On Wed, 20 Jul 2011 11:04:42 -0700 (PDT), John Kuthe
> wrote:

>On Jul 20, 11:24*am, Andy > wrote:
>> John Kuthe > wrote:
>> > On Jul 19, 10:15*pm, Sky > wrote:
>> > ...
>> >> ...I have access to oven & charcoal grill. *However, due
>> >> to recent weather conditions, the oven is preferred choice right now!
>> >> It's way too hot to go outside and use the charcoal grill at this
>> time!
>> >> * HELP & TIA.
>>
>> >> Sky
>>
>> > So you'd rather crank up the oven inside and pay a lotta $$ for the A/
>> > C to then move the oven heat outside than just go outside and fire up
>> > the grill?
>>
>> > Pathetic!
>>
>> > John Kuthe...
>>
>> John,
>>
>> C'mon. I forget where Sky is, Illinois but the outside heat and air
>> quality could be more oppressive outside.
>>
>> Why double or triple the discomfort? For some people it could be equally
>> as risky.
>>
>> Andy
>
>People with that fragile a health condition probably rely on Meals on
>Wheels for their daily sustenance anyway.
>
>John Kuthe...

Article in today's news.
Over 65 and not worried about heat? You should be.
CHICAGO (AP) - This week's heat wave may be uncomfortable, but you're
healthy, active and feel just fine. So what if you're over 65? Think
again. Feeling good doesn't mean you're safe.
There are changes in an older person that raise the risk for heat
stroke and other problems. An older body contains far less water than
a younger one. Older brains can't sense temperature changes as well,
and they don't recognize thirst as easily.
Blistering summer heat is an underappreciated killer, claiming by some
estimates as many as 1,000 U.S. lives each year - more than any other
type of weather.
One federal study found 40 percent of heat-related deaths were in
people 65 and older. Those numbers could be lower if more heeded heat
warnings aimed at seniors. Yet research has shown many people over 65
don't think the warnings apply to them - because they don't think
they're "old."
Don Worden is 79 and an avid tennis buff who prefers playing doubles
on outdoor courts along Chicago's lakefront - even in oppressive
90-degree temperatures like those hitting the Midwest this week.
"I don't pay too much attention to those" warnings, Worden said. "I
stay in pretty good shape, and I don't feel they apply to me."
Worden said he drinks a lot of water and would stop a match if he
started feeling effects from the heat, "but that hasn't happened."
Scott Sheridan, who studies the effects of heat and climate on health
at Kent State University, researched how people over 65 view heat
warnings. In his 2006 study of more than 900 people, he found about 70
percent knew about advice to drink plenty of water on very hot days,
avoid outdoor activities and stay inside with air conditioning. But
only about half said they followed the advice.
"People well into their 70s would say old people should watch out but
not them," he said. "People just didn't want to be thought of in that
same category."
Dr. David Zich, an emergency medicine specialist at Northwestern
Memorial Hospital, said he has colleagues in medicine that age who
shun being thought of as "elderly." But those heat warnings apply to
them, too.
As Dr. William Dale, geriatrics chief at the University of Chicago
Medical Center explains it, "Any older adult has less reserve and is
more likely to become dehydrated than others, just because their
overall body water goes down with age no matter how healthy you are."
The amount of water in the body declines with aging, from about 80
percent in young adulthood to about 55 to 60 percent for people in
their 80s, Dale said.
Temperature sensors in the brain become less sensitive as people age,
so the body doesn't get the same signals to drink water in hot
weather, and older people often don't feel thirsty even when they need
to replenish, Dale said.
They also may not feel the typical symptoms of dehydration, such as
headache or dizziness. Some complain of just feeling "bad" and think
they're getting sick, he said.
Conditions were ripe for those types of complaints Tuesday as a dense
dome of hot air remained parked over much of the nation's midsection,
raising temperatures into the mid- to upper-90s from the Texas Gulf
Coast to the Rockies and the northern Plains. Tropical-level humidity
raised the heat index in many places to nearly 120 degrees.
In South Dakota, up to 1,500 head of cattle died across the state from
the heat. And in eastern Iowa, the scorching sun caused a portion of
Interstate 380 to buckle. The weather also sent dozens of people to
hospitals, canceled outdoor sporting events and caused sporadic power
outages.
In such conditions, dehydration can lead to heat exhaustion and
potentially deadly heat stroke. During a heat wave, that can happen in
a matter of hours in older people if they over-exert themselves, don't
drink enough water or are frail and don't get out of uncooled homes,
said Dr. Chris Carpenter, an emergency medicine physician at
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Heat exhaustion can cause muscle cramps, low blood pressure, rapid
pulse and nausea. It can be treated at home, by drinking water,
getting into an air-conditioned room or sitting in front of a fan and
misting the body with cool water.
But affected people should be monitored for mental changes and to make
sure their temperature does not rise above 102 because the condition
can quickly lead to heat stroke. A medical emergency, heat stroke
involves temperatures of 104 or higher and can cause seizures, loss of
consciousness and death.
Medicines many older people take also may make them more vulnerable to
the heat. These include diuretics for high blood pressure, which
increase urination - and make it more important to drink plenty of
water, Dale said.
Some types of drugs can interfere with sweating and raise body
temperature, including some medicines for insomnia, nausea, prostate
conditions, Parkinson's disease and even Benadryl. Many list "dry
mouth" as a side effect - a tip-off to drink more water, Zich said.
There aren't specific guidelines on how much water older people should
drink in a heat wave.
Dale said he generally tells his older patients to drink a quart of
water throughout the day, and to drink even if they don't feel
thirsty.
Doctors also advise older patients to avoid alcohol and coffee during
extreme heat because they can cause the body to lose fluid and
contribute to dehydration.

Janet US