Cool Kids: Building Resilience Against the Heat
Just as we seem to be getting a little relief from high gas prices, high temperatures are rolling across the country. The high heat comes as teens start preseason sports practice and kids of all ages visit pools and beaches.
As I wrote in April鈥檚 post, outdoor activities like these are good for our health and well-being.聽Now that it鈥檚 August, we must pay extra attention to the risks these activities pose. High temperatures, especially , can lead to illness and accidents among children and young adults. Keeping them safe requires taking basic steps at home and outside as well as large-scale projects in our communities, country and around the world.
Read on to learn how heat impacts children, what communities are doing to lower temperatures, and why combatting heat is critical to America鈥檚 next generation.
Heat Impacts Children Differently, May Cause Rise in ER Visits
As any pediatrician will tell you, children are not miniature adults. Their bodies are still developing and are . For example, children sweat at a lower rate and begin sweating at a higher temperature than adults. They also produce more heat relative to their body weight. A analyzed more than 3鈥塵illion ER visits to children鈥檚 hospitals in 27 states from May to September. The authors found 鈥渢hat hotter days were associated with higher relative risks of ER visits for all causes.鈥
As a trauma surgeon, I learned early in my training that visits to a pediatric trauma center increase markedly in summer months. We saw the largest increases in conditions directly related to temperature, but we also saw a rise in admissions from all causes. If one extrapolates these findings to the level of temperature increases predicted by some global warming models, the impact on child health could be profound.
The dangers of high temperatures aren鈥檛 limited to outdoor environments. Heat waves mean changes in our routines and behaviors as we try to cool off. For example, more people open windows in the heat, which, as first responders interviewed by increases the likelihood that children will fall out of them. Preventative actions include moving furniture away from windows and using window locks.
Summer also means more water play, swimming and boating. CDC researcher Merianne Spence that unintentional drowning deaths peak in the summer and are a leading cause of deaths caused by injury among children.
Ways to Cool Down, From the Low-Tech to the High-Tech
Whether cooling off at a neighborhood splash pad, jumping into a lake or running into the ocean, water activities are a time-honored way to enjoy the outdoors and cool off. In the summer of 1939, as the A.I. duPont Institute was nearing completion, children with orthopedic conditions swam and received treatment at the duPont family鈥檚 retreat in Cherry Island, Maryland. But today, the prevalence of heat-absorbing surfaces makes heat waves increasingly dangerous. When you add outdated infrastructure, like old schools and inefficient buildings, the reality is that many American children are learning, living and playing in spaces that are simply too hot.
Here are some examples of why this is happening:
- Neighborhoods are 聽(or lacked ).
- Many schools lack air conditioning or have leading some to close for 鈥渉eat days.鈥
- Energy costs are , and air conditioning is used sparingly, if it鈥檚 available at all.
Cities and communities around the United States 鈥 and the world 鈥 are working to address these issues. One approach is to increase the number of trees and amount of vegetation, which can through shade and while improving air quality, noise reduction and stormwater management. has received international recognition for its successful use of trees to lower temperatures and outdoor spaces for residents.
Another approach is using 鈥溾 material or painting roofs light colors. has developed a paint that reflects 98.1% of sunlight, which could reduce the need for air conditioning and energy costs when applied to roofs. Researchers expect the paint to be publicly available within a few years.
Combating Extreme Heat Is Key to a Healthy Next Generation
Although heat waves aren鈥檛 new to this century, we are experiencing more and more days of In fact, extreme heat causes in the United States in an average year than tornadoes, flooding or other weather-related hazards.
Phoenix, Arizona, America鈥檚 hottest city, has created an to reduce the number of heat-related deaths and illnesses. Of course, the United States is not alone in combatting rising temperatures and heat-related deaths. Seville, Spain, has started naming heat waves, putting them on par with weather events like hurricanes (in case you鈥檙e wondering, the first named , which brought temperatures above 110 degrees Fahrenheit to Seville last month).
As Eric Klinenburg explains of the deadly 1995 Chicago heat wave, the weather was only part of the story. The key to understanding who succumbed and why was understanding the significance of the everyday conditions in which people lived and worked.
Where Do We Go From Here?
From the color of our roofs to the size of neighborhood parks, our surroundings can make us more vulnerable 鈥 or more resilient 鈥 to extreme events and natural disasters. Relying on air conditioning to keep our kids safe and in school is a short-term solution that contributes to the earth鈥檚 heat problem. I believe, though, that the same American ingenuity and determination that led to the invention of will lead to even larger-scale methods for keeping cool and staying healthy in the late summer months. Nothing is of a larger scale than outer space, and that鈥檚 exactly where scientists at are trying to send excess heat using radiative panels.
Reducing the rising number of historically hot days requires more than 鈥渙ut of this world" scientific innovation. Our resilience as a nation and as a species depends largely on our surroundings and everyday actions. To a greater degree than any other species on the planet, humans can construct and design the spaces around us聽鈥 and adjust our behaviors to survive and thrive. And it all starts with our children, homes and communities.
With that in mind, here are three resources to help you and the children in your life stay cool and safe this summer:
- what your community is doing to combat heat.
- High temperatures can lead to heat cramps, heat stroke, and heat exhaustion among children and young adults. You can about each and what to do if someone shows symptoms.
- Learn more about water safety and kids by registering for this .
![R. Lawrence Moss, MD, FACS, FAAP, President and Chief Executive Officer R. Lawrence Moss, MD, FACS, FAAP, President and Chief Executive Officer](/well-beyond-medicine/leadership-in-redefining-childrens-health/building-resilience-against-the-heat/_jcr_content/root/container/container/two_panel_block_left/col1/image.coreimg.jpeg/1689091492802/round-lawrence-moss.jpeg)
About Dr. Moss
R. Lawrence Moss, MD, FACS, FAAP is president and CEO of Nemours Children鈥檚 Health. Dr. Moss will write monthly in this space about how children鈥檚 hospitals can address the social determinants of health and create the healthiest generations of children.