Hot, family doctors: “The first wave is the most dangerous. It shouldn’t be underestimated”

“The first heat wave is the most dangerous and should not be underestimated”, this is the alarm it raises Pier Luigi Bartolettideputy national secretary and provincial secretary of Rome of Fimmg, the Italian Federation of family doctors.

“The body suffers from sudden changes in temperature and we come from cool and rainy weeks. Now we find ourselves with an opposite situation of oppressive heat and humidity that will make everyone suffer a little. The first rule is to drink, especially for the elderly and for those with bad kidneys. If you take some drugs, I’m thinking of statins, you need a well hydrated body because this dilutes the impact of the therapy on the kidneys”, adds Bartoletti.

“Then there are a series of rules that are worth remembering: if it’s 35-40 degrees outside the house, you must avoid going out in the hottest hours and walking when it’s cooler, such as in the morning or at sunset – recalls Bartoletti – The best sentinel is our body: if you are hungry you eat, if you have no appetite you don’t.Often the elderly are not thirsty, while instead they have to remember to drink, a trick could be to flavor the water with mint and spices.Tomorrow it is the solstice – he warns – which brings about a change of season and is therefore a critical moment linked to climate change, which presupposes a change of habits, even quickly”.

The family doctor recalls that in this period “it is also advisable if you suffer from high blood pressure, and are taking the related medicines, to talk to your doctor to evaluate whether it is appropriate to adjust the therapies”, warns the national deputy secretary of Fimmg. Finally, “let us not leave children, the elderly and pets in the car in the sun even for a few minutes – he concludes – the first up to three years of age do not thermoregulate, and in the car it can even reach 60 degrees, a temperature that even for a few minutes it can be dangerous.”