ANDERSON — A week full of 90 degree days and a lack of rain has left Anderson hot and dry, except for all the sweat.

Coupled with Indiana’s infamous humidity, the heat index has been over 100 as people seek ways to stay cool and safe as the weather stays hot.

“This has been the hottest stretch of the year so far,” said Chad Omitt, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service. “It’s been 90 degrees or hotter for the last five days.”

But although it is the first round of heat for the summer, Omitt says it is not unusually hot for this time of year.

“The heat is not unprecedented; we had days last year in the 90s in June,” he said. “I think people just weren’t acclimated to the heat and the humidity yet.”

With temperatures remaining so high, anyone who spends too much time in the heat is putting their health at risk.

“This is the time of year when we usually start seeing cases of heat exhaustion or even heat stroke,” said Dr. Kevin Smith of the Med One urgent care facility.

Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are caused where the body overheats. The body normally controls temperature by sweating, but the humidity in Indiana can keep this process from being affective.

“When you sweat and it evaporates, it lowers your body temperature,” Smith said. “But with the humidity being so high, you sweat and that doesn’t go away, so you sweat more and then you become dehydrated. That’s when you can get into trouble.”

According to Smith, heat exhaustion is marked by a combination of symptoms including fatigue, dizziness, muscle cramps and elevated pulse. It should be treated seriously to prevent the person from having a heat stroke.

“A heat stroke is much more serious than heat exhaustion,” he said. “It occurs when your body can’t regulate body temperature and it gets very high. It can lead to confusion, loss of consciousness, shock and, in rare cases, even death.”

But there a few tricks people can use to beat the heat and avoid medical complications.

“Wear loose, light-fitting clothing, drink lots of water and if your feeling overheated, get in the shade or inside in the air-conditioning or by a fan,” he said.

But many local residents have found the best way to stay cool on these hot summer days.

They hit the pool.

“This has been our busiest week so far,” said Londa Thrasher, pool manager of the Brown Pool in Pendleton. “In the last week we have had over 3,000 people come to the pool.”

The Brown Pool, which had its highest attendance of the year on Tuesday with 703 people, has seen a huge increase in attendace since the heat wave started last week.

“We’ve sold a ton of cool drinks and things from our concession stand,” she said. “We can’t even keep enough ice cream in stock, it’s literally flying out of the freezer. But that’s a good problem for us to have.”

Thrasher believes that people are looking to the pool for a cheap way to keep from overheating during the current economic downturn.

“If you compare it to a movie, it’s way cheaper because we only charge $4 for admission. People are coming from all over and they bring coolers and picnics; they end up just staying for the whole day.”

But there is a light in these very hot times: the temperature, although almost unbearable now, may be cooling down over the weekend.

“Friday may be the last day of stifling humidity for a while,” Meteorologist Chad Omitt said. “A strong cold front will be moving through on Satuday night and Sunday morning so next week should be in the low 80’s and even upper 70’s during the day.”

But until the temperature finally dips back out of the 90s, Thrasher has a piece of advice that everyone should hear: “It’s double cool to stay cool in the pool.”

The doctor’s orders

Dr. William Anderson M.D. of Community Family Physicians in Anderson made a list of things to do, and not to do, when out in the heat:

* Don’t do things you’re not conditioned to do

* Continuously hydrate with water and sports drinks meant to replace electrolytes

* Find shade

* Plan activities so that you aren’t outside at the hottest times of the day

* Pregnant women, the elderly, diabetics or those with heart conditions or other serious diseases or limitations should always be extra cautious

* Use your head and listen to what your body tells you

* If you feel signs and symptoms such as chills, tiredness or lightheadedness, know you’ve reached your limits and rest

* Do what your mother told you to do when you get hot!





Contact Garrett Stack: 640-4878, garrett.stack@heraldbulletin.com