With a heat advisory in effect today and temperatures ranging in the 90s for the next week, Washington County Public Health advises residents to be proactive in preventing heat-related illnesses.

Heat exhaustion includes symptoms like heavy sweating, fast or weak pulse, nausea or vomiting, tiredness or weakness, muscle cramps, and passing out. If you feel you are experiencing heat exhaustion, Public Health Administrator Danielle Pettit-Majewski urges you to move to a cool place and put cool, wet cloths on your body or take a cool bath, and to sip water. If you are throwing up, or your symptoms get worse or last longer than an hour, these are the signs of a heat stroke and Pettit-Majewski urges you to call 911 right away. She gives some tips to stay cool during these hotter days, “We really want to just make sure that people are cognizant at preventing some of these heat-related illnesses so trying to avoid some of the hottest parts of the day when possible, trying to find shade, making sure you stay hydrated, wearing a wide-brimmed hat to keep some of the heat off of your body, wearing clothing that protects your skin but is also sweat wicking so that you can stay cool and stay dry.”

Other ways of avoiding heat illness is to prevent sunburns, so Pettit-Majewski encourages to put on a sunscreen of at least 15 SPF, and to reapply if you’re out in the sun for more than two hours and after swimming, sweating, or toweling off.