Plan for long hot summers - Lancet

Friday February 12th, 2010

Public health advice may need a rethink if long hot summers return to Britain through global warming, an expert says today.

Domestic fans and even air-conditioning may not be the answer to helping people cope with unexpectedly warm weather, according to Dr Shakoor Hajat, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Writing in The Lancet, he says doctors also need to warn patients about commonly-used drugs.

Dr Hajat says the elderly and people with chronic conditions need advice on how to acclimatise to the heat.

Standard advice says they should stay in an air-conditioned environment - but this may prevent people "training their sweat glands", says Dr Hajat.

He identifies diuretics, which are taken for blood pressure and heart failure, as being potentially hazardous as they could lead to dehydration in hot temperatures.

Dr Hajat says there is little evidence that household fans make any difference and adds: "Certainly, there is little to recommend the use of a fan when other, effective, methods are available, such as taking a cool shower."

He says public health experts should draw on experience from sports and military training for advice on how to make out-door activity safe.

He writes: "With rises in temperatures expected in the coming decades, use of evidence-based health protection during hot weather by the general public and public health practitioners will have a key role in determining future heat burdens."

The Lancet on-line February 12 2010

Tags: Fitness | General Health | Geriatric Health | UK News | World Health

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