ST. LOUIS — As the week heats up, doctors say it’s best to limit your time outside, stay hydrated and watch for different signs of heat illness.
When temperatures soar, you’ll find a lot of St. Louisans taking advantage of free splash pads at City Garden and Forrest Park.
“Just try to find water somewhere to stay cool. My baby is a water baby. So, we like to be outside and like to swim and go to splash pads around the city,” Adam Mick said.
But this week, it might even be too hot to be outside for too long, even in the water.
“If you're taking the kids out to the park and you're starting to feel woozy then you've been out too long,” Urgent Care Dr. Vaughn Powell said.
Dr. Powell says it's important to look out for the different signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
Both heat exhaustion and heat stroke can make you feel nauseous.
With heat exhaustion, Dr. Powell says, you might feel extra sluggish and sweaty.
“Oh, yeah, profusely. You're going to find yourself probably a little bit more thirsty than normal. You're going to definitely find yourself just wanting to get into a cooler area, and your skin is going to be a little bit more hot to the touch than, just say, the sun beating down on you,” Dr. Powell said.
And if it’s heat stroke, some of the opposite things happen.
“You start really getting confused. On top of that, then you stop sweating. You sweat it out— all the water you can sweat. Now, your body's kind of just like in this panic mode, and then more importantly, your joints actually start locking up,” Dr. Powell said.
To avoid that Dr. Powell says, its best to limit time outside and hydrate the day before you know you’re going to be doing outside activities in addition to hydrating during those activities.
“Just like they say, stay hydrated, drink water —and all of that, but I don't try to do too much outside when it's hot. I kind of wait until when the sun goes down, and then I kind of come out,” Janaya King said.
Especially keep an eye on kids and the elderly.
“Usually, I keep my kids inside. You know what I mean? But we do like to get out. So, I'm not too worried about it we will be in the water somewhere,” Mick said.
If you have any signs of heat stroke it's best to get help right away, call 911 and move into a cool place while you wait for help to arrive.
Here's a map of cooling centers from the Missouri Department of Health & Human Services. You can also access it by clicking here.