By Eduardo Gonzales, MD Our children love to frolic in the beach during summer, but I am always worried when they’re out in the sun because the hot weather might get to them and make them ill. What are the illnesses that can be brought about by summer heat? How can we prevent them? —[email protected] Summer is indeed the time to frolic in the beach and have all sorts of outdoor fun, but it is also the time when the sun is at its brightest and the environmental temperature at its hottest, which can give rise to serious and potentially fatal illnesses. In any case, don’t let the summer heat stop your kids from having fun, just take precautions so their health is not compromised. Common benign conditions during summer The most common acute conditions caused by exposure to summer sun are sunburn and prickly heat (bungang araw). Sunburns, even when mild, can be very painful. They can also cause fever, stomach upset, malaise, and prostration. Severe sunburn, on the other hand, can give rise to blisters that can get infected. Prickly heat, on the other hand, is characterized by itchy skin rashes that occur when the sweat glands get obstructed and sweat is trapped. For sunburns and prickly heats, cooling and soothing wet dressings are often helpful. So are calamine and starch lotions, but greasy substances should not be applied. Serious disorders associated with summer heat The serious and potentially fatal heat-related disordersprevalent during the summer months form a continuum. From the mildest to the most severe, they consist of heat syncope, heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke. The underlying cause of these conditions is dehydration and electrolytes deletion because of excessive sweating. Heat syncope is characterized by transient loss of consciousness while heat cramps is characterized by muscle spasms. In both conditions, sweating is profuse, the skin is moist, the pulse is weak and the person may be nauseated. People suffering fromheat syncope or heat cramps should be transferred to a cool environment and given lots of fluids. In case of cramp, the cramped muscle should be gently stretched and massaged. The signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion, on the other hand, includeslight to moderate fever, increased pulse rate, cold, pale and clammyskin, thirst, dizziness, headache, nausea and vomiting, anxiousness, incoherence, and disorientation and fainting. If untreated, heat exhaustion results in heat stroke, a life-threatening emergency that is marked by a very high body temperature (41oC or higher), rapid and shallow breathing, dry red skin, rapid pulse, and mental disturbances such as confusion and unconsciousness or coma. Persons suffering from heat exhaustion and heat stroke are best treated in the hospital. First aid measures on the way to the hospital include cooling of the skin by spraying with water or by applying cold compresses or ice packs on the neck, wrists, ankles, and armpits. The person can be made to sip water slowly, about a glass per 15 minutes, up to a three to four glasses, but this should be stopped if vomiting occurs. How to keep cool            To prevent heat-related disorders, keep cool. Here are some measures that should keep you and your family cool:

• Avoid the sun between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. when it is hottest. Confine your swimming and other outdoor activities to the early morning and late afternoon hours. Likewise, avoid being under the sun for long stretches.
• When venturing outdoors, “slip a shirt and slap a hat.” Clothing and hats offer the best protection against the sun. Wearloose, cool and light colored clothing.
• Apply sunscreen cream or lotion liberally when you go out in the sun.
• Drink plenty of fluids. Take two to four glasses of fluids (water is best) per hour. Don’t drink alcohol, or beverages that contain large amounts of sugar—these actually cause you to lose more body fluid. Also, avoid very cold drinks, because they can cause stomach cramps. If you sweat too much, sports beverages could be taken instead of plain water.
• Never leave children or animals in parked cars.The sun can make car interiors unbearably hot.

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