Summer was not just a rest time, but real test for the body. Scientists are the alarm: the heat affects us much more than it is customary to think. And the consequences are not limited the deaths of the elderly and sick.
American researchers, having analyzed the data for 11 years in California, found out: with temperature growth Visits in emergency assistance departments are sharply increased – First of all, among children under 5 years old. Complaints of poisoning, respiratory problems and malfunctions in the nervous system are used.
“Hot days undermine health long before they lead to deaths”– emphasizes Carlos Gold from the University of California. He adds: mortality is only the tip of the iceberg, a real threat in the growth of diseases.
The heart works for wear, exposing blood to the skin, the kidneys are forced to hold the liquids. Those who already have chronic diseases find themselves in a special risk group.
Christie Embby, a professor from Washington, notes: “People are not consumable. The task of healthcare is to prevent diseases and death. “. Comparing the consequences of heat and cold, in her opinion, is incorrect.
Between 2006 and 2017, the temperature increase in California was accompanied by a jump in hospitalization, overloading the already weak healthcare systems. The tests of this kind, Embby believes, helps to understand how to reduce the consequences during periods of heat.
However, colleagues have doubts: Harvard Professor Robert Mint says that The heat acts cunningly. Sometimes we are not talking about a direct connection, but about a complex ball of factors: high temperature + human behavior = a surge of poisoning or exacerbations.
The picture distorts and Climate factor: Forest fires increased due to climate change are accompanied by extreme temperatures, which additionally exacerbates statistics.
An important detail – the data ended in 2017, so the calculations have not taken into account in recent years with record waves of heat. Today the situation may be much worse.
Gold summarizes: “Yes, death is the main thing that we want to avoid. But diseases caused by heat beat children, families, reduce our productivity and paralyze hospitals “. Its conclusion is simple: “Even if the heat does not kill, it hurts a lot of pain”.
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