5 things seniors need to do to stay healthy in the heat

The reason is that due to old age, resistance decreases, so the ability to adapt to changes in the weather environment is also slow, so hot weather has a great impact on the health and illness of the elderly.

The elderly need to pay attention to the following to avoid getting sick and stay healthy during the hot season.

- Elderly people need to drink enough water.

Hot weather can easily cause sweating, which can lead to dehydration, which makes the blood thicker. If the elderly drink less water or are afraid to drink water, it will lead to dehydration and serious water shortage. This is even worse because the heat causes the blood vessels in the body to dilate, the heart has to work hard, which is very dangerous. Especially for the elderly with coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, it can easily cause heart stroke, high risk of death.

On the other hand, if there is a lack of water or dehydration in the heat, the self-regulation mechanism in the elderly will be difficult, so there will be a state of fatigue, trembling limbs, and irritability. Cases of not compensating enough fluid due to dehydration can easily cause cardiovascular collapse (often seen in people with low blood pressure).

If the elderly do gardening, they should do it during cooler times and should rest on hot days.

According to recommendations, the elderly need to drink enough water, the average water requirement is 8 cups/day (1.5 - 2.0 liters), should drink many times, do not drink too much at once. Need to drink enough even when not thirsty because the elderly body is less sensitive to thirst receptors.

Note, when you are thirsty, you should not drink ice water or cold water because the temperature difference is too large compared to body temperature, which is not good for your health, can easily cause sore throat, choking in the respiratory tract. The most suitable drinking water is boiled water that has cooled in the natural environment, suitable for body temperature. You can drink fruit juices, but be careful to drink immediately after squeezing to avoid leaving it for too long, which can easily spoil and be infected with bacteria due to the heat.

- Avoid strong sunlight, need to work and exercise moderately

For the elderly, gardening requires light labor. Schedule outdoor work during cooler times of the day, and rest on hot days. Work early in the morning and rest early, and work later in the afternoon when the sun is milder.

Some people who exercise should also avoid strong sunlight, so they should exercise early in the morning and avoid exercising when it is still hot outside.

The recommended time in summer is before 9am and after 5pm, avoid hot and sunny times, high temperatures from 10am - 4pm. You should practice indoors, in the gym instead of practicing outdoors when the temperature is too high.

You should choose a place to exercise with cool, airy air circulation, avoid direct sunlight, do not exercise too hard because it can easily cause exhaustion, dizziness, even dehydration, heat shock. You should exercise gently, reduce sweating. Wear clean, loose, bright-colored clothes to easily dissipate heat.

- Need to divide into many small meals during the day

In hot weather, even healthy people lose their appetite, mainly drinking and eating rice with soup, so the elderly do the same. This leads to a state of eating less, not eating enough nutrients, causing weight loss, reducing resistance, making it easy to get infectious diseases. Therefore, the elderly should divide their meals into 5 or 6 meals a day.

Meals should be varied to stimulate appetite. Elderly people should avoid eating too much at one time to avoid indigestion, especially dinner should be at least 3 hours away from bedtime.

The elderly need a daily diet rich in vegetables, tubers, fruits and reduced meat.

- A diet rich in plants, supplemented with vitamins and minerals

Nutrition is also very important for the elderly, so they should have a positive diet and eat enough nutrients. According to the recommendations of nutritionists, the elderly need to have a daily diet with lots of vegetables, tubers, fruits and reduce meat. They should not eat a lot of animal organs such as heart, liver, intestines, stomach...

You should eat more fish, shrimp, crab, and reduce fat in your meals. Don't eat too much sweets. Don't eat too salty or sour foods... Specifically, eat more sea fish, freshwater fish, ducks, soft-shell turtles...

Eat lots of green vegetables, cooling soups, and fruits because green vegetables are rich in fiber, minerals, and vitamins such as lettuce, mustard greens, green bean sprouts, amaranth, Malabar spinach, water spinach, bitter melon, pennywort, plantain, Malabar spinach, squash, pumpkin, etc.

Eat lots of fruits rich in vitamins such as oranges, lemons, grapefruit, bananas, grapes, papaya, tomatoes, and watermelon to nourish and increase resistance to disease.

Drink some cool drinks every day to nourish your body such as black bean water, green bean water, lotus seed water, bird's nest water, tapioca starch, fresh milk, soy milk, coconut water... Food should be cooked soft, avoid eating too salty, especially for people with heart disease or kidney disease.

Note, avoid adding too much salt to food because it will increase the need for water, especially for people with high blood pressure, and limit the use of spices such as ginger, chili, and pepper when cooking. If the elderly have diabetes, avoid using too much sugar and need to eat according to the doctor's recommendations.

- Need regular health check-ups

Due to the hot weather, many people are afraid to go to the doctor or re-examine, especially the elderly. This is dangerous, because most elderly people often suffer from many different diseases. In the elderly, due to the decline in resistance and digestive system, they often suffer from diseases such as blood pressure, cardiovascular, bone and joint diseases...

Therefore, regular check-ups and re-examinations are very important when caring for the elderly, aiming to detect diseases early so that timely treatment can be given to limit or control the disease.

Common health problems in the elderly in hot weather

Abnormal increase in body temperature, dehydration, loss of minerals due to excessive sweating, heat shock, digestive disorders due to eating spoiled food, malnutrition due to poor appetite due to heat.

Underlying diseases that develop complicatedly can easily become worse, such as chronic lung disease during acute secondary infections due to hot weather, liking to drink cold water, taking cold showers, lying in cold rooms, letting the fan blow directly on the face, causing high blood pressure, lack of blood flow to the brain, cardiovascular collapse, stroke...