Prevention of heat stroke under new lifestyle

August 4, 2020

Hokesen Letter, No 209 (English ver.), August 4, 2020.
Health Care Center, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.
Yasuhiro Yamauchi, MD, PhD.

The number of COVID-19 infected patients is still increasing worldwide every day. Now we are requested to live daily with ‘new lifestyle’, which is recommended for the basic infection prevention for COVID-19, including “wearing face mask”, “washing hands” and “keeping social distance” with avoidance of “three C’s”.

The rainy season is finally over, and the summer is about to begin, but it is even more important to take measures against heat stroke under the "new lifestyle" of COVID-19 infection control measures.

  1. Wearing face mask: Take your face mask off, when necessary, outside of building. When wearing face mask, heart rate, respiration rate, concentration of carbon dioxide in blood, and temperature of feels-like would increase; so wearing face mask would be burden physically. Further, wearing face mask under the high temperature and humidity would increase risk of heat stroke. Therefore, please wear off your face mask, when you can take enough social distance (more than 2 meters) outside of buildings. In addition, please pay attention to avoid a large load work and exercise and keep hydration diligently.
  2. Use of air conditioner: Use ventilation and arrange room temperature under the air conditioning.
    Use of air conditioner is effective in preventing heat stroke. However, since air conditioners often do not ventilate simply by circulating air, it is necessary to ventilate by opening windows, doors, etc. to prevent infection. Ventilation tends to raise the room temperature, so be careful to adjust the temperature frequently.
  3. Avoid heat: When you are out, avoid hot days and times, wear cool clothes, hats and parasols, and try to stay comfortable. If you feel unwell, move to a cool place promptly, and if it is difficult to move to a cool indoor place, it is best to use the shade outside to avoid heat and rehydrate. It is important for prevention.
  4. Daily management of health: please manage your healthy life and build your body within a reasonable range.
    In order to adapt your body to hot summer, keep in mind that you should exercise appropriately and hydrate as much as you can without overdoing it. A standard of ‘reasonable rage’ is recommended to perform moderate exercise around 30 minutes every day, feeling somewhat tight under somewhat hot circumstances. Also, measure your body temperature and check your health at regular times, such as every morning, to manage your physical condition from day to day.

References:

1.Points of action for preventing heat stroke under the ‘new lifestyle’. (in Japanese)
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/0000121431_coronanettyuu.html

2.Example of living with ‘new- lifestyle’, Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare. (in Japanese) https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/0000121431_newlifestyle.html

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