ORLANDO, Fla. – Hospital and urgent care facilities around Central Florida are reporting an uptick in patients looking for help with heat-related illnesses, as the heat index pushes feels-like temperatures into the triple digits.
AdventHealth is reporting a 20% increase in patients looking for care for heat-related illnesses at their ERs compared to last year. The CentraCare locations, meanwhile, have seen a 115% increase in patients in the last two weeks.
Meanwhile, Orange County Fire Rescue said it responded to 89 heat-related calls in July, compared to 66 in June.
AdventHealth officials said they are seeing people from all walks of life coming in, including tourists not used to being out in Florida’s summer heat. All of them have been out for longer than an hour.
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Heat exhaustion and heat stroke happen when the body loses water and salt. The body’s temperature rises quickly and is not able to cool down properly. When humidity is high, it makes this harder because sweat does not evaporate as quickly, which makes it harder to cool the body down.
Dr. Andy Little, an attending physician at AdventHealth East, said people will notice that activity that is easy normally becomes harder when they are suffering from heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
“If you’re sweating like you’re running a 5K, but you’re not running a 5K, that’s a sign of your body trying to cool itself, and that’s a sign that you’re probably dehydrated,” Little said.
To combat this, Little says people should increase the amount of water they’re drinking, and also switch it out with electrolyte drinks, whole fruit or anything else that replaces electrolytes. Not replacing those electrolytes dilutes what’s in the body, which can lead to fatigue, dizziness and weakness.
“For every 30 to 40 oz of water you should drink, you should drink 10 to 20 oz of your favorite electrolyte drink,” Little said.
You should also avoid drinking things like alcohol, juice and soda.
Check out these News 6 stories for more tips to stay cool.
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