Summer Heat Precautions for Older Adults

For all adults 60 years and over--I am talking to you. For everyone who has a loved one 60 or over, I am talking to you as well. The heat of summer is toughest on both ends of the age spectrum--the young and the older. Infants have someone looking out for them, but many older adults are single or otherwise independent--and often in denial.

In a survey taken of people 60 and over about the precautions older people should take against the heat of the summer, many of the responders agreed--but for "other" people or "older" people. The precautions aren't meant to be discriminatory, but factual advice for that period of life when the body's thermostat isn't as reliable as it once was; this is an age when a great number of people are on one or more medications; and an age where signs/symptoms of depression are mistaken by family and caregivers alike as just "old age."

I mention depression because people who have this condition tend not to be as proactive for themselves as others without the condition and because depression is under-diagnosed in the 60+ populace.

It is good sense for everyone to avoid heavy physical activity during the middle of the day when temperatures are highest and the sun is beating down. It is mandatory for those 60+; some of your medications cause an intolerance to the effects of the sun. Other medications are diuretics, "water pills," that coupled with excessive perspiration can cause a person to become dehydrated. Sometimes, because internal thermostats are not working as efficiently as they once did, people fail to perspire, causing the body to overheat rapidly.

If there isn't at least one room in your home that is cooled by an air conditioner, you should seek out a place that is cool. Perhaps the local library, the mall, a senior center or rec center--these are all places you can spend the middle of the day and avoid the excesses of heat.

If you know someone who is shut-in, check on them frequently--at least once a day. If their mental status seems different from usual; slurred speech, confusion, excessively tired, check on them in person or contact someone for them. These differences in mental status are not normal; they may or may not be signaling a problem with overheating, but they are signals of a change in that person that needs to be evaluated more closely.

Keep shades and curtains drawn during the heat of the afternoon and early evening.

Make sure to drink plenty of liquids unless on a liquid-restricted diet by your physician. Cool drinks are preferable because they not only hydrate you, but help to cool your body from the inside a bit.

Most of all, use common sense. Don't do anything you'd advise others not to do.