Summer is a season characterized by sunny days and clear blue skies. Unfortunately, these blessings are sometimes accompanied by scorching hot sunlight and sudden heat waves. In Singapore, we may be “summery” all year round and we don’t get extreme hot days like other countries, but the temperatures certainly have been going up and this year we saw some of the hottest days we’ve ever experienced, and this trend might stay or worsen in years to come.
Aside from causing some discomfort, hot weather may not affect most healthy individuals. However, they can have fatal health complications for the elderly. According to geriatrics specialist Calvin Hirsch of the UC Davis Health System, “seniors account for a disproportionate number of heat-related hospitalizations and deaths.”
Why are senior citizens more vulnerable to heat?
One loses the ability to perspire and regulate body temperature with age. They also tend to feel colder than a younger person. An elderly person may not even be conscious of thirst or heat, especially if suffering from dementia, diabetes (where nerve damage is a long-term effect) or cognitive impairment. Medications like tranquilizers dull awareness to discomfort.
For senior citizens with health problems such as heart diseases, the body has a harder time maintaining proper blood circulation and dissipating heat. Certain medications interfere with the ability to cope with the hot weather, including antipsychotic drugs for Alzheimer’s patients, anticholinergic drugs, tranquilizers, sedatives, amphetamines, diuretics, antihistamines, and certain antidepressants. Diuretics, commonly used in the treatment of high blood pressure and heart diseases, cause water loss which can subsequently be dehydrating in light of the high temperatures.
Danger arises when they don’t actively seek ways to cool down due to failure to realise that the body is hot.
Additionally, older skin is thinner, and offers less protection from the sun.
Tips to stay cool:
Use the air-conditioner. If there is no access to one at home, hang out at an air-conditioned public place, such as the supermarket, library or shopping mall.
Open the windows to improve ventilation, but keep the sunlight away with curtains and shades over your windows. Open windows without a cover simply makes the interior temperature same as outside.
Open the windows at night, but make sure the window grills are locked and don’t place any valuables near the window. Alternatively, use fans to encourage ventilation.
Place pieces of cardboard with aluminum foil on one side facing the windows. This can help to reflect light and heat away from your house. The effect is more significant if the boards are placed outside your window, with the shiny surface toward the sunlight.
Drink plenty of fluids, and eat light meals like porridge and soup-based dishes. Avoid drinks with caffeine such as tea and coffee, and alcohol.
Wear light-coloured, loose-fitting and light-weight clothing whenever possible.
Taking regular cool showers is a good way to cool down, but there are less costly and more water-saving alternatives. Wet a clean washcloth with cold water, then rub it all over, in particularly the neck and face. For a more efficient cooling method, use ice cubes wrapped in a wash cloth.
Minimise physical activity, and limit them to the cooler hours. Outdoor physical activity should be entirely avoided on very hot days. If possible, exercise indoors, such as in the gym, community centre or at home.
Heading out? Avoid direct sunlight, and use hats and umbrellas to keep the sun away. Bring a hand-held battery-operated fan or cooler, and bottled water.
If you’re a caregiver to an elderly person, be alert, because a cognitively-impaired person may not be able to inform someone about his or her condition. Check in on him / her regularly, or have a neighbour do so.
Here is a list of common heat-related problems and their signs, by Caregiver.org:
• Heat stress: Headache, nausea and fatigue are common symptoms.
• Heat fatigue: cool and moist skin, weakened pulse, feeling faint.
• Heat syncope, or fainting due to heat: sudden dizziness, pale, sweaty looking skin that is moist and cool to the touch, weakened pulse and rapid heart rate despite normal body temperature of around 37 degrees celsius.
• Heat cramps: muscle spasms in the abdomen, arms or legs after exercise.
• Heat exhaustion: a warning that the body is getting too hot. Warning signs include thirst, giddiness, weakness, lack of coordination, nausea, and profuse sweating. Cold, clammy skin. Body temperature may remain normal. Pulse is normal or raised slightly. Pupils may contract. Urination decreases and the person may vomit.
• Heat stroke: this is life-threatening. Send the person to the hospital immediately, as death can occur quickly when heat stroke occurs. Warning signs include raised body temperature (around 40 degrees Celsius and above), person may feel confused, combative, behave bizarrely, feel faint and stagger. Pulse is rapid, skin is dry, flushed and may feel hot. There is a lack of sweating. Breathing may be fast and shallow. Pupils may widen or dilate. Delirium, seizures or convulsions, and coma are possible.
– This article first appeared in a lifestyle magazine
