WATCH ABOVE: Doctors are urging Montrealers to stay hydrated during the heat wave, but note more attention has to be paid to children and seniors. Global’s Sarah Volstad reports.
POINTE-CLAIRE – Everyone struggles to keep cool during a heat wave, but certain groups of people are more vulnerable than the average adult: children and the elderly.
“The very young because they have a relatively large surface area to their itsy bitsy little bodies, so they absorb a lot of heat but they’re not very good at losing heat by sweating,” explained Dr. Mitch Shulman, Global Montreal’s health specialist.
The beginning of the week brought higher-than-normal temperatures in Montreal, with the mercury reaching almost 32 degrees Wednesday – 40 with the humidity.
The extreme heat had many day camps taking extra precautions with their youngsters.
“We’ve been very pro-active this week in terms of making sure that we are always hydrating the children,” said Shelley Haynes, with youth programming for the City of Pointe-Claire.
“We’ve gone out and bought water to make sure we see how much they’re drinking, instead of them just having their own water bottles.”
She said their day camps have planned more indoor activities and water games to give the kids a break from the gruelling sun.
“The pools do stay open longer for the day camps,” said Haynes.
“My day camp, instead of swimming an hour, will be allowed to swim an hour-and-a-half or two hours.”
Dr. Shulman said the difficulty with children is that they can’t always communicate their discomfort.
“They don’t know what’s going on,” he said.
“It’s not like they’re going to say ‘I’m thirsty’, ‘I’m hungry’, ‘I’m hot.’ So, they’re at tremendously increased risk.”
At one Pointe-Claire daycare, owner Melissa Spurrell monitors her children closely.
“I’m always keeping an eye to make sure that they’re well hydrated, and that there’s no signs of heat exhaustion or anything like that,” said Spurrell.
There’s a second group that should also be closely monitored during a heatwave: the elderly.
“They often have underlying health issues,” said Dr. Shulman.
“They’re often on medication. If they have an underlying mental health issue, they may not be aware of what’s going on.”
At the Château Westmount, a CHSLD long-term care facility, they have the luxury of full air-conditioning.
Still, caregivers limit how long residents stay outside on the hottest summer days.
“Maybe 20 to 30 minutes maximum, and not in the sun,” said Poupak Sadeghi, clinical adviser at the home.
“We try to make them rest in the shade.”
There is some relief in sight.
The heat warning ended late Thursday afternoon and temperatures are expected to drop over the weekend.
- Toronto Pearson gold heist: Ontario man arrested at airport after arriving from India
- Capital gains changes could have ‘irreversible’ effects, business groups warn
- A ‘zombie’ virus is raging among raccoons. What to know
- Could notwithstanding clause be used on abortion? Poilievre’s office says ‘never’
Comments