More than 100 million Americans are under heat warnings, watches or advisories as summer kicks off on June 20, so here's a quick rundown of how you can stay safe during a heat wave.
00:00Well, we are starting summer because, yes, it is now officially astronomical summer.
00:05We're starting it off with a heat wave, and heat is actually one of the most dangerous weather events.
00:11It ends up killing more people than really anything else on average, so you want to make sure you are taking steps to stay safe.
00:18Here's a couple kind of general tips here.
00:20Make sure you are staying hydrated.
00:22If you do have to be outside for extended periods of time, especially even just water, maybe think about something like Gatorade, liquid IV,
00:29something that has electrolytes in it if you're sweating a lot, especially.
00:32You want to avoid any strenuous activity because, you know, that makes you sweat, and then you need hydrated even more.
00:38If you can, if you have to be outside, stay in the shade.
00:41Stay out of direct sunlight.
00:42Make sure you're in light-colored clothing.
00:45That'll help with not having the sun feel quite as hot, and if you can, just stay inside where there is air conditioning.
00:51Now, there's heat exhaustion and heat stroke that especially are things you need to look out for when we're dealing with a dangerous heat wave like this.
00:59So, some symptoms to look out for for heat exhaustion.
01:02This kind of goes for heat stroke as well.
01:03It'll start with kind of heavy sweating.
01:05If you feel dizziness, fatigue, a rapid pulse, that is when you definitely need to get inside and seek medical attention.
01:12Muscle cramps, those can be one of those first signs as well.
01:15Now, as we look ahead to other symptoms, it's nausea and vomiting.
01:20That's a concern as well.
01:21If you have any of these symptoms, you want to make sure that you get inside.
01:25If there's any clothing that you can remove that is maybe unnecessary, take that off, especially loosen any tight clothing.
01:34If you have ice packs that you can get, place that on armpits and groin.
01:38That'll help to cool you off.
01:39Mist your body with water.
01:41Hydrate, of course.
01:42You want to drink water, Gatorade, anything like that.
01:44Make sure you're avoiding caffeine, alcohol, and sugar.
01:46But most importantly, just get out of the heat and seek medical attention if needed.
01:50We'll see you when the down side has amplified.
