Here comes the sun

Experts’ tips on keeping yourself hydrated and infection-free as India stares at possibly its hottest summer ever recorded.

India’s notorious pre-monsoon heatwave is well and truly underway. And it’s only going to get worse: Met officials say 2016 will be harsher than 2015, the hottest year ever recorded.

How do you beat the heat then? First things first. The golden rule of staying ‘cool’ is drinking lots of fluids. As Dr. Anupam Sibal, paediatrician at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, Delhi, says, “Fluids are extremely important because we lose a lot of it and dehydration is a big worry during summers.” But most people miss a crucial point here — drinking lots of fluids is useful only when one is drinking the right kind of fluids. “We see a lot of patients with episodes of gastroenteritis, diarrhoea, jaundice, typhoid — all of these conditions are related to poor water,” adds Dr. Sibal.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is predicting an average increase over last summer of 1°C during summer. “Our forecast for the summer already talks of above normal temperatures. If you look at the temperatures until now, it looks like this summer will be hottest,” says IMD Director General Laxman Singh Rathore. “The strong El Nino conditions over the Pacific Ocean that started in 2015 are still continuing,” adds Mr. Rathore.

Protecting the vulnerable Given that we are in for a long spell of brutal summer, at significant health risk are the ones most vulnerable — children, the elderly and people already coping with ill-health. “There was no spring and we have jumped straight to summer. Parents need to be cautious when children are going out to play, their head must be covered at the least. It is best to stay indoors during the hottest time of the day,” says Dr. Sibal.

A healthy option, especially for the vulnerable, is to have coconut water instead of sugar-heavy fruit juices. “Sugar cane juice sold by street-side shops is usually not hygienic,” cautions Dr. Sibal. “Choosing coconut water over fruit juices in summer is sensible also because it will be hygienic. Moreover, it has electrolytes [which keep diarrhoea at bay]. When you sweat excessively and become dehydrated, it is not just water that the body loses — we lose a lot of salt as well,” says Dr. Vishakha Shivdasani, a Mumbai-based nutritionist. Coconut water also has a lower calorific count and has a good concentration of minerals such as calcium, iron, manganese, magnesium, and zinc than, say, orange juice.

Where coconut water is not available, it is best to carry your own water or lemonade than take a chance with street food and fruit juices.

vidya.krishnan@thehindu.co.in