Heat wave sends hundreds to hospitals

Children get cool at Everland in Yongin, Gyeonggi, on Tuesday amid a continuing heat wave. [YONHAP]

An unusually early and intense heat wave sent nearly 500 people to hospitals, more than triple a year ago.

According to data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), 491 patients were treated for heat-related illnesses from May 20 to July 4 compared to 152 a year earlier.

Five people were reported to have died from a heat-related illness.

Heat-related illness refers to an acute illness caused by the body's exposure to an excessively hot environment. Symptoms include headache, dizziness, cramps, fatigue and loss of consciousness. Patients can die if left unattended.

Some frequently reported heat-related illnesses are heatstroke, in which the body temperature rises to 40 degrees or higher; heat exhaustion caused by lack of water and salt in the body; and heat cramps in the arms and legs.

According to a report from the KDCA, a total of 13,395 patients were reported to have had heat-related illnesses from 2017 to 2021, including 99 deaths.

Of them, 48.3 percent fell ill between noon and 5 p.m.

As for where people fell it, the report said 78 percent of cases involved exposure to heat outdoors, with most being at outdoor workplaces (31.5 percent), followed by farmlands (13.5 percent), and roadsides (11.6 percent). For indoor spaces, homes (9.8 percent) and indoor workplaces (6.2 percent) were listed as the sites where heat-related disease cases were most common.

In order to prevent heat-related illnesses, experts advise to avoid physical activities between noon and 5 p.m., and if that isn't possible, the wearing of a wide-brimmed hat and light-colored, loose clothing.

Experts also recommend not to wear a face mask when being outdoors in the daytime.

“It is better to take off your mask and breathe comfortably when you are outdoors with a one-to-two meters distance from others," said Oh Sang-woo, a professor of family medicine at Dongguk University Ilsan Hospital.

“Elderly people and infants may have their condition deteriorate quickly if oxygen intake is limited due to face masks,” Oh said. “Face masks should be taken off outdoors, while they should be worn at all times inside air-conditioned rooms or public transportation.”

People feeling the heat should immediately be moved to a cool place and have their body temperature reduced by being wiped with a wet towel, water or ice.

BY EO HWAN-HEE,SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]