Here's what you shouldn't be doing in this heatwave

During this heatwave there’s no surprise the scorching temperatures can be dangerous for anyone going about their daily life. The driest first-half of summer yet, the UK has seen consistent sunny days – which is great for vitamin D intake – but is it safe?

The NHS is recommending people stay out of direct sunlight between the hours of 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. As temperatures continue to rise, more warnings are spreading online to avoid heat exhaustion for both yourself and your loved ones in this season’s high temps.

As Channel Mum – a Youtube page dedicated to parenting tips – points out, the common practice of covering your baby carriage with a muslin is not as safe as you may think. While it will protect your child from direct sunlight, their experiment shows that it increases temperature for the baby by at least five degrees. During a heatwave, five degrees can be extremely dangerous.

If you’re the proud parent of a ‘fur child’, you’ll want to make sure your pets have access to plenty of water and shade, as well. Walks should be limited, taking place either early in the morning or late at night to avoid hot sidewalks and overheated pets. Keep a close eye on your animals as, just like humans, they too can have heat stroke.

According to the NHS, there are other precautions you can take to ensure you remain safe in the scorching temps, such as: drink plenty of cool liquids, limit your exercise, take cold showers, wear light and loose fitting clothing, and avoid dehydrating beverages like alcohol.

While you may want to lay out your towel and catch some sun during the nice weather, it’s recommended you seek shade and cool areas to prevent the body from overheating. In fact, in a heatwave, you should avoid the sun at all costs.

If you don’t want the hot weather to interfere with your fitness goals, it is recommended you seek air conditioned facilities for extreme exercise. Make sure you are fully cooled down before returning outdoors.

It’s important to know what to look out for in terms of heat exhaustion for yourself and loved ones. Symptoms of overheating are: headache, dizziness, excessive sweating, clammy skin, confusion, intense thirst, weakness and cramps.

Those who are most at risk for heat exhaustion are adults over the age of 75, babies, young children and people with chronic health conditions.

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