Prevent sunstroke, heatstroke, and stroke in hot weather

The hot, sultry weather has lasted for many days, with outdoor temperatures sometimes reaching over 40 degrees Celsius, but for the sake of making a living, many workers still have to work outdoors in harsh weather.

Workers work outdoors in hot weather.

At 2 pm, the road surface, the concrete blocks are steaming, exuding heat. However, at the construction site, Mr. Lai Van Quyet, Phuc Thanh commune (Vu Thu) and many other freelance workers are still working under the sun. With a sweaty face, Mr. Lai Van Quyet shared: The weather these past few days has been hot and muggy. As a construction worker who often works outdoors, sometimes the heat is so hot that I feel dizzy and my ears ring, but for the sake of money and life, I have to persevere. To keep from getting hot, sometimes I have to put leaves under my hat, but it is still very hot.

The hard work of construction workers combined with the hot weather makes male workers feel tired and exhausted. However, on the construction site, many female workers are still seen, some of them are over 50 years old. Their sun-protective shirts are soaked with sweat, their faces are covered but still red from the heat.

Construction worker Tran Thi Ngan said: I have to work about 8 hours a day outdoors. The weather has been so hot these past few days that my body feels uncomfortable, sometimes my limbs are tired, fatigued, and I have headaches, but I still have to try. When the sun is too hot, I go to a cool place to rest and then go back to work. At noon, on the streets, people are bustling back and forth. Everyone wants to go home quickly to escape the harsh summer sun. Standing next to her small cart of donuts, the woman continuously wipes away her sweat from the heat. Having been a street vendor for many years, this year, Ms. Bui Thi Ha, Quang Minh Commune (Kien Xuong) feels the heat is more intense and stuffy than at the beginning of summer. Ms. Ha said: This heat is so tiring. When I get home, I can't eat much, and sales are slow.

Working outdoors in the scorching hot weather is not only for construction workers, construction workers, street vendors... but also for shippers. The work is inherently hard, often going outside, plus the hot, sultry weather makes them sometimes tired.

Mr. Ngo Tuan Anh, an employee of Giao Hang Tiet Kiem Joint Stock Company, said: I run on the road for more than 10 hours a day. I feel very hot, especially at noon from 12 - 14 o'clock, sometimes the outside temperature is up to more than 40 ^degrees Celsius, very uncomfortable and tiring.

To “escape the sun” and reduce the time spent facing the heat, many people choose to work earlier; equip themselves with gloves, masks, sun protection clothing, and drink plenty of water… However, the temperature is too high, working for a long time outdoors, the body quickly loses strength, has difficulty adapting to the weather, some people fall into a state of fatigue, even heatstroke, stroke…

Dr. Dang Thi Trang, Head of the Department of Occupational Medicine, Provincial Center for Disease Control, said: Hot weather makes the body sweat a lot, causing dehydration, electrolyte loss, easily leading to metabolic disorders, even heat stroke. Depending on the time of exposure to heat, the level of increased body temperature will have different manifestations for health problems. Specifically, at a mild level, the patient will feel tired, dizzy, lightheaded, increased heart rate, breathing rate. At a severe level, the patient will have a severe headache, increasing difficulty breathing, nausea, vomiting, weakness or hemiplegia, convulsions, fainting, coma, cardiovascular collapse, and even death. When encountering health problems due to heat, it is necessary to have quick and appropriate treatment measures such as: immediately moving the victim to a cool, airy place, loosening or removing some of the outer clothing, wiping the victim's body with a cool towel; Place a towel soaked in cool water or ice on the armpits, groin, and sides of the neck to help quickly reduce body temperature. Do not gather too many people around the patient. When the victim is in a serious condition, quickly take the victim to the nearest medical facility for emergency care and timely treatment.

Not only outdoor workers, children, the elderly, people with underlying medical conditions such as blood pressure, cardiovascular disease are also susceptible to health effects when the heat lasts for a long time. To prevent heatstroke and limit the effects of heat on health, Dr. Trang recommends that people drink enough water and limit working outdoors between 10am and 4pm. If you have to work, do not work too long in a hot environment and avoid strenuous physical activities. After about 45 minutes to 1 hour of work, you need to rest in a cool place. To prevent heat shock, avoid going from an air-conditioned room to the sun suddenly, as the body has not had time to adapt. When going out in the sun, you should wear wide-brimmed hats, masks, glasses, clothes and protective hats. In addition, people need to increase their intake of green vegetables and minimize the area of exposure to sunlight on the body, especially the shoulders and nape of the neck.

According to the forecast of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, the heat wave in the North will continue in the coming days. When forced to work outdoors in hot weather, people need to proactively take measures to protect themselves from the heat and follow the recommendations of the health sector to protect their health.

Hoang Lanh

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