LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Lexington has a lot of events going on this weekend. The NCAA baseball regional tournament, Truck-a-Palooza, Swingin' on Main, Friday Flicks, and Railbird Music Festival. With so many outdoor options as temperatures heat up today and this weekend medical professionals are saying keep your cool.
Dr. Jonathan Bronner, an emergency physician with UK, says, "With most environmental concerns with relation to your health, extremes of cold or heat both, prevention and understanding of what you're getting into is key.
Dr. Bronner says using protection like long clothing, hats and sunscreen; staying in cool shaded areas and using fans; and staying hydrated are key during high temperature days. Temperatures hit the 90's for the first time this season, and the LEX 18 weather team says those 90’s will hang on for the weekend.
John Bobel with Lexington Emergency Management, says, "While it's going to be 90, it doesn't appear that there is going to be a heat emergency. That's when the temperature and the heat index get much, much higher."
Lexington’s Emergency Management also shares tips on how heat can affect things around you. They say avoid keeping things in your car that can react to higher temperatures.
Bobel says, "Food can go bad if's it's exposed to too high heat. Medicines can be affected by too high heat. Some alcoholic beverages -- beer and wine for example -- if they get too hot, nobody likes a skunky beer, nobody likes a bottle of wine that's been turned into vinegar or even worse. So, remember the best thing to do is try to keep those items out of the car during hot weather."
Dr. Bronner says it’s important for people to recognize the signs of dehydration -- and the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke - which can be fatigue, altered mental state, high body temperature, and even seizures.
He says, "You know when we see these massive heat waves access to cooling measures, air conditioning, being able to get into a pool or body of water -- that's continuous exposure to heat. People that are particularly susceptible to these kinds of things are the elderly, very small children and folks again that have chronic medical conditions."
As you head outdoors this weekend be mindful of ways you can hydrate and stay cool.
