How can the elderly prevent heatstroke in the hot summer?

Now that we have entered the third lunar month, hot weather has occurred in many places, which is undoubtedly a threat to the elderly with weak physiques.

Heat stroke means that the human body is exposed to high temperature, humidity, and windless environment for a long time, which leads to the dysfunction of the body temperature regulation center and the accumulation of a large amount of heat in the body, thus causing multiple organ dysfunction. The elderly often suffer from a variety of chronic diseases and are at high risk for heatstroke.

Heat stroke has three characteristics

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that heat stroke has obvious seasonality and is more common in summer. It has the following three characteristics:

First, Heat is a yang evil, and its nature is hot. After heat stroke in summer, patients will have symptoms such as blushing, upset, strong heat, fever, heavy pulse, and excessive sweating.

Secondly, the nature of heat rises and disperses. Because of the intense heat and transpiration, people are particularly susceptible to damage to Qi and body fluids after heatstroke. Many people easily faint when they suffer from heat stroke, because their Qi is injured and body fluids are lost. Therefore, in order to prevent heat stroke, it makes sense to eat more watermelon in summer, which can clear away heat and nourish yin.

Thirdly, there are many summer pathogens and dampness. In addition to being hot, summer days are often rainy and humid. Therefore, in addition to symptoms such as fever, thirst, and irritability, patients with heat stroke also have symptoms of being injured by dampness, such as chest tightness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and weakness in the limbs.

So, how should middle-aged and elderly people prevent heatstroke in their daily lives?

How to prevent heatstroke in daily life

Clothing

When the elderly go out, they should try to choose breathable cotton, linen, and silk clothes and wear less chemical fiber clothes. , so as not to dissipate heat in time when sweating a lot.

Diet

1. Replenish water in time. After getting up in the morning, it is best for the elderly to drink a glass of water to replenish the water consumed at night. In addition, you should also pay attention to replenishing water in time and do not wait until you are thirsty to drink. Otherwise, the blood viscosity will increase, which may easily lead to the risk of stroke and cerebral infarction. In addition to three normal meals, the elderly should maintain a daily drinking volume of 1,500 to 2,000 ml of water.

2. Prepare meals. Summer diet should be light and easy to digest. For example, you can eat more vegetables such as vegetables, tomatoes, and lettuce that are rich in vitamins, as well as lean meats, fish, and soy products that are rich in high-quality protein.

3. Eat more fruits. Melon juice is rich in flavor and sweet. It not only produces fluid and quenches thirst, but also clears away heat and relieves heat. You can choose watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumber, kiwi, etc.

4. Drink porridge and soup to prevent heatstroke. Mung bean porridge, mint porridge, lotus seed porridge, lotus leaf porridge, raw reed root porridge, watermelon rind porridge, lily and silver flower porridge, etc., all have the functions of clearing away heat and relieving heat, nourishing the heart and calming the mind, and producing fluid and quenching thirst. In addition, you can also drink lotus seed soup, loofah and shredded pork soup, yam soup, mung bean and pumpkin soup, raw ground winter melon and pork ribs soup and other soups, which can replenish qi, clear away summer heat, benefit the stomach and promote fluid production.

Rest

In summer, the days are long, the nights are short, the temperature is high, and the human body consumes a lot of energy. The elderly must ensure adequate sleep so that the brain and body can relax. The best bedtime is 22:00-23:00, and the best time to get up is 5:30-6:30. When sleeping, do not face the air outlet and fan of the air conditioner. It is best to adjust the room temperature to about 26 degrees Celsius and the relative humidity to about 50%.

In addition, attention should be paid to naps. Taking naps can not only avoid the peak of heatstroke, but also make up for lack of sleep at night. The nap time should not be too long, preferably about 1 hour.

Travel

Elderly people should avoid walking under the scorching sun between 10:00 and 16:00 in summer, because the sun is strongest during this time and the possibility of heat stroke is 10 times higher than usual. times. If you must go out during this period, be sure to take protective measures and prepare sufficient tea, drinks, and heatstroke prevention and cooling medicines (such as Rendan, Shidishui, Huoxiang Zhengqi water, cooling oil, etc.) for emergency use.

Psychology

Elderly people should maintain emotional stability in summer, avoid irritability and anger, and reduce fatigue. Elderly people who have the conditions can undergo preventive physical examinations before summer to detect hidden diseases as early as possible and eliminate the risk of heat stroke.

Exercise

In summer, the human body consumes a lot of energy. It is necessary to control the intensity when exercising. It is recommended that the elderly exercise for half an hour or an hour every day. It is best to exercise in the morning or evening. Morning exercise should not be too early. The exercise method is mainly aerobic exercise, such as walking, brisk walking, jogging, Tai Chi, aerobics, etc. Note that you should change sweaty clothes promptly after exercise and do not drink cold drinks immediately.

In addition, if there are elderly people at home suffering from basic diseases such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes, or who cannot take care of themselves, they must pay attention to the ventilation of the house and do a good job in heatstroke prevention and cooling. Once an elderly person at home develops symptoms of heat stroke, they should seek medical treatment promptly to avoid delaying the best opportunity for rescue treatment.

Author丨Ningbo Beilun District People's Hospital

Medical Health Service Group Chunxiao Campus Qiu Cong