Doctors warn of middle of summer heat dangers

AUSTIN, Texas (FOX 7 Austin) - It's a sunny, and hot Central Texas summer day and suddenly you start to feel different, you might be experiencing heat exhaustion.

"Heat exhaustion is more dehydration, you start getting muscle cramps, you feel weak, sometimes you feel nauseous. That happens when you are just running around Town Lake or doing something else and you sort of just get behind on your fluids," said Dr. Eric Higginbotham, medical director for the ER at Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas.

But if you don't take action quickly, it can become a medical emergency.

"Heat stroke is on the other end of that spectrum. Your core body temperature goes up, you become confused, you can have a seizure, you begin acting strangely. We see that this time of year, especially now into August," said Higginbotham.

Higginbotham primarily works with kids, but the danger is real for everyone. "Kids have less reserves than we do. They are not going to have the resiliency adults have," he said.

With consistently high temperatures during every Texas summer, doctors will continue to warn the public of all heat-related dangers. "The other big problem we see, and luckily we haven't seen it yet here in Dell Children's is kids left in cars. Their core temperature goes up, they have a seizure and their body just starts to deregulate," said Higginbotham.

Another safety note, sunscreen should be worn as often as possible.

"You should be wearing at least SPF 30 and you should be applying it every 30-45 minutes. Anything you can do to mitigate that exposure to UV radiation, that's going to go down the line and help prevent melanoma and skin cancer," he said. Finally, the best way to avoid heat exhaustion and heat stroke is to stay hydrated with either water or sports drinks.