July 21, 2003 Hello!
SARS. West Nile Virus. Norwalk (remember, that cruise ship virus?).
A threat in the form of a virus makes the news. A virus is something
we can try to avoid. A virus is something scientists can study and
doctors can identify. Wash your hands. Prevent mosquito bites. Avoid
exposure. But what can be done about an unseen presence that settles
over an area? "Checking on her mother
one morning at the Rose Plaza apartments during Houston's fierce 1998
heat wave, Gloria Mills unlocked the door and screamed. The room was
a furnace. Leola Brown, 73, lay crumpled on the floor with a body
temperature of 108 degrees. Emergency-room doctors revived her by
bathing her in ice, but the resilient mother of seven daughters never
fully recovered. Five years later, she remains bedridden.... With
the National Weather Service's issuing a hot-weather warning Friday,
some predict a tough summer ahead.... Faced with a different summertime
problem last year, Houston and Harris County health officials kept
West Nile virus fatalities to a minimum with a public education campaign,
close monitoring of hospital admissions and $3.6 million spent on
mosquito control. By contrast, critics say, no coordinated effort
exists to combat heat deaths...." There can be no vaccine to
prevent heat. What would an "effort" to "combat heat
deaths" consist of? "PHOENIX, July 18 [2003]
...On Monday, the temperature here soared to 116 degrees, a record
for the date. Overnight into Tuesday morning, it dropped to only 96
degrees, making that the hottest night in Phoenix history. On Wednesday,
the high was 117, the hottest of the year so far and one degree short
of the city's record for that date, set in 1925. There has been more
of the same since....So how hot was it this week? It was so hot that But it's the weather. Does
that mean there's nothing that can be done? There has to be something
people can do to prevent (or at least reduce the risk) of illness
and death from this health threat. "'Doing too much on
a hot day, spending too much time in the sun or staying too long in
an overheated place can cause heat-related illnesses and possibly
death,' FEMA Director James Lee Witt said. 'Special care should be
taken to protect the elderly, young children and those with respiratory
ailments. All residents should be aware of heat disorder symptoms,
know where to seek help, and be ready to give first aid treatment.'... Okay, so you know that you'll
make good choices for yourself. You'll watch for the signs of possible
problems, and you'll do what you need to do to be careful on hot days.
What about your friends? Siblings? Relatives? Is "The heat wave of 1995
contributed to more than 700 Chicago-area deaths. While city officials
said they‚ve learned many lessons about helping elderly and other
vulnerable residents handle the heat, Mayor Richard M. Daley said
people have to take responsibility for checking up on loved ones.
'Why don‚t family members check on other family members and parents?'
Daley said. 'Why are they calling the city to do that? That is the
most frustrating thing in any crisis.'" Questions of the Week: Please email me with any ideas or suggestions. I look forward to reading what you have to say. Cindy |
|||
