Northland doctor shares tips to stay cool during heat wave

DULUTH, MN. (Northern News Now) -- A St. Luke’s doctor wants to make sure the public avoids overheating as temperatures rise across the Northland.

Dr. Amery Robinson, an emergency physician, said there are a few simple tips to stay cool this week.

“As you get hotter, your body systems just don’t function as optimally because they’re not designed to be functional in 90 to 100 degrees,” Robinson said.

According to Robinson, you should be active during the cooler parts of the day.

“If you’re planning to go out and exercise, or walk your dog, try to do that in the morning or evening hours,” he said.

Times between 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. tend to be the warmest on average throughout the day.

Staying indoors is also a way to make sure you don’t get too hot.

“You can try to be in the shade, you can try to be inside where it’s cooler, you don’t necessarily have to be in an air-conditioned environment, but at least in the shade, somewhere where you’ve got a fan,” he said.

One of the biggest ways to avoid the worst outcomes in the heat is to stay hydrated.

In Duluth, numerous homes do not have central air conditioning.

Robinson said there are a few ways to keep your home cool.

“You can try to get to a cooler part of your house, usually for a lot of people, that’s their basement,” Robinson said.

Drawing the shades on windows to keep sunlight out tends to keep your home cooler as well.

“Sometimes even closing your windows during the hot part of the day can keep the heat out and then opening the windows during the cool part of the day,” he said. “So evening, night and into the morning.”

Dr. Robinson said the youngest and oldest Northlanders are more vulnerable to heat-related illnesses.

“They need some help from outside to keep themselves warm or to keep themselves cool,” he said. “Also, people with underlying medical illnesses like people with heart disease or people who have diabetes or people living with lung disease have a harder time dealing the [the heat].”

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