Warmer temperatures may come as a comfort to some Iowans this week, but agencies stress how to enjoy these conditions safely during Heat Awareness Day in Iowa. 

The National Weather Service designates this day every June, as heat is one of the leading weather-related killers in the United States, resulting in hundreds of fatalities each year. High temperatures combined with humidity can lead to heat exhaustion if you are among higher risk groups like young children and infants, older adults, pregnant women, and those with chronic medical conditions. 

Washington County Emergency Management Coordinator Marissa Reisen describes the signs of heat exhaustion and ways to respond, “With heat exhaustion you can feel faint or dizzy, you start sweating a whole lot, you get that cool, clammy skin, you can actually start feeling nauseous or vomiting and your heart rate is weak but it’s fast. Your muscles can start cramping and what you want to do if you experience that is get to a cooler, air conditioned place. If you are fully conscious you want to drink water, sips of not ice cold water, you just want that cool water because you don’t want to go from one extreme to the other and make yourself sick that way.”

If not addressed, heat exhaustion can lead to heat stroke, when body temperature can rise to 106 degrees Fahrenheit or higher within 10 minutes. Symptoms include throbbing headache, confusion, no sweating, nausea or vomiting or losing consciousness. Reisen urges that heat stroke is a medical emergency and to call 911 if you or someone else is experiencing these symptoms. You can get more tips this Heat Awareness Day from Reisen during Thursday’s Halcyon House Washington Page on air and at kciiradio.com.