Heat Advisory: Hydrate and Stay Safe

ATLANTA, Ga. - Experts say it's important that you not wait until you're thirsty to start drinking water in extreme heat. By then, you may already be dangerously dehydrated. So how much water should you and your family be drinking? And is it really safe to be exercising in this kind of heat?

Schools are paying attention to the heat advisory. A lot of them have moved their practices to the early morning hours, and are pushing cool down breaks for their athletes. But this heat is serious, and we need to focus on staying hydrated long before we start our workouts.

Football fields and the rest of Georgia are baking hot right now, and North Atlanta Urgent Care physician Laxmi Naik says if you’re going to be out in this heat, you've got to take care of your body.

“The most important part of dehydration we have to worry about is obviously, drink, drink, drink lots and lots of fluids because your body is losing much more fluids than it's taking in in this heat,” said Dr. Naik.

To keep from becoming dangerously overheated, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta says you should start prehydrating 30 minutes before your workout. Then, drink five to eight ounces of liquids for every 20 minutes of activity. If you’re out for an hour or less, they recommend you drink water. For longer workouts, you should drink a combination of water and sports drinks to replace electrolytes and salts you’re sweating out. But, a word of warning: too much sugar can cause cramping and diarrhea, leaving you more dehydrated.

Children’s Healthcare experts also say you should drink the water, but not pour it on your head. While dousing yourself with water feels good, it won’t rehydrate you.

Dr. Naik also says you should know they symptoms in case you slip into the danger zone.

“In heat exhaustion, what you get is some headaches, severe tiredness, cramping, and those you want to address by drinking lots and lots of fluid, coming out of the heat, being under cooler temperatures, having some cool fans, cool mists,” said Dr. Naik.

Heat stroke is a much more serious complication. You can experience confusion, become delirious, and even lose consciousness. Heat stroke is a true emergency, so if you see someone with those symptoms, you should get them to an emergency room immediately.