Columbus helping neighbors beat the heat during advisory
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — With a heat advisory beginning Thursday at noon, the City of Columbus is offering help and advice to stay safe and cool.
The city is encouraging people to limit outdoor activity, stay hydrated and keep pets or people out of hot cars. For people wanting to cool off indoors, Columbus Metropolitan Library locations across the city will open to the public at 9 a.m.
"We know that the city indicated that there are some centers and spaces where people can go to cool off and we wanted to make sure that the library was included in that," said Library Communications Manager Dorcas Taylor Jones. "Because they make up who we are and we want to make sure that we give back to them."
Columbus Recreation and Parks is extending pool and splash pad hours from 1 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. through Friday and the $1 fee will be waived. Additionally, all community centers will be open from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. on weekdays.
Ways to stay healthy and safe in hot weather from Columbus Public Health:
• Drink plenty of water. Do not wait until you are thirsty.
• Stay in air conditioning whenever possible. If you do not have an air conditioner, use movie theatres, malls, libraries and other public places that are cool.
• Avoid beverages with alcohol, caffeine and sugar because they will dehydrate you.
• Eat light meals.
• Wear lightweight, light-colored clothing.
• Avoid strenuous activities and limit them to morning and evening hours.
• Learn the signs and symptoms of heat-related illnesses and how to treat them.
• Check on family members, friends and neighbors.
• Never leave people or pets in a closed car.
Doctors in central Ohio are also giving words of caution they expect to see many people who are overheated, dehydrated and suffering from heatstroke. They also anticipate more kids younger than 4 years old and adults older than 65 with heat-related illnesses.
But staying out in the heat and sun is something that can affect everyone.
“Lots of folks will come in with nausea and vomiting,” said Dr. Matthew Scott an emergency physician at OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital. “So, we usually will treat them with some kind of nausea medications and then we get a lot of blood work looking to see what organs are affected. This is something that can be very simple, but it can also be very, very critical.”
Doctors say if adults or children start to have any kind of overheating symptoms, it’s best to get out of that hot environment and drink lots of fluids.