Common diseases in hot weather and how to prevent them

The body's response to overheating

Summer sunlight contains a lot of UV rays along with high temperatures that increase pressure on the skull, leading to stress, cerebral vasodilation causing headaches, easy stress, eye strain, more severe cases can cause nausea, vomiting, dizziness, sweating, coma, fever or convulsions due to inhibition of the cerebral cortex.
Ultraviolet rays are also a factor that increases aging. Those who often work, are exposed to the sun or have cardiovascular problems or are dehydrated are most likely to experience this condition.

High body temperature increases oxygen consumption of cells in the body, causing digestive disorders. Gastric juice secretion is reduced, absorption is reduced, intestinal motility is slowed, patients often suffer from constipation, dry mouth, loss of appetite...

Infants and young children are at the highest risk of heat-related illness, due to their poor ability to regulate body temperature and inability to regulate their own body temperature to adapt to the surrounding environment.

Obese people, the elderly, the bedridden and diabetics are all sensitive to heat, and those with arteriosclerosis are at greater risk in hot weather. As body temperature rises, the central nervous system has to work harder to regulate it.

Some diseases in hot weather

- Digestive tract diseases

When the weather gets hotter, disease patterns change. Gastrointestinal diseases (diarrhea, acute diarrhea - also known as cholera, dysentery, typhoid, intestinal viral diseases such as Rotavirus - causing diarrhea in children...) become more prevalent.

In addition, infections and food poisoning that cause mass poisoning also often occur in the summer. The reason is that the hot and humid weather of the summer is very favorable for bacteria to grow, combined with environmental pollution (air, soil, water pollution), more dust increases the above epidemics.

- Respiratory diseases

Respiratory diseases such as: rhinopharyngitis, upper respiratory tract infection, pneumonia...; fevers (caused by viruses, infections, weather...), dengue fever (starting from July and lasting until the end of the year), Japanese encephalitis (appearing in May, June, July, often found in children)... also appear frequently.

The reason is that the hot weather causes the body to lose water, causing the nasal and throat mucosa to dry out. Continuous use of fans and air conditioners also makes this area drier, more susceptible to scratches, allowing bacteria and viruses to penetrate deeper and cause disease. To reduce the heat, people often drink ice water, eat ice cream and take cold showers, which can easily lead to sore throats, laryngitis, and loss of voice...

- Skin diseases

In hot weather, sweat glands and mucous glands in the body will increase their activity to release heat, causing dampness in areas such as the back, forehead, neck and areas that are difficult to sweat such as between the hands, feet, groin... If not paying attention to hygiene, these substances will not be completely released and will stagnate in the skin's excretory ducts, clog pores and combine with bacteria to cause dermatitis and skin fungus.

Some common diseases are prickly heat, intertrigo, folliculitis or impetigo, athlete's foot, jock itch and body fungus. Although not dangerous, these diseases cause itching or burning pain in the body, are very uncomfortable and affect daily life and work. In severe cases, secondary infections can cause fever.

- Chronic diseases become difficult to control

Chronic diseases are also affected by the weather. For the elderly, in addition to bone and joint diseases, respiratory diseases, Alzheimer's disease... chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and high blood pressure are also particularly prevalent at this time. Hot weather makes the heart work harder and faster, causing the pulse to beat stronger and blood pressure to increase. Patients with a history of cardiovascular disease are more likely to get worse, leading to angina and stroke. In the elderly, if the temperature changes too suddenly from hot to cold, the blood vessels will immediately constrict, causing cerebral ischemia or myocardial infarction.

Hypertension is a disease typical of the elderly. Up to 46% of people over 60 years old have high blood pressure at different levels and this rate increases with age. And the weather is a cause that affects blood pressure. Most patients with high blood pressure come to the clinic on these erratic weather days with the reason that their blood pressure is not controlled as on previous days even though the treatment regimen and treating doctor have not changed. For people who have never had high blood pressure before, when the weather changes, blood pressure can also increase.

Heat can cause strokes, because the body sweats a lot, causing dehydration, leading to a decrease in blood volume, causing a lack of blood to nourish the brain, causing strokes. Moreover, heat increases body temperature, causing disorders in the coordination of vital activities of the central nervous system, causing respiratory and circulatory disorders, reducing blood flow to the brain will also lead to strokes...

How to prevent

To prevent digestive diseases, you need to eat cooked food, drink boiled water (do not eat raw vegetables, drink raw water; do not drink ice water, unsanitary soft drinks...), wash your hands before eating. Food must be purchased fresh, of clear origin and processed immediately, processed food must be stored in suitable conditions and not left for too long, do not eat spoiled food...

For diseases caused by insect bites, mosquito-borne diseases (dengue fever), it is necessary to eat and live hygienically, sleep under mosquito nets to avoid mosquito bites, kill larvae, do not let puddles of rainwater exist, remove rainwater containers to prevent mosquitoes from surviving and developing. For diseases caused by viruses, vaccination should be used. Good environmental sanitation also helps prevent respiratory diseases.

For chronic diseases affected by weather such as COPD, high blood pressure... In the elderly, it is necessary to stay in a cool place, avoid high humidity, eat a low-salt diet, give up bad habits (smoking, drinking strong coffee...), comply with treatment, exercise properly, moderately and regularly to train the cardiovascular and respiratory systems to be healthy. Limit going out and do not exercise much when the weather is hot, especially for people with a history of cardiovascular disease. Supplement fresh foods, reduce greasy foods and increase water intake to compensate for the loss. For the elderly or people with vasospasm, be careful when bathing in cold water, avoid letting the body change temperature too suddenly.

It is necessary to improve the body's resistance by eating enough nutrients, exercising regularly, avoiding staying up late... When there are unusual symptoms (infection), you need to go to a medical facility to be examined, diagnosed and treated promptly, and should not self-treat at home.

According to VNA