Dubai: Residents are starting to feel the heat as daytime temperature now hovers around 38 degree Celsius and doctors said they are preparing staff to deal with heat exhaustion cases.
The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has sent out advisories to all hospitals and clinics around the emirate asking staff to advise people to drink enough water to replenish body fluids lost in the heat.
Residents will also soon be hit with a double whammy as the humidity level will rise along with the soaring temperature and searing heat, and the combination of the two will drain out and exhaust people who do not drink enough water, doctors said.
Dr Mohammad Shakeel, specialist, internal medicine at Aster Clinic, Discovery Gardens, believes it is foolish of people to jog in the open during the peak hours of the day.
“Children should not be exposed to the sun too much,” he said, advising parents to keep their children indoors during the hottest part of the day.
The DHA said the symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke are high body temperature, nausea, excessive thirst, headache and excessive sweating.
Dr Shakeel said as most of the people work in offices they will not feel the effects of dehydration immediately. “You will get muscle cramps and feel a sense of fatigue,” he said.
Dr Wafa Ayesh, director of clinical nutrition at the DHA, said a majority of patients do not drink sufficient water and many of them are surprised to see how dehydrated they are after they see their body analysis results.
She said on an average everyone should drink 30 to 35 ml of water per kilo of body weight. For example if someone is 60 kilos, they should drink 1.8 litres to 2.1 per day.”
Maitha Al Owais, Clinical Dietician at Dubai Hospital, noted that water not only helps essential body functions, including brain function, helping the heart, the blood supply, joints, lungs, kidney and liver, it also helps protect skin and hair. It does not matter what skin and hair routine we have externally, including applying moisturisers and conditioners, if we do not drink enough water, our skin will age prematurely and we will be prone to hair fall. “Water helps maintain skin elasticity and aids supply enough proteins to the scalp,” she said.
