Heat exhaustion section on NHS website visited every six seconds in the last week
The volume of visits tripled as temperatures rose
Amid soaring temperatures last week, the number of visits to the heat exhaustion advice section of the NHS website tripled – averaging one every six seconds.
NHS England released figures that showed almost 110,000 visits to the health advice page on heat exhaustion and heatstroke between June 9th and June 15th, compared to around 34,000 the week before.
And the number of people seeking advice on heat rash and prickly heat almost doubled to 67,132.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Met Office ended a heat-health alert across the country until 9am this morning (Monday).
A yellow alert is in place pointing to increased health risks for those over the age of 65 or with pre-existing health conditions, such as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.
Is Heat Exhaustion an emergency?
Heat exhaustion doesn’t normally require emergency medical treatment, as long as you can cool down within half an hour. However, if it became heatstroke, emergency medical intervention would be required.
The NHS website on treating heat exhaustion advises drinking plenty of cold drinks, cool baths or showers, light coloured or loose clothing and avoiding the sun between 11am and 3pm.
Duncan Burton, NHS England’s Deputy Chief Nursing Officer, said: “We know there is a high risk of heat exhaustion or heatstroke during hot weather especially among children, older people and those with long-term conditions like diabetes or heart problems.
“The NHS website has a range of useful information pages aimed at helping people keep themselves and their loved ones safe during hot weather.
“Keeping the body cool and drinking plenty of fluids is vitally important, as well as dressing sensibly, using high-factor sun screen and limiting the amount of time you spend in the sun to avoid the risk of sunburn and to prevent skin cancer.
“With heat exhaustion, it is important to cool the person down, hydrate them and see if their condition improves after 30 minutes. If it doesn’t, we would always advise seeking medical attention by calling 111 or 999 in an emergency.”