clinic, and it be nothing than to be afraid that it's nothing and potentially putting yourself in a dangerous situation. So engaging emergency services is always a good idea. And while you're waiting, bringing that person to a cool place, encouraging fluid intake depending on their consciousness level, and if you do have any sort of misting fans or cool water that you can place on the body to really help cool them down that can be helpful as well.