Right now I dread going outside for any reason. Usually I am the first one to gather people together to go out to lunch. But lately, I would rather eat in our small kitchen than venture outside. There is no way to get cool in the five to ten minute run to the restaurant! Even when you are parked in the shade the seat belts, seats, steering wheel are so hot you can hardly touch them. I burned my arm touching the window on the way home yesterday (just a little red mark…).

I have air conditioning everywhere I go! I have it in my office, my car and my home. I am a healthy person and can stand the heat in small doses, but how to people manage the heat who are not healthy? There have been nine reported deaths in Dallas that were heat related. Now I am wondering if there is a difference in how unhealthy people react to different temperatures. Are they just as affected when it is 95-100 degrees or 110 degrees? Wouldn’t it make an interesting study to compare weather conditions with hospital visits? I am going to pull the data and let you know what I find.

Dr. Pam Doughty