Free Downloadable PDF Checklist for Hot Weather Safety

Post date: Jul 24, 2016 12:21:32 AM

A heatwave is upon us in many areas of the United States. A checklist that you can print-out, carry with you, give to students, distribute to employees, and post in your kitchen has been developed. The checklist is a result of years of research. (It is a checklist, not one to hold a licensed medical practitioner liable for.) Easy to read and comprises 3 pages.

Checklist content:

Hot Temperature and Extreme Heat Safety Checklist

Some major keys how to be ready to stay in good health and avoid heat emergencies when weather temperatures are very hot

Have cool water with you at all times

Important notes about water:

It does not make sense to have water with you that got so hot from the sun or sitting in a vehicle that it is near the boiling point; unless you have enough ice of course to get it cooled down

As far cold water, it is advisable, especially in young children and elderly women, not to have water so cold that it shocks the body and puts your teeth in pain

It is not advisable to drink so much water it puts your body in sharp pain, especially to the stomach

Although quenching thirst will loom a priority to natural reflexes and reaction to heat, make sure to eat enough solid food to balance the liquids, so you do not suffer from liquid intake related illnesses

The ideal is to have moderately cool water with you and readily accessible, and drink that water in moderation at the right intervals

Use fresh moderately cool water as the choice of water for regular hydration

For quality of water, if tap water is an easily accessible commodity and the water quality level is questionable especially after you drank large quantities, then a system of relying on tap water to quench your thirst might not be in your best interest. Signs that filling up on tap water from a random sink or faucet is not wisest, could be if you start to feel dizzy, lightheaded, and nauseated.

If water that is usually normal has gone bad, like at a drinking fountain in a grocery store, or water supply for your neighborhood, immediately contact the proper authorities

If you have the funds and access to stores and locations that carry bottled water, you have a filter system in your kitchen or refrigerator, or even a water cooler at the house and office, if you are going to hydrate yourself with water at regular intervals, use that water, not just random water that runs out of any sink or the side of someone’s house where the water hose is

Under normal circumstances of hot weather, do not drink from a source water if you suspect the water is:

· Not clean

· Has an irregular smell

· Has an irregular color

· Might cause you to get sick, infected, or ingest harmful germs

Ways to transport water:

Cooler

If you have a vehicle and going on a road trip, or just back and forth to work, have a cooler in the vehicle, and check the contents regularly to make sure it is cool, has not leaked out or melted away

Pouches and coolers for carrying when walking

Obviously you do not want to be carrying so much water when walking that the weight of the water is a burden and a cause for heat illness

Have a few cold liquid containers on hand, such as purchased as extras kept in the house

Bottles and pouches that are transparent are recommended when traveling to events where there are many people, given recent trends of terrorist attacks you have seen in the news; summarily do not be a focal object of scrutiny when you do not have to

Travel in groups

This is especially for children, kids, and elderly

Even highly trained long distance athletes, and healthy middle aged adults that serve to keep us safe, are advised to travel with a companion in extreme heat as a safety measure. Simply put, if one of the team members passes out or starts to due to the heat and dehydration, another team member is right there to revive them.

Vulnerable points where being overcome by heat can be in places you are used to and do not think much of resultant from repetition. For example, a walk in an amusement park that comes to town every year, going to get refreshments departing from a group at an event, or walking a pet out front. When it is a 100 degrees Fahrenheit outside, and you are walking your pet, the pet stops for ten minutes to amuse him or herself, then you get in a conversation with a neighbor for ten minutes, before you know it I has been 20 minutes to half hour you have been in the baking sun. Returning to the house appears like running 2 or 3 impossible back to back marathons instead of 2 or 3 ordinary blocks. When that happens, and you start to feel that way, it could very well be a sign the heat is taking its toll on you.

A few strongly recommended readiness plans:

Do not be a victim of overconfidence and an erroneous assumption about yourself

Do not assume that because you assessed yourself and did not notice dehydration or the early stages of heat stroke coming on, that you are not vulnerable to it when you have been in the heat for amounts of time. After a certain number of minutes, distance traveled, work performed, and so forth, make sure to get the right liquids in your body.

Do not have too much pride that gets in the way of asking for emergency help

It might very well be that while walking to your residence after a long day at work, that 2 or 3 doors from your destination you feel overwhelmed and should ask a neighbor if they have a bottle of cold water. This does not mean disrupting your office neighbor every five minutes with the excuse for requests for water when you could get your own, it means to not try to wait until the last possible second that your life could be holding on to, to get the help you need.

Children have the tendency to run themselves to the end playing group sports like ball games in your backyard; be aware that someone else’s kid that is still back there even when yours are inside, could be in jeopardy of dehydration and passing out if they go without liquid for too long

Common sense rules:

If you start to feel sick, or drowsy, stop what you are doing and tell someone

Heat drowsiness and injury could occur:

· While standing for prolonged times on the job

· Walking long distances

· Athletic training

· Walking in the mall shopping

· Relaxing in your own house, especially without adequate cooling and ventilation

· Making a speech in front of people

· Easy going modes, like relaxing in a park in the grass at an event, or in the sand at the beach

Stay where it is cool, or have access to a cool down spot

When the option exists, walk in the route where there is shade

Have a working cooling system in your residence and workplace

Have working air conditioning in your car

Do not let yourself get caught in traffic jams where the sun is shining directly on you and you have no inside temperature cooling system, or liquid with you; do not be trapped; pull over to a rest area until the referent incident or situation passes, or take a safe route that is an alternate route

If you have a job where you work outside all day, have a place or tent or cool temperature vehicle, some kind of emergency plan where you can go to and cool down when necessary