Factor Heat, Hydration Into Holiday Plans

Ahead of the holiday weekend, dangerous heat has settled over West Virginia and much of the eastern United States. Experts stress the importance of preparation and care.  

Brian Leary, associate professor of exercise physiology at West Virginia University, calls this week’s weather oppressive.  

“It’s just uncomfortable, and it just feels like it’s relentless,” he said. “Even if you’re in the shade, it doesn’t feel cool. That no matter what you’re trying to do, it’s just always going to feel hot.” 

Leary said high humidity will make it feel hotter than the reported air temperature, and suggested people should keep an eye on the heat index instead.  

“Our body’s ability to cool off is really controlled by how much we can actually evaporate through sweat, and that in turn is really impacted by humidity,” Leary said. “So the more humid it is, the harder it is for us to cool off. So, collectively, the heat index gives us a better understanding of the actual heat that our body is experiencing at that moment.” 

Leary warned that with plenty of outdoor activities for the country’s semiquincentennial this weekend, it’s important to include hydration in any plans and know the signs of overheating and dehydration. That often starts with an elevated heart rate.   

“If you start to feel dizzy, lightheaded, sometimes people mention that they start to have, like, aura vision, almost like a migraine,” he said. “That can be an early indicator that you’re dehydrated, and also just not avoiding the sensation to drink.” 

Cold, clammy skin and goosebumps on a hot day are, according to Leary, clear signs to seek cooling and hydration immediately. 

He said to pay special attention to the elderly and children, who have a harder time regulating their body temperatures. 

“The older adults, they tend to not recognize heat changes as much. The sweating response changes, so they don’t evaporate as effectively, they don’t cool down as much within that, and that also leads them to be a little bit more susceptible to those changes, they really don’t really feel like they’re hot almost until it’s too late with an older age,” Leary said. “On the flip side of that, we have our children, and they’re really susceptible, one, because they’re really physically active. They also, because of their small body, have a larger surface area, like surface area of their skin to their size of their body. So, what that allowed them to do is absorb a lot more of that radiative heat, so they’re getting a lot more heat coming in and. And they’re also going to have a lower sweat rate than a normal full-size or older adult would have, so they’re at an added risk.” 

Leary said a key factor will also be the community’s response to the heat in a state with many health issues that can exacerbate heat response. 

“With the overall health of the state as well, obesity really impacts our ability to thermoregulate. That’s going to decrease our ability to cool off in the heat, increase our heat-related risk,” he said. “There are other comorbidities; cardiovascular disease, hypertension, all of that have an added risk. So, really it is, unfortunately, a perfect storm in this state.” 

Communities like Huntington have already announced the opening of cooling stations this week. Leary said blocking sunlight from entering the home can also help regulate indoor temperatures and advised to not overlook the utility of a simple fan. 

“It doesn’t seem like a lot, but the air current moving over us is going to cool us down the most,” he said. “So, if you can get air circulating over your body, that’s going to do wonders for you. It’s not necessarily the fan running in the room that’s going to cool it down, but it’s you being in direct contact with that air moving over top of your, your skin surface, that can do a lot to cool you down on a hot day.”