As summer temperatures rise, families naturally gravitate outdoors to soak up the sunshine. While fun in the sun is a seasonal favorite, it’s important to be mindful of how heat can affect children. Kids are more vulnerable to overheating, and conditions like heat exhaustion and heatstroke can escalate quickly. The good news? With the right information and preventive habits, you can keep your child safe while still enjoying summer to the fullest.
This guide covers the most common heat-related illnesses in children, how to recognize them, and simple steps you can take to prevent them.
Understanding Heat-Related Illnesses in Children
Children are more prone to heat-related illnesses because their bodies don’t regulate temperature as effectively as adults’. They sweat less, absorb more heat from their environment, and often don’t recognize signs of overheating. They must rely on adults to prevent overheating and related illnesses. Teens while older are also at risk, with over 9,000 student-athletes treated for heat-related illnesses every year.
The three most common heat-related illnesses can be placed on a scale of severity. Heat cramps are the mildest, heat exhaustion is more severe, and lastly, heat stroke is the most serious heat-related illness and requires immediate medical attention.
Heat Cramps
Heat cramps are characterized as muscle cramps and spasms that occur after a lot of sweating or exercise in high temperatures.
WHAT TO DO
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Stop all activity immediately.
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Move to a cool, shaded, or air-conditioned spot.
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Encourage slow sips of water or an electrolyte drink.
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Gently stretch and massage the cramping muscles.
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Avoid resuming activity until the cramps completely subside.
Heat Exhaustion
Heat exhaustion typically occurs due to prolonged exposure to high temperatures and lack of hydration. It is characterized by symptoms such as excessive sweating, weakness, dizziness, nausea, headache, increased heart rate, and sometimes a low-grade fever over 100.4°F. If left untreated, heat exhaustion can progress to heatstroke, a life-threatening condition requiring immediate medical attention.
WHAT TO DO
If you notice a child experiencing many of the above symptoms, act immediately. It’s crucial to tend to heat exhaustion before it can escalate to heat stroke.
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Move the child to a cool environment.
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Remove excess clothing and loosen tight garments.
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Use cool, damp cloths on the skin or have the child take a cool (not cold) bath.
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Offer small sips of water.
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Monitor their symptoms. If they worsen or don’t improve within 30 minutes, seek medical attention.
Heat Stroke
Heatstroke is the most severe heat-related illness. It occurs when the body’s internal temperature reaches dangerously high levels (over 103°F). This is because the body’s natural cooling mechanisms fail to regulate temperature, leading to symptoms like hot and dry skin due to halted sweating, a strong rapid pulse, confusion, and unconsciousness. This extreme condition is a medical emergency that demands immediate professional intervention to prevent serious complications, including organ damage, organ failure and death.
WHAT TO DO
This is a medical emergency. It happens when the body’s internal temperature rises to unsafe levels and self-cooling fails.
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Call 911 immediately.
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While waiting, move the child to a shaded or air-conditioned place.
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Use cool cloths or a bath to lower body temperature.
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Do not give anything to drink if the child is confused, vomiting, or unconscious.
Prevention Tips: How to Keep Kids Safe in the Heat
There are some tactics to teach children and teens when it comes to preventing heat-related illnesses. Here are some tips for how you can help prevent these conditions.
- Teach the importance of drinking water before and during activities in sunny, hot weather. Be sure to mention to do so even when they don’t feel thirsty.
- Provide plenty of water when you expect children and teens to be active in the heat.
- Have extra cold water and washcloths on hand just in case. Being prepared and getting ahead of heat exhaustion will prevent the condition to worsen into heat stroke.
- Avoid caffeine-heavy drinks like coffee when out in the heat as they can lead to dehydration.
- Prevent kids and teens from being heavily active during the hottest parts of the day.
- Teach kids to come inside or find shade immediately if they start to feel overheated.
- Do not leave kids alone in a parked car, even if the windows are cracked on a mild day. Their bodies cannot regulate temperature like adults and is a leading cause of infant death from heat illness in the United States.
- Dress children in lightweight, lightly colored, loose-fitting clothing.
- Remind or encourage kids and teens to rest often in shaded areas.
- Provide a spray bottle for kids to cool off by misting themselves.
- Slowly build up to spending more time outside to get children used to the weather.
- Spend time indoors on very hot and humid days.
- Keep them protected from the sun with sunscreen, hats, and umbrellas.
Wrapping Up – Common Heat Related Illnesses
A fun summer is a safe summer. Recognizing the signs of heat-related illness and taking a proactive approach can help you protect your children during hot weather. Whether it’s packing extra water, choosing shaded play areas, or staying indoors when necessary, small decisions make a big impact.
Stay cool, stay safe, and enjoy all the summer has to offer.
Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Nemours, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Scientific American, National Library of Medicine.