As temperatures climbed into the 90s Monday, it served as a reminder of the danger of heat.
Extreme heat brings with it a whole set of variables as summer officially is set to begin.
Marshall County Public Health Nurse Pat Thompson, said many people will tend to try to keep plugging on in the heat and get done what they need to get done and that's when it gets dangerous.
"We should be planning to take breaks and drink water," Thompson said. "Sometimes we like to keep going but we should purposely take breaks."
For children in the heat, parents should dress them in cool, loose clothing and use hats and umbrellas when possible to keep shaded from the sun. Infants and young children, along with those more than 65 years old, are the age groups most prone to heat stress and exhaustion.
Warning signs of heat exhaustion include heavy sweating, paleness, muscle cramps, tiredness, weakness, dizziness, a headache, nausea or vomiting and fainting.
There haven't been any heat-related deaths in recent memory in the area, but they still occur far too often nationwide. Between 1979 and 2003 excessive heat exposure caused 8,015 deaths in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During that time, more people died from extreme heat than from hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes, floods and earthquakes combined, the CDC reports.
"Heat-related deaths are preventable, but people still succumb to extreme heat," Thompson said. "Use common sense in the heat because it can sneak up on you."
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Contact Andrew Potter at 641-753-6611 or apotter@timesrepublican.com