Summer Safety Tip, Good Advice

College safety officials offer a helpful summer advisory as summer heat continues. They urge everyone to be on alert for three key signs associated with heat illness: dizziness, dehydration and disorientation. Prolonged exposure to the summer heat can cause these symptoms.

Medical experts say other symptoms may also occur including dry, hot skin with no sweating; seizures or convulsions; upset stomach or vomiting and weakness. Heat illness involves the body's inability to cool its core temperature down by sweating leading to serious conditions such as heat stress, heat exhaustion or heat stroke, a more severe condition that can cause permanent disabilities or death, according to experts.

If you recognize that someone is suffering from heat stress, taking the following steps may prevent tragedy:

• Call 911, or 3511 on campus
• Move the individual to a cool shaded or air-conditioned area
• Administer First Aid, if knowledgeable of procedures
• Apply cool, moist cloth to the front of the individual's neck
• Provide cool drinking water if the person is conscious.

Staying hydrated and taking appropriate work and rest cycles is essential, officials note.