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Baby, It's Hot Outside!
The Effects of Summer Heat on Infants
By Teri Brown
When those lazy, hazy days of summer come, we think of lemonade, swimming and enjoying our little ones frolicking in the sun. The last thing we think about is the dangers the heat from that sun may pose for our children.
Hilary Evans, a mother of three from Fort Dodge, La., learned the hard way the effect heat has on infants. One beautiful summer day, she took her 2-month-old baby on a short trip to a nearby grotto to sit in the shade and relax.
"By the time we reached the grotto the sun was in full force, and the heat was unbearable," says Evans. "We tried to walk through anyway, but we were all really hot. Even in the shade our son's cheeks and chest were getting red. We took a break in the snack shop, but as soon as we got back out in the heat, Nathan started crying, and he didn't stop until we got back in the car and turned on the AC. In hindsight, I realize we never should have gotten out of the car."
Evans was lucky, as was Hannah Hayes from Chicago, Ill. She and her 1-1/2-year-old son were attending a family picnic when she noticed her toddler was showing some odd symptoms. "He was running around with all his cousins having a blast, and he seemed fine," says Hayes. "When I brought him in to change his diapers, I saw he was totally flushed. Then he started trembling and when I felt him he was burning up with what felt like a fever. I don't think he had a drop of sweat on him despite the heat."
Hayes' sister asked when the last time the toddler had had anything to drink was, and Hayes realized that her young son had been playing in the extreme heat without any liquids. They gave him some water and bathed him down, and he went right to sleep. When he awoke, he was fine, but it taught Hayes a lesson she never forgot. "I don't know if it was officially heat stroke, but it taught me to pay attention to fluids in addition to sunblock," she says.
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