If You Can't Take The Heat ... Don't!

and DALE HUBLER Times-Union Sports Writer

Temperatures are reaching past the 90-degree mark.

The humidity levels are up.

And, if they're not careful, a person can suffer from heat exhaustion, heat stroke or other heat-related problems.

"Basically," said Dr. William Remington of heat exhaustion, "you're too hot for your body to handle. You can't cool off quick enough."

He said symptoms include feeling increasingly weak, having a headache, nausea, feeling strangely cool and clammy and experiencing a decrease in sweating.

Dr. David Haines said, "People with heat exhaustion can have a headache, be thirsty, be weak, be fatigued. They may even feel very anxious. Their judgment may be impaired."

"You need to slow down and cool down," Remington said.

Haines said in hot and humid weather, he recommends "fluids, fluids, fluids. There's an old saying: If you wait until you're thirsty, you're already behind."

Heat exhaustion, Haines said, can lead to death, and "heat stroke is a life-threatening emergency."

If a person plans to work at hard labor or practice a sport, Remington said, they may want to hydrate themselves beforehand to decrease the risk. "For most casual athletes or workers, water is the best," he said.

Haines said that while sports drinks and water are good, he does not recommend salt tablets. "Salt tablets are dangerous because people usually get too much of them."

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the primary risk factors for hyperthermia include age (increasing age, children under 5), behavior (low fluid intake, excessive exercise, prolonged stay in nonair-conditioned places, alcohol or drug use), chronic disease, prescription drugs, living conditions (low income, no access to air-conditioning, social isolation) and prolonged outdoor activities.

Heat-related illness can begin as sunburn and fatigue and progress to heat cramps, exhaustion and stroke, according to the CDC.

There are plenty of examples of what can happen if people don't take precautions during periods of extreme heat.

Last week, Minnesota Vikings lineman Kory Stringer, 27, died of heat stroke, as did a football player at Clinton Central High School near Indianapolis and a football player from Northwestern University. All had body temperatures of around 108 degrees.

Stringer's death came six days after University of Florida freshman Eraste Autin died after collapsing from heat stroke.

Figures from the University of North Carolina show that 18 high school or college players have died of heat stroke since 1995.

Local schools are attempting to keep their student athletes from suffering from any heat-related problems.

Mike Byron, Triton High School athletic director, said, "The football team has been practicing pretty early in the morning, usually 8 to 11 or 11:30 a.m. Sometimes they haven't been going in the afternoons or the evenings, but if they have they've gone out without shoulder pads."

He said they haven't had any problems. "The kids have been getting a lot of water, iced towels and breaks when they need it. We've been doing things this way for several years."

Duane Burkhart, Tippecanoe Valley High School athletic director, said he and football coach Scott Bibler "have talked extensively. Our coaches are very sensitive to what's going on. They're aware of what happened last week where a player died at the pro, college and high school level.

"The football team has been practicing early in the morning, taking a lot more breaks and sometimes going without shoulder pads. We've even been doing some of the conditioning drills in the pool - that cools the kids down. We do have Adam West, our athletic trainer, out there with the kids."

He said they haven't had any problems yet. "We talked about if a problem does arise to take quick measures. It's better to be safe than sorry."

Warsaw School Corp. Athletic Director Dave Fulkerson said, "The cross country kids are running early in the morning and late in the evening." He also said they are getting plenty of water.

Warsaw football practices, he said, have been running early in the morning. The varsity team practices 6 to 8 a.m. and then takes a half-hour break to cool down. During their break, they get lots of water and take off their shoulder pads.

The freshman team practices from 8 to 10:30 a.m. All football teams are dismissed at 10:30 a.m.

However, today, Fulkerson said, the practice time changed for the varsity to 8 to 10 a.m. and 3:30 to 5 p.m. However, for the afternoon practice, players will practice in shorts and T-shirts.

"It's worked out great. There's been no problems," said Fulkerson.

People aren't the only ones who can suffer from the heat.

Linda Mullins, veterinary assistant with Dr. Richard Sasso's office, West Lake Street, said a significant symptom of heat exhaustion in dogs is extreme, hard, heavy and fast panting that doesn't stop. A dog may lie down on its side and not get up.

If a dog owner sees those symptoms in their pet, Mullins said, a veterinarian should be called. When and if you take your dog to the vet, place ice packs on the dog's rectum and nose.

As for cats, she said, "It's not nearly as extreme as dogs. Their thermostat seems to work a lot better. They seem to be smarter."

Cats will find the shade, she said, and cool themselves down.

To keep an animal from getting heat exhaustion, she said, pet owners should make sure their animal has plenty of fresh, cool water and check the water two to three times a day.

If an animal is outside, check to see they have shade and can get to the shade as the shade moves. Check them frequently, Mullins said, because if a dog's chain gets tangled up, they may not be able to get into the shade.

As for the impact of the heat on crops, Elkhart County Purdue Extension Ag Educator Jeff Burbrink said in the spring, the rainfall and heat started out "pretty good." But then it rained and rained too much. Now, he said, it's too hot and dry.

"The corn is entering a critical stage; it's not looking too good," Burbrink said. "For Elkhart County, we haven't had much rain and what we had was scattered."

The spurts of rain help, he said, but the rain is not enough and not often enough.

With extreme heat, he said, an inch of water is lost every two to three days. For example, if it would rain 1 inch today in 95 degree weather, it would be gone by the weekend. "It's evaporated, it's gone," he said.

Farmers, he said, need it to rain every few days, especially with the heat as it is now. A good amount would be 1-1/2 inches a week. If it "trickled" overnight at least every five days and didn't evaporate, "that would do us a world of good," he said.