Tips to Prevent Heat Related Illness

Livingston' Health department has posted on the township's website some tips on how to prevent heat-related illnesses, especially timely during this seemingly never-ending heat wave.

Below are some suggestions: 

• Drink more fluids (nonalchoholic) regardless of your activity level. 

• Don't drink fluids that contain alcohol or a lot of sugar,  These drinks will -they will actually cause you to lose more fluids. Also, watch very cold fluids as they may cause stomach cramps. 

• Stay indoors and, if at all possible, in an air conditioned place. If your home is not air conditioned, go to the library or an air conditioned shopping mall, for example. 

• Electric fans may provide comfort, but when the weather is in the 90s, a cool shower or bath is a  better way to cool off. 
• Wear lightweight, looses fitting clothes.

• Check regularly on infants and young children, people aged 65 and older and people with mental illness. Keep them hydrated.

If you must be out in the heat: 

• Limit your outdoor activity to morning or evening hours.
• Cut down on exercise. If you must exercise, drink two to four glasses of cool, nonalcoholic fluids an hour. Sports beverages can replace the salt and minerals you lose in sweat.  

• Rrest in the shade often.
• Wear a hat and sunglasses and sunscreen with a SPF of 15-20 or higher.

*Information from www.cdc.gov/nceh/hsb