This week Bobbi Conner talks with Dr. Sara Ritchie about protecting newborn babies and infants from overheating in the intense summer heat. Dr. Ritchie is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and a Pediatrician at MUSC Children’s Health.
TRANSCRIPT:
Conner: I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio with Health Focus here at the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests parents avoid taking babies outside for long periods of time if the heat index is greater than 90°F. Doctor Sara Ritchie is here to talk about the details. Doctor Richie is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics, and she's a pediatrician at MUSC Children's Health. Doctor Richie, why do infants and newborn babies need extra protection against excessive heat or overheating?
Dr. Ritchie: There are a few reasons why children, and especially infants, are at a higher risk for heat related illness than adults. First of all, infants have a larger body surface area, when we compare that to their body mass ratio. Which basically means that they have more physical exposure of their bodies and their skin to heat in the environment. And along those lines, their internal heat and temperature regulation mechanisms are still developing at this age. And so, because of that, they can lose fluids more quickly and definitely more quickly than they can replace them, since they can't easily let you know that they need another sip of breast milk or formula. And so, as they get exposed to higher temperatures or more extreme heat, they are more likely to become sick from things like dehydration, heat exhaustion, heat stroke. And that can happen very quickly.
Conner: So, what practical steps can parents take then to keep infants and newborn babies safe from overheating in the summertime here in South Carolina?
Dr. Ritchie: It's important to try your best to plan ahead for regular times to cool down. And so ideally, you would find an air conditioned space during the hottest parts of the day. So we're staying out of the heat during the warmest times of day. And, fans can definitely be helpful. But it's really important to know that in extreme heat, when the temperatures are higher than body temperature, the fans aren't cooling the air, they just move the air. And so, it could actually cause the body to gain heat instead of lose heat.
So you want to be really careful with using fans in extreme temperatures. It's also important to stay hydrated. So just go ahead and follow your infants regular feeding plan with formula or breast milk, but expect that they might have extra feeding demands when there's warm weather.
And we recommend avoiding water, so no supplemental water until your infant is taking solids. And that's usually around 4 to 6 months. But you should talk to your pediatrician about an appropriate time to add water. In addition, think about dressing your infant in loose, lightweight, light colored clothing. And, protect them from the sun with hats to cover those sweet little faces and ears and necks and lots and lots of shade. You could also cool them off with water. So ,think like a cool bath, a water mist. And, when you're in the car, you want to make sure you use sunshades on the car windows. And of course, we never leave the child alone in the car, even if the car is running.
Conner: What do we need to know about keeping infants and newborn babies safe from sun exposure?
Dr. Ritchie: I would really like to stress the importance of protecting infants less than six months old from direct sun exposure at all. Their skin is just so fresh and new and tender, and this age group is a higher risk of overheating. And so it's very important to just avoid direct sunlight at all in this age group.
Conner: Doctor Richie, thanks for this information about protecting infants and newborns from the summer heat in South Carolina.
Dr. Ritchie: You're welcome.
Conner: From the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio.
Health Focus transcripts are intended to accurately represent the original audio version of the program; however, some discrepancies or inaccuracies may exist. The audio format serves as the official record of Health Focus programming.
