Hot and humid rainy season, watch out for chronic diseases More cardiovascular diseases
Jul 05, 2024
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If outside activities are reduced due to humid weather with hot and rainy conditions, diabetic patients may experience poor blood sugar control, and complications may worsen due to the seasonal nature of bacterial infectious diseases. Stroke patients can also experience a recurrence of stroke due to dehydration symptoms in the heat and increase the risk of damage to blood vessels in the brain. If you are suffering from high blood pressure and heart disease, your blood vessels continue to change to control your body temperature, which puts a strain on your heart, increasing the incidence of cardio-cerebrovascular disease.
"During the rainy season, temperature and humidity rise together, making it easy to break the endocrine and autonomic nervous system balance," said Lee Hae-ri, an endocrine specialist at H Plus Yangji Hospital. "Chronic patients may not be sensitive to climate change, which may increase the risk of worsening symptoms and complications."
Bacterial infectious diseases also become more frequent in the hot and humid summer. Diabetes patients with weak immunity are slow to heal wounds due to trauma and are also vulnerable to infectious diseases. Diabetes patients with advanced vasopathy should be careful because their condition can worsen or lead to necrosis even with a small wound.
Dehydration in the heat causes insufficient moisture in the body, causing blood circulation disorders and increasing the probability of stroke due to cerebrovascular damage. Usually, stroke is known as a disease that occurs a lot in winter, but it also occurs a lot in summer.
Looking at the number of stroke patients in 2021 by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, the number of patients in the summer (July-October) was higher at 802,650 than the number of 790,154 patients in the winter (January-February, November-December). Previously, in 2017 and 2019, the number of summer stroke patients exceeded the number of winter stroke patients with 808,193 (2017) and 835,254 (2019), respectively (797,125, 2017 / 811,327, 2019).
Diabetes patients become dehydrated when they sweat a lot during the hot and humid rainy season, resulting in decreased blood sugar control, which can lead to high or low blood sugar levels, which can worsen complications. Hyperglycemia can lead to acute diabetic complications such as hyperosmotic hyperglycemic syndrome, and in severe cases can cause coma.
During the rainy season, the air conditioner is operated for a long time for dehumidification, and since the temperature difference between indoor and outdoor is large, our body repeatedly contracts and relaxes to maintain proper body temperature. In this process, hypertensive patients can increase the occurrence of cardio-cerebrovascular disease because their blood pressure continues to fluctuate, putting a burden on the heart
Specialist Lee Hae-ri said, `If you usually suffer from heart disease and symptoms of chest pain and chest tightness persist for more than 30 minutes, you should visit a hospital for emergency measures," he said.
During the humid summer rainy season, diabetics and stroke patients should frequently drink enough water to prevent dehydration. Caffeine drinks and alcohol should be avoided because they cause diuretic effects and dehydration easily. Diabetes patients should avoid high-sugar fruits such as watermelons and grapes as much as possible.
In order to control body temperature, keep the room at 26 degrees Celsius, which is the appropriate temperature, so that the temperature difference is not large, and do not cause sudden changes in body temperature, such as pouring cold water suddenly because it is hot. It is better not to work or move too much during the hot day, and it is necessary to cover the sun with a hat and mass production when going out.
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