Health care
BY ELISABETH JIMENEZ
With Texas heat and humidity, people with diabetes can struggle to cool down, facing a greater chance of experiencing heat-related illnesses, experts have found. For a person without medical problems, the body adapts to heat through sweat production and blood vessels, said Dr. Natalie Williams with Austin Regional Clinic. Because people with diabetes have excess sugar in their blood, that can disrupt the body’s natural cool-down mechanisms, Williams said. People with diabetes are more likely to get dehydrated because of the excess sugar, creating a lack of water in the body needed Diabetic people face health risks with Texas heat
Handling heat
Williams said both diabetic and nondiabetic people can deal with high temperatures in a variety of ways, including:
These struggles with body temperature and dehydration can lead to greater risks of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, she said. She anticipates an increased risk in the coming summer months. Williams said that diabetic patients should be mindful of how heat can affect medicine and equipment. She said some medicines such as insulin are heat-sensitive and can lose effectiveness when exposed to heat. Equipment such as pumps, monitors and glucose test strips can be damaged by heat. Glucose test strips can also go bad in the sunlight. Williams recommends talking with a doctor to understand individual heat-related risks. “Have conversations with your doctor about how to take care of yourself in the heat because every condition has something else that you may need to keep an eye on,” she said.
Working out in the morning
Avoiding sugary and caffeinated drinks
Checking the heat index
Wearing loose, light-color clothing
Ensuring access to shade or air conditioning
for sweat production. Additionally, some people with diabetes can have damaged blood vessels, preventing them from effectively cooling down, she said.
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