Beat the Heat this Week!

Confession's of a SAFE-AHOLIC By: Stephanie Zizzo, ASHM

With the heat index soaring into 100s, scorching, humid, burning, and blistering are all perfect words to describe the days to come. Dehydration, heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke... These words play a personal role within us every day that we spend outdoors in the heat. Heat stress is a important topic that should be addressed carefully for those of us who work outside or just enjoy being outside on a hot summer day. According to Center for Disease Control an estimated six million workers in the United States may be exposed to occupational heat stress. Below are some tips to beat the heat this week while spending time outdoors!

1. Wear light weight breathable materials, this will help keep moisture in so dehydration doesn’t come too early
2. Drink plenty of water to help you stay hydrated throughout the day
3. Schedule all the heavy labor for the early morning or later evenings to avoid the hottest hours between 10am and 3pm.
4. Choose PPE with heat stress in mind
5. Check the weather frequently for the heat index to make sure you make the correct choices when dressing and packing up your water
6. Have an emergency action plan in place if someone does have a heat stroke or gets heat exhaustion to make sure the appropriate measures are taken.
7. Take breaks often to find shade and drink lots of water
8. Avoid drinks that have caffeine or sugar
9. NO ALCOHOL, it will dehydrate you even more!
10. Provide heat stress training to all employees that could be exposed to high temperatures. Summit Training Source, Inc. has 2 Heat Stress programs including:

• “Heat Stress”
• How the Body handles Heat
• Types of Heat-related Disorders
• Preventative Measures
• Recognizing Symptoms
• Helping Co-workers Suffering from Heat Stress
• “Heat Stress: Preventative Measures”

• What is Heat Stress?
• Preparing for Heat
• Heat Stress Disorders and their Health Affects
• Safe Work Practices

For more information check it out here "Heat Stress" and here "Heat Stress: Preventative Measures". They are available in a variety of different formats, DVD, Online and Video.

Stay cool!

-Steph