Avoid the sun, drink plenty of fluids to avoid heat stroke

AS TEMPERATURES RISE

If you have nothing important to do outside, better stay indoors. Avoid too much sun exposure and drink lots of fluids.

These are some of the ways health officials advised the public to cope with the searing temperature with summer lurking just behind the corner.

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) Mactan Station Chief Al Quiblat said that yesterday’s temperature was at its highest from 1 to 3 p.m.

Quiblat said Cebu had posted a maximum temperature of 32.2 degrees Celsius around 2 p.m. and a heat index of 38 degrees.

Quiblat said it is advisable to drink plenty of water and wear light-colored clothes to avoid heat stroke.

Heat stroke is a condition marked by fever and often by unconsciousness, caused by the failure of the body’s temperature-regulating mechanism when exposed to excessively high temperatures.

Symptoms include: high body temperature, altered mental state or behavior, confusion, agitation, slurred speech, irritability, delirium, seizures and coma, alteration in sweating, hot and dry skin, rapid breathing, racing heart rate and throbbing headache.

“Kon dili gyud kalikayan moadto sa gawas, magsul-ob ta og hayahay na sinina ug inom daghan tubig,” he said in a phone interview.

(If we cannot avoid going outside, it would help if we wear light-colored and comfortable clothes and drink a lot of water.)

The hottest temperature in the whole country yesterday was recorded in the province of Pangasinan at 36 degrees and a heat index of 42 degrees.

Meanwhile, Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) Director Jaime Bernadas said that those who cannot avoid being exposed to the sun should bring protective gears with them.

“Be ready with heat support gadgets, (such as) umbrellas (and) hats,” he said in a text message.

He added that prolonged heat exposure could result in dehydration and heat stroke.

Although there is no declaration yet of the onset of the dry season or summer in the country, Quiblat said Cebu had already experienced a maximum temperature of 32 degrees, hotter than the average temperature for March which is 27.7 degrees.

He said that based on their data, summer would usually start on the second or the third week of March, which is forecasted to bring near average to slightly-warmer-than-average temperatures.

Quiblat said that for the month of March, the minimum temperature is tabbed at 24.5 and a maximum of 31 degrees.

Last year, the onset of the dry hot season started on April 5.