Illness- Exposure to extreme heat can have many negative effects on children’s health. Like dehydration, heat exhaustion, heat cramps, or even heat stroke. Children, being less attentive to these side effects, might not be able to understand what’s happening to them. But as a responsible parent, you need to keep a close eye on them and look for the symptoms of heat-related illnesses.
Generally, the symptoms that need to be looked out for are fainting, tiredness, headache, intense thirst, increased sweating, nausea, faster or deeper breathing than normal, muscle spasms, etc. Depending upon how they feel, you might have to call your doctor for immediate and correct advice. Since heat illnesses are very common, parents need to pay more attention to them. Fortunately, there are measures that can help you prevent them. To make things easier to manage for you, here are six of these measures that can help you in your fight against heat illnesses.
- Keep them in a cool space: If you have air conditioning in your house, make sure that your children spend maximum time in that space. You can plan fun activities for them so they don’t feel trapped inside the house. If the house does not have air conditioning, take them to a place that does, like a fully air-conditioned mall or a library.
Encourage them to take more fluids: Heat makes children feel dehydrated which weakens them from the inside. Teach them the importance of water during the hot weather and make sure that they drink it even if they don’t feel thirsty. Whenever possible squeeze a fruit and hand them over its juice. Fruit juices not only keep children hydrated but also provide the required vitamins needed to energize them.- Have them rest more: Heat can make children feel tired, lazy, and stressed. Letting them have more rest will help them save on energy and feel fresh. Resting will also enable them to take their mind off the heat. Make sure that they rest in a cool environment.
Give them cold water baths: Water is a wonderful drug that we are yet to utilize to its maximum. When it comes to fighting the heat, nothing comes to the rescue like cold water. Whenever your children feel the sting of heat, give them a cold bath to cool them down, both physically and mentally.- Don’t leave them in closed spaces: By closed spaces, we mean cars and other motor vehicles. The temperature in a closed vehicle can be higher than the temperature outside of it. It can lead to an immediate heat stroke or even death. So never leave your children inside a car while you make an errand.
- Dress them in light-colored clothes: Clothes that are light in color attract less heat. Thus, reducing the chances of heat illnesses. Whenever your children want to go out and play, always dress them in light-colored and loose clothes. Also, tell them to come back indoors as soon as they feel hot outside.
Since children love to play outdoors and spend more time under the sun, their chances to suffer from heat illnesses are always very high. These measures will help you create a protective cover against heat and reduce those chances to a very extent. So when you see the summer approaching, don’t forget to prepare your best plan against its scorching heat. After all, prevention is better than cure.
