When hot gets too hot: keeping children safe in the heat

Follow me on Twitter @drClaire Heat is part of summer — and for the most part, children do fine in the heat. But sometimes, heat can be dangerous, even deadly. As summer heats up — and as much of the country sits in a heat wave — it’s important to know about those dangers so that you can keep children safe. Here’s what you need to know about heat and children: Never leave a child in a car in the heat. Children’s bodies can heat up incredibly quickly — leading to damage to organs and even death. Every year children die from being in a hot car — because their caregiver thought they would be fine, because an errand took longer than expected, or because the driver simply forgot they were there. There is no safe time or safe temperature when it comes to leaving children in cars, so never do it (it’s not safe to leave a child in the car for other reasons, too). And always, always do a check of the back seat before you leave a car. The very best people can get distracted and forgetful. The American Academy of Pediatrics has some very useful information about preventing child deaths in hot cars on their website for parents. Know the signs of heat exhaustion. Heat exhaustion is what can happen to the body when it gets overheated, especially if there is dehydration as well. It’s more common when temperatures get over 90 degrees, and when the humidity is over 60% as this makes it harder for sweat to evaporate and cool the body, but it can happen at lower temperatures...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Children's Health Parenting Prevention Safety Source Type: news