Health experts on Saturday advised the people to stay indoor and be careful for the symptoms of heat-related illnesses and take extra precautions to keep their families and communities safe. “Heat-related illnesses can take many forms ranging from a mild case of heat related exhaustion to a more serious and life-threatening case of heat stroke”, Deputy Director NICH Dr Liaquat Ali said while talking to a private news channel. “As several parts of the country are in grip of an intense heat wave so there could be possibility that more people may be affected and be in need of medical help”, he warned. Extreme heat can affect anybody especially those most at risk are older people including young children and people with medical condition, he said, adding, heat stroke is the common heat-related ailment, which could result in death. Dr Liaquat said that heat-related illnesses can range from mild conditions such as a rash or cramps to very serious conditions such as heatstroke, which can be dangerous. He further mentioned that summer heat, combined with other factors like intake of contaminated food and water, can lead to gastroenteritis cases seen in all age groups. Expert advised that the people should stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water as it will flush out toxins from the body; 2) eat fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains; 3) avoid the junk, processed, oily, and canned foods; 4) and limit the intake of sodas, colas, and fruit juices etc. He said the most common causes of various digestive diseases include consumption of contaminated water, contaminated food, lack of healthy living style and anxiety. Citizens should also avoid taking junk food items from outside and should use boiled water, clean utensils and must wash hands before meal and keep kitchens clean, he said. He advised that the people should eat slowly, drink plenty of water and avoid self-medication especially pain killers and use medicines as prescribed by their doctor, he said. “Intense heat put more stress on human organs like heart and lungs as they function beyond their capacity which could be hazardous”, he said. Health expert calls for public education on heat-related illness: Senior Medical Officer (SMO) Govt Shehbaz Sharif Hospital (GSSH), Dr. Imran Rafiq, told APP on Saturday that public education was imperative to improve prevention and early recognition of heat-related illness. Children and people of all age groups should be educated about heat-related disorders specifically on symptoms, prevention, cure and risk factors, he stressed. He informed that individuals should take steps to reduce personal risk factors and to acclimatise exposure to hot weather conditions. “Heat related disorders occur when extreme environmental conditions affect people who are physically active in extreme of ages or with chronic medical or psychiatric illness”, the SMO stated. Hyperthermia, abnormally high body temperature, results from body’s inability to maintain internal normal temperature through heat loss, he said adding that its heat source is the result of metabolic functions and environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity. Dr Imran Rafiq explained that risk factors include duration of exertion, exposure to heat environment, physical inactivity, insufficient acclimatisation, skin disorders and other medical condition that inhibit sweat production or evaporation, obesity and dehydration. Sweat losses cause heat cramping, the SMO stated and added that these are replaced with water only. Heat exhaustion results from prolonged strenuous activity with inadequate water or salt intake in a hot environment, the medic noted. He maintained that heat stroke, which causes cerebral dysfunction and body temperature over 40 C; a life-threatening condition has the following symptoms: dizziness, weakness, blurred vision, confusion, collapse and unconsciousness. “In this case, physical examination findings are hot skin, initially covered with perspiration and later when it dries, there is strong pulse followed by with elevated blood pressure”, Dr Rafiq concluded.