With the arrival of summer in Hyderabad, experts caution against heat-related illnesses

The long season of summer in Hyderabad has arrived and with it the threat of seasonal ailments

Hyderabad: The long season of summer in Hyderabad has arrived and with it the threat of seasonal ailments, especially water-borne and heat-related illnesses. The summer in Telangana is unique because of the very hot and dry weather conditions that prevail between March and May.

By end of March and early part of April, the maximum daytime temperatures are expected to consistently cross 40 degrees Celsius, which is likely to trigger a rise in heat strokes and food and water-borne ailments.

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While food and water-related infections are largely due to the consumption of contaminated food and water, Heat-Related Illnesses (HRI) encompasses a spectrum of disorders including heat syncope, muscle cramps, heat exhaustion, and life-threatening emergency such as heat stroke.

These illnesses arise when there is a disruption in regulating the body’s temperature because heat input from the environment and body metabolism is increased compared with output from the skin via radiation, evaporation, and convection.

Water-borne ailments are usually associated with a lack of access to potable drinking water while heat strokes are due to exposure to high temperatures of over 40 degree Celsius.

“A healthy person can withstand heat stroke and other complications. However, this is not the case in persons with co-morbid conditions like chronic kidney and heart ailments and diabetes,” Superintendent, Fever Hospital Dr K Shankar said.

Persons with such pre-existing medical conditions should ensure they are not exposed to extreme heat during peak summer. Doctors said that core body temperatures of senior citizens, diabetics, and kidney and heart patients rise considerably when exposed to hot sun for a long time.