CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – With temperatures rising, Charleston County Emergency Medical Services are emphasizing the importance of recognizing the signs and symptoms of heat-related illnesses.
July is one of the hottest months of the year and Charleston County EMS has already begun to receive calls from people experiencing heat-related illnesses. Officials say that, when they receive a call, oftentimes the person calling is not even aware that what they are experiencing are the symptoms of a heat-related sickness.
EMS officials say to look out for dizziness, thirst, heavy sweating, nausea and weakness. These are signs of heat exhaustion, which can quickly turn into heat stroke and cause damage to internal organs, permanent disability or even death if not addressed. They say the symptoms can be vague, so even if someone is simply not feeling right then, it still needs to be taken seriously. One bad sign is if sweating stops, as it means the body has run out of fluids and can no longer regulate its temperature.
Carl Fehr, the division chief for Charleston County EMS says an important preventative measure to take is to plan for the heat.
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“One of the biggest things we recommend is, plan your day out. We know it’s going to be hot in Charleston. Watch the weather, pay attention to what temperatures are going to be like outside. Plan your day so that you’re doing any kind of physical activity outside either in the mornings or into the late afternoons and avoid being outside in the heat during the hottest times of the day,” Fehr says.
Adam Oliver, a captain for Charleston County EMS, says that a major cause of heat-related illness is mixing caffeine, alcohol or physical activity with the heat. All of these can cause dehydration and increase the risk of heat-related illness, so they recommend avoiding it altogether. If one does combine heat with alcohol, caffeine or physical activity, they must make sure to stay hydrated.
“Make sure you take care of yourself. You eat well, you hydrate yourself. You know, people come to Charleston and they’re on vacation and they drink a lot of alcoholic beverages. It’s very important to make sure you drink water and other electrolyte-replenishing fluids,” Oliver says.
If starting to feel sick, EMS officials say to get into a cooler environment as quickly as possible, sit down and drink fluids. They say to make sure to drink water slowly during recovery to avoid throwing up and losing even more fluids. These heat-related illnesses can come on quickly and health officials say that getting heat exhaustion even once can make a person much more susceptible to getting it again, so it is important to be careful.
“It can happen pretty fast. And you know, one of the common mistakes or common things that happens is, once you’ve had heat exhaustion or heat stroke before, it’ll come on more rapidly and come on harder the subsequent times if you’re ever exposed to it. So, people that have had those sort of experiences in the past need to be even more cautious with it in the future,” Fehr says.
While it is important to care for oneself, leaders also want to emphasize the importance of checking on others as well.
“One other important thing is to make sure you check on relatives and friends and people who may be more susceptible to the heat or may not have the resources to cooler environments that they’re in, if they don’t have the proper air conditioning units in their house or they have medical conditions that make them more prone to those types of illnesses. It’s very important to make sure you check in on that and make sure they’re OK,” Oliver says.
Oliver also says to be mindful of animals. He says a good rule of thumb is if it is too hot for a person, then it is far too hot for an animal.
David Abrams is the Chief of Charleston County EMS. He says that they are there to help and when in doubt, just reach out.
“If anybody has a question if you’re having a heat-related emergency, you should call 911. That’s what we’re here for is to make sure that the community stays as healthy as they can,” Abrams says.
Overall, those with Charleston County EMS want to keep the whole community safe, educated and as healthy aspossible this summer.
With that being said, they are also working out in the heat and have to take measures to keep themselves safe. They have allowed all EMS responders to wear uniform t-shirts for the next few weeks to stay cool. They have also fully equipped all ambulances with coolers full of ice and water and have provided everyone with reusable water bottles to keep them cool and hydrated.
“My hope is that all of our responders, law, fire and EMS personnel can stay safe with this heat because they are out there doing the tough work to make sure that the public is safe. And then we want to make sure that people are educated and that they watch out for these heat-related emergencies that come about,” Abrams says. “If you’re out there and you happen to see some responders out there in the public who are not on calls, thank them for the service they are doing because this is pretty brutal out here to be working out there and then anybody who has to work outside, my hat’s off to you in this heat, so please stay safe. As a community of people who have to work outside, let’s work together and make sure that we can get through the summer and get back to the nice chill winters that we’re used to.”
Abrams says they want to do everything they can to serve the public and his hope for the summer is everyone stays safe and educated when it comes to heat-related emergencies.
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Beat this summer’s heat: Signs of heat-related emergencies to look out for
