BALTIMORE — Memorial weekend is in full swing, and people are gearing up to go to the beach and enjoy the warm weather, but health experts want people to keep in mind this is the time of the year when people experience heat strokes.
Medical experts are emphasizing the importance of staying hydrated. Experts say the first few weeks of summer is when they treat many patients who suffer heat exhaustion or worse, heat stroke.
"The body takes about two weeks to get acclimate to the warm weather so what we end up seeing is the first heat spell when it's hot and humid that when most people come in," said Dr. Jeff Sternlicht, Chairman of Emergency Medicine at GBMC
As people head to the beach or begin planning their outdoor fun, keep in mind both, heat exhaustion and heat stroke are serious conditions.
Heat exhaustion involves muscle weakness, confusion, and nausea, but if left untreated it can lead to heat stroke.
"You have to act very quickly if it turns into heat stroke because that's when the brain loses it's ability to cool the body, and you can go into multi organ failure," said Sternlicht.
In addition, experts want people to understand grill safety, mishandling a grill can lead to serious injury.
A lot of people participate in grilling during the summer especially for holidays like Memorial Day, but in order prevent injuries and fires experts say:
- Check the gas lines to make sure that they are free of leaks before using your grill
- Keep grills at least three feet away from your home
- Keep children away from the grilling area
-Have a fire extinguisher close by
Additionally, when it comes to throwing away coal, it’s recommend to first cool the charcoal down, then place it in a metal container and safely throw it in an outdoor garbage can.
"Residents living in Baltimore City who have rooftop decks should not be grilling on it. In the past we have seen a number of fires that started on the rooftop simply because someone was utilizing their deck. Our goal, this memorial day weekend and every holiday is to make sure that the residents within Baltimore City are safe," said Blair Adams, Spokesperson Baltimore City Fire Department.
For grilling safety tips visit: https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Fire-causes-and-risks/Seasonal-fire-causes/Grilling
For heat safety tips visit: https://www.ready.gov/heat
