Summer is here! It’s such a beautiful season and, especially if you have an active toddler who loves playing and exploring, it’s perfect for family time and fun activities. Heat stroke in toddlers is a preventable condition. Let’s look at how to enjoy hot weather safely and avoid any heat-related illness.
Heat illness: heat exhaustion and heat stroke
You might have heard about heat exhaustion and heat stroke. They’re both heat-related illnesses, where your core body temperature rises, due to heat exposure or spending too long in a hot environment. Heat exhaustion is a heat-related illness that precedes heat stroke.
Heat exhaustion usually clears up a few minutes after the person has been removed from the heat source – that is, taken away from a hot environment to a cool place with air circulation. The elevated body heat will soon be reduced once the person has been removed from the high heat and lost fluids have been restored.
If a person who is suffering heat exhaustion isn’t removed from the high-temperature environment, heat exhaustion might quickly escalate into heat stroke. This is a life-threatening emergency that requires immediate action; it poses a significant risk to the health of a toddler.
Let’s look at the various symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, so you can determine when your child’s elevated body temperature poses a health risk.
Symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke
When children suffer from heat exhaustion their bodies start to react to the rising body temperature. The symptoms are:
- Tiredness and even dizziness; they sweat a lot and are very thirsty
- Nausea and vomiting; these are common signs of both heat exhaustion and heat stroke
- Clammy and pale skin; are characteristics of heat exhaustion. Don’t be fooled by the temperature of the skin. As the body is just beginning to fight heat exposure it will first try to cool down by sweat loss and the skin will appear cold
- Painful muscle cramps: this is a late sign of heat exhaustion. Heat cramps happen as the muscles start to lose water and fail to contract properly, resulting in painful cramps.
When heat exhaustion isn’t identified in time and the child isn’t removed from the heat source, the body keeps trying to compensate to prevent organ failure.
Heat stroke then develops and it has very clear warning signs:
- Elevated body temperature that causes high fever
- The toddler might seem lethargic and confused
- There’s no sweating because the body is now keeping all the possible fluid available to keep the organs functioning properly for as long as possible
- Cool skin
- The heartbeat is rapid and strong as the heart is trying to pump cool blood to lower the inner body temperature
- Nausea and vomiting are possible during heat stroke.
How do I know if my toddler has heat stroke?
The moment you realize your child has been in high temperatures and has symptoms of heat-related illness you must act fast and do the following:
- Bring the child indoors
- Turn on the air conditioning or any devices that might help cool the child down
- Remove clothes to expose skin for faster cooling
- Help the child drink cool fluids; room temperature water works as well as cool water, if it’s available more quickly. If you’re breastfeeding, offer your breast to your child; breast milk will rapidly hydrate the toddler and replenish electrolytes and minerals that might have been lost during the heat illness
- Run a cool bath to help relieve flushed skin and sore muscles. A ‘cool bath’ doesn’t mean you need to use cold water. It needs to cool the little one down, so water at room temperature, or slightly warmer, should be the right water temperature
- If there isn’t a rapid improvement in the child’s health condition, it means your child is suffering from heat stroke, a life-threatening emergency that requires immediate medical help.
What do I do for a toddler with heat stroke?
Call emergency services if there isn’t a rapid improvement in your child’s condition after you’ve taken the above actions. If your child is lethargic or struggles to wake up, call emergency services. Continue to go through the previous steps, making sure there is cooling, proper hydration with enough fluids, and appropriate clothing.
Talk to your baby even if he is unresponsive.
Skin-to-skin contact regulates body temperature, whether it needs to come up or go down. Place your almost-naked child on your naked body with the maximum amount of his skin in contact with yours. Offer your breast, if you are breastfeeding, or give plenty of liquids, while you follow instructions from the emergency services.
When should I take my toddler to the ER for heat stroke?
The moment you suspect your child might have suffered a heat stroke you must take immediate action.
Take your child straight to the ER while you try to bring the child’s body temperature down. Take off the child’s clothes, and place him skin to skin with someone with a normal body temperature. Talk positively to your child.
How to keep a toddler cool during a hot summer
Guess what!
I live in the beautiful Caribbean and I have a toddler.
Prevention is key to avoiding heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Make sure you follow this advice on very hot days to prevent dehydration and heat illness.
Heat Stroke In Toddlers Tips #1. Use light-colored natural fabrics
Clothes have a very important mission apart from protecting our nakedness. They’re meant to keep us warm when it’s cold but they’re also meant to keep us cool in hot weather. Natural fabrics like cotton, hemp or linen will help with skin cooling and will work with your body to help cool it down when necessary.
Non-natural fabrics can cause excessive sweating or might not allow the heat to get out properly. This adds to the heat illness instead of helping with natural, cooling airflow.
Heat Stroke In Toddlers Tips #2. Avoid the heat of the day
Make sure your child is indoors in a cool place during the hottest hours of the day. If you must be outside when the sun is high, make sure your baby is with you so he’s moved out of the heat at the same time you are. This might sound obvious but, if you’re both outside and not close together, the chances of you being in the shade while the little one is in full sun are much higher, as adults tend to follow their body warnings much better than young children do.
Heat Stroke In Toddlers Tips #3. Offer fluids frequently
One of the best ways to prevent heat illness is to make sure your little one stays hydrated.
The more heat a body experiences, the faster dehydration occurs.
Keep sippy cups full and within reach. Offer watery fruits, such as pineapple, papaya or watermelon.
If you’re breastfeeding your toddler, offer your breast frequently. It will not only keep your baby hydrated but will also replenish the electrolytes and minerals that have been lost. As a breastfeeding mother, make sure you drink plenty of fluids, too. You can become dehydrated more easily, as you’re suffering from the hot weather and sweating, as well as producing milk.
As you can imagine, it doesn’t take long to lose a large amount of fluid in very little time.
Prepare drinks for the whole family and keep drinking. Insist that your little ones stay hydrated. Prepare some fresh fruit water; it might be the best opportunity to increase the whole family’s fruit intake. I discovered fruit water when we first arrived in the Caribbean and now we make it at home during the summer. Follow this recipe to make juicy fruit water (agua fresca) for your family.
Following these recommendations will help you and your family beat the heat wave and avoid heat-related illnesses.
Enjoy the warm weather and keep cool!
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