By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
Officials with the American Red Cross advise taking precautions as the temperatures begin to rise.
Regional Red Cross Executive Director JoAnn Woody says heat exhaustion is dangerous but even worse is heat stroke
"It can be a deadly condition and it requires immediate medical attention as soon as possible," Woody tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. "Some of the symptoms for that include a higher body temperature, that hot, red dry skin, a fast or strong pulse, just sounds like it's pounding, dizziness, nausea."
Three tips the Red Cross advises are to slow down, stay hydrated, and spend time indoors to help stay safe in the extreme heat.
Woody says to keep yourself safe in the heat, be sure to take frequent breaks if you have to be outside and exposed to the temperatures.
Woody says the key to knowing how long to take a break is understanding your body and its heat tolerance.
"Some people recover from a little bit of overheating very quickly," Woody explains. "I would say we want to make sure we're being attentive to what our body is telling us, if you start sweating profusely, that's a good indicator you need to take a break and you need to let your body cool down because your body is trying super hard with all that sweating to cool itself off."
Woody advises people to do any work outside early in the day before it reaches peak temperatures.
Woody says to avoid sugary drinks and alcohol while in the heat and to be sure to drink water to stay hydrated
"Nothing beats water for instant hydration and getting some things into your body," Woody says. "A lot of those other drinks they have other additives to them, so depending on where you're at in that heat exposure cycle, they may or may not benefit you."
Woody also says to be sure to just sip the water as you recover from any overheating and to make sure it is not ice cold to not cause harm to your body.