When it comes to South Carolina summers, only one word can describe them–hot. Because of the heat and humidity, working outside can become dangerous. So here’s some outdoor safety tips to keep you safe while working in the heat.
Outdoor Safety Tips: What Is Heat Illness
Understand the Risk
In order to really understand outdoor safety tips, you first must understand your risk. When you spend long hours in the sun and heat, it puts you at risk of suffering from heat illness. In short, heat illness can cover a variety of a few different problems that stem from being in the heat. That includes heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke.
It Can Get Ugly, Quick
Normally, when you become too hot, your body has a really gross way of cooling itself down–sweat. When you sweat, that’s actually your own body working to cool down. But when you deal with hot temperatures, especially with high humidity, that may not be enough to combat heat illness.
For the most part, heat cramps and heat exhaustion are the more mild cases. You may become dizzy or lightheaded. In some cases, people begin to suffer from a headache. Others experience nausea, vomiting, and fatigue. Since being active in the heat can increase your risk of heat exhaustion, it’s common to see this in outdoor jobs. You should stop the activity immediately, find rest in a cooler place, and drink plenty of water.
Symptoms of a heat stroke can be quite similar. However, they normally begin to affect the brain whereas, heat exhaustion will not. For example, people suffering from heat strokes may become confused and disoriented. At this point, just getting out of the sun and heat will not be enough. You need to seek medical treatment as soon as possible if you’re experiencing symptoms of a heat stroke.
Outdoor Safety Tips: How To Avoid Heat Illness
Since outdoor physical activity puts you at a much higher risk of heat illness, it’s best to avoid working outside, especially during the heat of the day. However, if your job demands outdoor labor, you can’t really just avoid it. Instead, you first want to make sure you stay hydrated. Dehydration can quickly lead to heat illness, so one of the most important outdoor safety tips is to drink plenty of water. In fact, even when you believe you’ve had enough, go ahead and drink more.
In addition to staying hydrated, you want to be sure to take regular breaks. For instance, you want to take a 10 minute break about once every hour. But it’s important that you don’t take this break in the heat. If possible, try to find some place cooler to rest for a few minutes. Whether that’s in a car with AC or just under a shady tree.
In short, the summer months can be a lot of fun, but they can also give way to a lot of injuries. You don’t want heat illness on the job to be one of those. So make sure you’re taking the proper measures to prevent it.