Hot days ahead: Stay cool and hydrated to avoid heat-related risks

Hot days ahead: Stay cool and hydrated to avoid heat-related risks (Photo: iStock)

Those with an eye for the movies will remember the soundtrack song for the 1984 Eddie Murphy movie called Beverly Hills Cop. The song was called 'The Heat Is On', it went on to become a major singles hit and reached No. Two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in March 1985. But this column hasn't suddenly turned into a critique of the movies. It's just that the heavens appear to have turned on the heat in the last several days, leaving the days scorching with heat, and the nights no better.

You might ask what all the fuss is about heat. Well, heat is a health hazard, especially when it gets into extreme ranges. The last few days have hit close to 300C in Nairobi, and I am sure it's been even hotter elsewhere. Such sudden levels of heat require our bodies to acclimatise and cool themselves adequately. We must also act in a deliberate way to keep ourselves cool and adequately hydrated, any other way portends disaster.