It’s been hot lately, huh? This is the weather when we are thankful for ACs. It’s important to remember seniors in this kind of heat. Heat related illnesses and deaths happen more often than you think. Here is how heat waves affect your body.

How Heat Waves Affect Your Body

Professor Glen Kenny from the University of Ottawa has been studying how heat effects seniors. The study found that if seniors are exposed to temperatures of over 110 degrees for just for a few hours, they are not able to restore their “heat balance.”

This is because the body produces less sweat as we age. Sweating is one of the main ways we get rid of excess heat.

That’s why humidity can affect people more than dry heat. The more moisture in air, the less sweat can evaporate from the skin.

Seniors also don’t react as quickly as we would expect. They may not feel like they are hot until it’s too late. They also might not feel thirsty and suddenly become dehydrated.

Water is the key to maintaining the right volume of blood in the body. When the volume decreases, blood pressure decreases, and then people can pass out and injure themselves. It also puts extra stress on the heart.

Then there is heat exhaustion, that can go so far as becoming heat stroke. People who are older or in poor health are prone to heat stroke. During heatwaves, many seniors end up in the emergency room due to heat related sickness.

Read more here.