Several experts and organizations, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, have predicted 2022 will be the hottest year on record. Trends show eight of the top 10 hottest years occurred in the last decade, with all 10 occurring since 2005. Various heat records, including surface and sea temperatures, were broken six years in a row. Heat is the No. 1 weather-related killer in the United States. Worldwide, it ranks as the third-highest killer among natural disasters, behind earthquakes and storms. Unlike other events, it arrives quietly, often striking unexpectedly.
The effects of rising core body temperatures can be long term — even deadly. As temperatures soar, the best way to protect workers from heat-related illness (HRI) is to take preventative measures, especially for work in outside and inside warm conditions. Understand workers’ unique risks, monitor their individual symptoms and take preventative, proactive steps to help their bodies regulate and adapt to warm environments.
Know the Facts
Warning signs are tricky.
HRI symptoms do not occur linearly. Workers may get a cramp, experience nausea, become aggressive or feel absolutely nothing. To make matters worse, symptoms of HRI can easily be incorrectly correlated to other causes, such as not eating, drinking too much the night before, overdoing it at the gym or simply having a bad day.
Become familiar with every symptom of HRI and pay attention when workers experience one. Remember, some symptoms of HRI include impaired judgement, decreased comprehension, memory impairment and decreased attention span. These symptoms may cause workers to ignore or overlook other symptoms. Don’t second-guess a situation in which a worker may be experiencing HRI symptoms. They should stop work and communicate with a co-worker or supervisor about what they’re experiencing.
People can get heat-related illness even if they are sweating.
Miscommunication regarding HRI and sweating has been shared for decades. Sweat is not a sign the body is safely regulating itself. Sweat only helps the body cool if it evaporates off the skin. Some barriers may prevent sweat evaporation, such as high humidity, personal protection gear on the body, clothing or a high-exertion level, which causes a person to sweat faster than the sweat can evaporate. Consequently, these things can cause the body to overheat despite the presence of sweat.
Each body is different. A person may sweat more or less than their co-workers. Encourage workers to become familiar with their unique sweat rate. They should be aware of their individual factors, on every unique working day, that may increase their body’s heat retention. If a worker has a higher sweat rate, plan to have a towel nearby so they can wipe away excess sweat, giving the leftover moisture a chance to evaporate from the skin.
You can be at risk for HRI in any climate.
Heat advisories and heat assessment schedules are helpful reminders, but they do not tell the entire story. While at work, several factors increase workers’ risk for HRI including their clothing or personal protective equipment (PPE), exertion level, heat produced by machinery or materials, direct exposure to sunlight and more.
These things contribute to the body’s ability to regulate core body temperature (CBT). The most effective way to prevent HRI is to stay alert and continuously monitor individual physiological signs
and symptoms.
Acclimatization is helpful, but not a guarantee.
Acclimatization is not just about living in a warm climate. It correlates to the body’s level of activity, the environmental temperature, humidity level and individual physiological factors. Most people can become acclimatized to a certain environment after repeated exposure for seven to 14 days, which means their body is better able to cool itself in certain heat situations.
However, acclimatization is not a miracle cure against heat risks to the body in various temperature levels or all situations. Even acclimatized individuals will have factors such as PPE, exertion levels, sun exposure and radiant heat from materials impacting how their body reacts to a work situation. Monitor workers’ individual, unique physiology, no matter the environment and how long they have been working in it.
Be Proactive
Eat well.
You’ve heard it before when it comes to good health: you take care of your body by properly fueling it with healthy food. Eating well also prevents HRI. Educate workers to limit sweets, caffeine and alcohol intake to prepare their body for working in heat.
They should focus on a balanced diet that includes fruits and vegetables that provide natural electrolytes. We’ve all heard “carb loads” aid in strenuous activity, but loading up on any one source of food energy does not provide all the benefits the body needs. The goal is balance. Making a healthy diet part of a consistent lifestyle can also increase the body’s ability to regulate its CBT.
Stay hydrated.
The body needs plain, old-fashioned water for life-sustaining functions, and will begin to demonstrate dehydration effects with as little as a 1% loss in body weight. But it also needs things like sugar and salt to regulate blood pressure, and nerve and muscle function. Workers should balance their intake of water versus sports drinks and pay attention to their individual sweat rate while drinking enough healthy fluids during the day to replace water loss. The workday is not enough time to properly hydrate. The body is only able to absorb about 6 ounces (half of a standard bottled water) every 15 minutes. Hydration should be a daily marathon, drinking fluids throughout the day, including before, during and after work.
Understand individual health risks and limits.
Gender, age, certain medical conditions, medications, prior heat illness, physical fitness, exercise habits, sweat rate, clothing or PPE and illness are all things that can impact the body’s ability to regulate its core temperature. The best way to treat heat illness is to prevent it. Encourage workers to get physicals and talk with their doctors about their personal heat risk. They can learn about the types of indicators their body may display as core temperature increases. They can use this information to learn how to eat healthy, stay hydrated and when to rest.
As the planet heats up, the best way to treat heat-related illness is prevention. Group preventative measures such as heat assessment indexes and work-rest schedules are helpful tools but may leave some workers vulnerable due to individual factors. Educating workers about HRI and proactive preventative steps can reduce heat-related risks, especially when paired with individual monitoring techniques such as annual physicals and heat-monitoring technology.
