Parents urged to protect children from heat-related illnesses

PARENTS AND guardians are being implored to take additional measures to protect children from excessive heat exposure as the country continues to experience soaring temperatures.

Consultant paediatrician and consultant paediatric nephrologist at the Bustamante Hospital for Children, Sandrica Young Peart, said that several illnesses can occur from excessive heat exposure caused by the increased heat in the environment.

Rapid rises in heat gain due to hotter conditions affects the body’s ability to regulate temperature.

“What happens is that you have the body producing its own heat as a result of metabolic processes that occur on a day-to-day basis, and then you also have heat being given off by the body to help to keep the body in a neutral or cool state. Now, when any of these mechanisms are overwhelmed, meaning that if you have extra heat being produced or if the environment itself is excessively hot, then you can develop heat-related illnesses.

“They can range from being as mild as a heat rash, where you might see very fine bumps on the skin, and these can be either white or red, to as severe as a heatstroke,” she pointed out.

Dr Young Peart said children and babies are more vulnerable to extreme temperatures because their body water composition is higher than that of adults.

“They may have anywhere between 65 to 80 per cent of body water. The younger they are, the higher their body water is, whereas as adults, we are generally around 60 per cent body water. So, you can imagine if it is that you are exposed to extreme heat for a prolonged period and you lose a lot of your body water, the detrimental effects that can occur,” she says.

Among the manifestations of heat-related illnesses are dehydration, dizziness, low blood pressure leading to unconsciousness, or even kidney failure.

“Cramps can occur because you lose a lot of what we call electrolytes or substances in the blood that are responsible to help maintain normal muscle activity, and in the absence of adequate hydration or fluid replenishment ... you lose these electrolytes,” Dr Young Peart pointed out.

“You can also get twitching or numbness in the muscles in your body because of the very same loss of these substances,” she added.

Noting that the soaring temperatures can cause heat exhaustion or heatstroke, which may present as fever, dehydration, or excessive sweating, thirst or dizziness, Dr Young Peart said parents and guardians must ensure that children are getting enough fluids to regulate their body temperature.

“We sometimes see in children who may be undergoing vigorous exercise, or they may just be playing a lot in the hot sun … they may present with altered mental status. So, they may be drowsy, they may not be responsive at all, or their blood pressure can be low. They may be severely dehydrated, and they can go into shock,” she said.

Dr Young Peart added that these conditions can affect several major organs – brain, liver, kidneys.

“Multiple things can occur if our children end up with a heatstroke. So, while it is important that our children are actually exercising or playing, parents must monitor them to ensure this is being done safely, or that they play in an environment where it is not too hot,” she advised.

Dr Young Peart recommends hydration prior to exercise/playing outside and within 10 to 15 minutes of play, and regular water breaks.

“So, they should have their water bottles outside, and they should be encouraged to at least take frequent sips to ensure that they don’t become dehydrated at all,” she said.

WATER IS BEST

Dr Young Peart noted that water is best for hydration, rather than juices and drinks.

“Those are really not what we recommend for hydration. We prefer water, but if it is the case where they’re losing a lot of salts or losing a lot of substances from the body, then they may need special [fluids] like sports drinks to replenish the salts that would have been lost,” she explained.

For children who do not like water, Dr Young Peart recommended flavoured water, using natural juices from fruits to encourage children to increase fluid intake.

She also emphasised the importance of dressing children in clothing that protects them from the harmful effects of excessive heat.

“We want to ensure that our children are dressed appropriately in the summertime or when it’s hot. So, they should be dressed in single-layer clothing that is loose-fitting, to allow adequate air to pass through, and it should be made of breathable, light-coloured material to reduce the absorption of solar radiation,” she said.

She also advised parents and guardians to monitor the temperature outside to determine whether it is safe for children to participate in outdoor activities. Where temperatures are abnormally high, indoor activities are recommended to reduce the risk of heat-related illnesses.

“What ideally should be done is that you restrict activity based on the overall heat index,” Dr Young Peart noted.

She said that parents can also gradually build up their children’s tolerance to higher temperatures.

“The other thing that we sometimes encourage is a little bit of acclimatisation, where you only do like probably five minutes outside each day, encourage them to drink [water] before and after, so that they get used to the increased heat load and, over time, the child’s body will learn to adapt, and so the apex won’t be as detrimental,” she pointed out.

Dr Young Peart said that medical help should be sought if the child experiences dizziness, blackouts, dehydration, or is not responsive to fluids.

Also, if the child does not pass urine within a four-hour period, she said this is an indication of dehydration.

“That’s an indication that the parents should start seeking help before it gets to the point where the child is drowsy, not talking as they should, and their blood pressure starts falling, and the child reaches a state where they become severely dehydrated. They could go into shock, and die,” she warned.

“We don’t want to take it for granted that our children are resilient. We know they are resilient, but we also have to put things in place to prevent certain health-related conditions, because if they are not addressed adequately and effectively, then they can be lethal,” Dr Young Peart emphasised.

JIS