Heat seems to be melting a road in Pennsylvania. Don’t let the heat melt your family’s health!
In Upper Leacock Township, Pennsylvania, the 2018 summer heat recently melted a Lancaster County road.
Last September the public works department resurfaced the road. Crews placed oil on it to seal it and keep water out, and covered the road with stones. Now the intense summer heat is making the oil so hot that the stones cannot remain in place.
Resident Kathy Shreiner who lives near this road said she heard oil dripping. “I kept thinking there was water running, but it was that when they drove in it,” she said.
As you probably already know, heat also affects your health, mentally and physically.
How does heat impact mental health?
- Violent behavior and aggression increase during a heat wave.
- Heat waves have been associated with increased drug and alcohol abuse.
- Increased temperatures increase depression and lower moods.
- The increased humidity that frequently accompanies a heat wave reduces concentration and energy levels and increases sleepiness.
And yes, taking certain medications impairs your body’s ability to regulate body heat and therefore makes the summer heat more dangerous for you.
These medications include:
- Drugs that impair sweating, such as antidepressants, antihistamines, antiparksonian drugs, antipsychotic drugs, tranquilizers, and diuretics.
- Beta-blockers that impair cardiovascular response.
- Medications that increase metabolic rate such as amphetamines.
- Drugs that impair consciousness such as opioids, sedatives, and ethanol.
If you take any of these medications or have any medical conditions, perhaps you might want to consider wearing a medical alert bracelet. That bracelet would help any emergency medical staff trying to treat you to better understand your condition.
Do you have an older loved one? An older body contains far less water than a younger one. Since older brains can’t sense temperature changes as well, they don’t recognize thirst as easily.
When heat is melting a road, please pay more attention to the health of yourself and your loved ones!
Let the encouraging words in these bobbiejrae posts help you
soar like an eagle above life’s storms.
Tips to protect your loved ones from the heat.
What is your biggest accomplishment?
Put your own oxygen mask on first!
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