The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers winning tips in the very real fight to beat the heat:

 

article continues below ↓

• Heat causes about 400 deaths per year in the U.S. – more than all other natural disasters combined
• During the Chicago heat wave of 1995, over 650 people died in under 2 weeks
• All heat-related deaths are preventable.

The people most at-risk from heat include:

 

• The elderly
• The poor
• People in inner cities
• People with chronic illness
• Homebound people
• Children under the age of 5 years

Stay indoors and, if at all possible, stay in an air-conditioned place. If your home does not have air conditioning, go to the shopping mall or public library – even a few hours spent in air conditioning can help your body stay cooler when you go back into the heat. Call your local health department to see if there are any heat-relief shelters in your area. Electric fans may provide comfort, but when the temperature is in the high 90s, fans will not prevent heat-related illness. Taking a cool shower or bath or moving to an air-conditioned place is a much better way to cool off. Use your stove and oven less to maintain a cooler temperature in your home.

 

About CDC

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is one of the 13 major operating components of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which is the principal agency in the United States government for protecting the health and safety of all Americans and for providing essential human services, especially for those people who are least able to help themselves.

Since it was founded in 1946 to help control malaria, CDC has remained at the forefront of public health efforts to prevent and control infectious and chronic diseases, injuries, workplace hazards, disabilities and environmental health threats.