San Diego (KGTV)- Health experts at Rady Children’s Hospital are encouraging parents to pay closer attention to their kids during this heat wave. They could experience some heat-related illnesses.
The best thing for parents to do is to get in front of any heat-related symptoms. This includes regulating your child’s playtime outside and making sure kids stay hydrated.
The RCH Emergency room has seen an increase in the number of kids visiting the ER with heat-related symptoms over the past few days.
“We’re seeing about 100 patients more than we usually see per day,” says Frank Sturniolo, a nurse and educator in the Emergency Department. “Some are heat-related but luckily none have been emergent.”
Sturniolo explains in very hot and humid weather our bodies natural cooling system may begin to fail. This could cause heat in the body to build to dangerous levels; and result in heat-related illnesses like heat cramps, heat exhaustion, or heat stroke.
“Some of the big symptoms are fatigue, headache, loss of energy,” says Sturniolo. “Kids are pretty active, if you notice a substantial decrease in how hard they’re playing that could be a first subtle sign.”
The expert says for smaller children, like infants and toddlers, it is harder for them to regulate their temperatures, so it could take longer to get their bodies to cool down.
If you believe a child is experiencing heat-related symptoms:
- Bring the child to a cooler place indoors.
- Remove excess clothing
- Encourage the child to drink water, if they are awake and alert.
- Place a cool, wet cloth on their skin.
- Call the doctor for advice
The excess heat is causing problems for kids at school. Poway Unified School District is having some issues with air conditioning. To keep students safe, Midland Elementary will have a minimum day Wednesday. Students will be released at noon.
Students at Bernardo Heights Middle School and Rancho Bernardo High School are being let out early because the district says the newly installed chiller could not handle the load of providing AC for both schools.
For the rest of the week, Bernardo Heights students will be released at 12 pm, while Rancho Bernardo students will be dismissed at 1:15 pm.
