Health Risks as Heat Scorches the Mid-South

(Memphis) Paul Iseman says it’s never too hot for baseball, “It’s baseball we don’t care about the heat we just like going out and playing on the field. We enjoy the heat.”

He is in Memphis from St. Louis for a baseball tournament at Christian Brothers, “We drink a lot before the games to try to stay hydrated so when we go out and play we’re more focused and not about to pass out or anything you know.”

Dr. Stephen Bauch says the hottest times are typically between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM.

He says during that time it’s important to stay in the shade if you can, and wear light clothes and sunblock.

But most importantly Dr. Bauch says to stay hydrated, “The first hour of activity water is fine, but after that they need some sort of electrolyte drinks. We recommend something with low sugar. We don’t recommend juices or sodas.”

It’s also important to monitor signs of heat illness like Nausea, dizziness, head ache, vomiting.

If you have the symptoms Bauch says to immediately get to a cool place and drink a lot of water.

Not addressing your heat illness could lead to kidney and other organ damage, and even seizures.

Lisa Smith is a playground monitor at Shelby Farms and follows Dr. Bauch’s rule of drinking water at least every hour. She says the playground gets pretty dead when it’s this hot.

“The hotter it is the less people that come out and probably less over the next couple of days I’ll bet,” said Smith.

Katelyn Wong says she wants her son to get use to this hot weather, “It’s good to be out in the sun and I want my son to grow up knowing it’s good to be outside and playing outside, so I’m trying to teach him that at a young age. Just keeping him hydrated.”