Are you careful to cool down your baby’s body during heat waves?
Many adults can’t bear the brunt of the heat and humidity, so how is your baby coping, who can’t speak to express what they’re feeling or adjust their body temperature on their own?
Here are steps to help maintain your baby’s good health when the temperature is above acceptable levels, ensuring that they don’t get sick, dehydrated, or even feverish.
- The basic rule in hot weather is to keep your child’s body hydrated from the inside as much as possible. It is very beneficial to give them some water every half hour. They may not drink it all, but it’s enough if they drink a little from time to time.
- When you’re preparing your child’s meal, choose refreshing, cold dishes instead of hot sauces, stews, and soups and warm milk. You can always serve them sugar-free yogurt with some fresh, juicy fruit; it can cool down the body from the inside.
- When you have to stay somewhere without air conditioning, be sure to refresh your baby’s body with compresses that are cold but not frozen, placing them on their forehead, thighs, and neck every few hours. You can also spray them with water in the same places.
- Of course, choose cotton clothes without any nylon or polyester fibers, which are less protective of their body; the cotton will help them avoid allergy symptoms and excess sweating.
- As much as possible, keep a pleasant atmosphere inside your house. This means closing windows and curtains during heat waves and severe drought to maintain a minimum amount of moisture inside.
- If your child’s room lacks air conditioning, you can resort to the fan to move the air in the room; hanging a damp cloth on the open balcony creates a sort of cooling system in the room.
- In very hot weather, remember to take off your child’s diaper for a little while during the day, preventing irritation to the skin.
- Avoid going out with your child at peak daylight hours, and be sure to choose air-conditioned places when they travel with you.
- Finally, have them enjoy a refreshing dip in the bathtub inside the house; it can both entertain them and cool them down, as well.