Stay Hydrated

DAVAO CITY, Philippiines (April 1)——The heat is on. Stay Hydrated.

City Health Officer Josephine Villafuerte advice the public to drink plenty of water a summer heat starts to affect everyone.

Water related problems like viral infections, gastroenteritis, prickly heat and, skin diseases is common during summer season.

Summer months can be gruesome for your skin and hair. The body tends to get dehydrated due to excess water loss. The loss of fluids is greater during this period and that is why it is important to stay hydrated.

In the normal course, consuming about 6 to 8 glasses of water daily is sufficient. But during the summer, this is not enough to meet the body’s water requirement and keep the system flushed of toxins and wastes.

Aboveall, Villafuerte said, heat stroke is an illness to watch out for. It is the most severe form of heat illness as the body over heats and the capacity to cool down is slow.

It is recommended to avoid tea, coffee, soda and alcohol during hot season.

The body cannot absorb to much heat and sweating cannot remove excessive heat because of hydration or humid atmosphere.

To cushion the impact of the heat to one’s body, the public is encouraged to stay indoors from 10am to 3pm.

If you are going out, Villafuerte advice “wear protective gear, stay in shaded areas and rink lot of water.”

Non-communicable disease is often cause by heat and humid weather, dehydration and too much exposure to sun can aggravate the hydration problem.

While heat stoke can be manifested by the following symptoms: warm, flushed skin, faintness, headache, dizziness, very high fever of 41 degrees celcius, rapid heartbeat; convulsion; and unconsciousness.

It is also recommended to bring bottled water and refill it to ensure enough supply of water while on travel or under sun exposure.