10 WAYS TO PROTECT YOURSELVES FROM THE HEATWAVE!

Credits: Farah Siddique

Karachi is going haywire these days when it comes to the weather. It touched 43 degrees Celsius on Monday, May 17th. According to the weather forecast the upcoming days will continue to be very hot and dry. It’s very important for us to takecare in such weather of ourselves and our families. 

Heat waves can cause a number of problems and issues. From mild heat cramps to serious heat strokes, it just cannot be ignored. Extreme heat waves can be dangerous to health, even fatal. These events results in increased hospital admissions for heat related illness as well as cardiovascular and respiratory disorders. Extreme heat events can trigger a variety of heat stress conditions such as heat stroke . Therefore, followingare a few basic steps which can be followed to protect ourselves from the heat wave.

• Stay in air conditioned and indoor location as much as you can 

• Drink plenty of water and healthy fluids even if you don’t feel like drinking them. 

•Eating light meals and avoiding too much of salt 

• Wearing loose fitting, lightweight and light colored clothes

• Replace your usual body moisturizer with cooling aloe Vera after sun product 

• Practitioners say that crysanthemum tea is a cooling herb which clears the head 

• Avoid strenuous activities as it raises your body’s core temperature

• Run cold water on your wrist now and then to help cool the blood in the main vein

• Wear appropriate footwear as hot asphalt can damage your feet and raise your temperature 

• Never leave children or animals in a parked car, even with the windows down 

We need to safeguard our communities by protecting people’s health, wellbeing and quility of life from climate change impacts. Many people are already taking these steps to address the public health issues and reduce the risk of them then why can’t you we?!