HCM City doctors warn against high UV index as hot weather set to peak

HCM CITY (Vietnam News/ANN) -- With the onset of a heat wave in HCM City, doctors are urging people to take preventive measures against heat-related health conditions.
The city has experienced temperatures of 34-37 degrees Celsius this month.
Le Dinh Quyet, deputy head of the weather forecast division at the Southern Hydrometeorology Station, told Lao Dong (Labour) newspaper that the peak temperatures would be in April and May. 
According to doctors, heat-related illnesses such as heat stroke, exhaustion and cramps can strike anyone, but especially the elderly, young and obese.

People in HCM City wear masks and jackets in hot weather.      --Photo Thanh Vu

Children’s Hospital 2 has admitted 3,600 children in the first two weeks of this month after nearly 4,000 ones last month.
The department’s doctors warned that the hot weather could send more and more children to hospital. 
Other paediatric hospitals in the city have also received many patients this month.
Thong Nhat Hospital said the number of seniors hospitalised usually increases by 5-10 percent every year in hot weather.
Dr Duong Anh Phuong of the City International Hospital told Vietnam News that hot weather increases the risk of respiratory diseases because many people turn on fans at full speed and air conditioners at low temperatures, causing the throat and nose to go dry. If the respiratory tract mucus dries up, bacteria and viruses find it easier to enter, leading to diseases, she explained.
Children below six often do not have a strong immune system, which increases their risk of respiratory diseases, she said.
People should protect their children carefully when taking them out in hot weather and take them for prompt medical treatment when they show signs of illness, she warned, adding they need to be fully immunised, especially for respiratory infections.  
Thong Nhat Hospital doctors said people should eat a lot of vegetables and fruits, wear wide-brimmed hats and protective clothes, and use sunscreen when going out in hot weather.
According to the HCM City Hospital of Dermato Venereology, many patients have come with irritated, red or dry skin since hot weather increases water loss in the body.
So, people should drink at least 1.5-2 litres of water a day, and more if they play sports.
According to Weather Online, the UV index in HCM City in the next three days will be 10-11, meaning very high risk of harm from unprotected sun exposure.
According to World Health Organisation norms, a UV index of 6-7 is “high”, 8-10 is “very high” and 11 and above is “extreme.”
UV radiation causes sunburn, cell damage in the skin and skin cancer.

(Latest Update March 29, 2021)