Gaby
In July and August, the cardiovascular, digestive, urinary, and nervous systems come under strain. The risk of intestinal and seasonal infections rises, allergies flare up, and the chance of sunburn and heat stroke increases. Who is most at risk, and how can you handle the typical summer health threats?
Cardiovascular System
Summer poses significant health risks for the elderly, because one of the organs most vulnerable to heat is the heart. In hot weather, the body must work harder to pump blood, which becomes thicker and less oxygenated as fluids are lost. For people with cardiovascular disease, summer can be a real test of endurance. Potential problems include vegetative-vascular crises (dystonia), fainting, hypoxia, hypertension, heart attack, or stroke.
For people with heart conditions, heavy physical exertion in the heat is dangerous, and long trips, flights, and sudden changes in climate are best avoided. Many people with cardiovascular problems are sensitive to weather shifts, which can cause rapid fatigue and sudden drops in energy. Fluctuations in atmospheric pressure, humidity, and temperature can trigger headaches and abrupt rises or falls in blood pressure.
To avoid feeling drained, follow standard heat-care advice: reduce activity, take regular breaks, wear loose breathable clothing made from light natural fabrics such as cotton, linen, or silk, drink plain water to prevent dehydration, and eat foods that help replenish fluids and supply potassium and magnesium. Maintain a balanced intake of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats (roughly 50–55%, 12–14%, and 20–30%, respectively).
Hypertension
Blood pressure readings above 139/89 mmHg are considered dangerous. Factors that push blood pressure up include too much salt, high-calorie processed foods, and too little dietary fiber and essential micronutrients. An imbalance between calcium and magnesium can also contribute to hypertension: when magnesium is low, calcium tends to deposit on the walls of blood vessels, the heart muscle, and the kidneys. Include both minerals in your diet; foods like seaweed, currants, watermelon, red peppers, carrots, and beets are helpful.
To improve circulation, eat more vegetables, fruits, and fresh juices. Antioxidants such as vitamins C, E, and beta-carotene support vascular health. Potassium-rich foods for the heart include spinach, beans, peas, potatoes, tomatoes, apricots, raisins, plums, apples, and bananas. Olive oil can help lower cholesterol. In summer, swap red meat for fatty fish to get heart-healthy polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Refined carbohydrates encourage the buildup of harmful fats that damage blood vessels and the heart. Prefer carbohydrates from plant-based, fiber-rich sources like whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and berries. Balance animal and plant proteins during the summer: an imbalance can worsen blood lipid levels, narrow blood-vessel lumens, impair blood flow, and raise the risk of ischemia, stroke, and heart attack.
Intestinal Infections in Summer
Heat and increased humidity encourage bacteria, viruses, and parasites to multiply. When these pathogens enter the body via food or drink, they can cause intestinal infections. Common risk factors include unsanitary food establishments, improper food storage, unwashed fruit, poor personal hygiene, and insect carriers—especially flies. E. coli, for example, is a frequent cause of so-called “traveler’s diarrhea,” though many different pathogens can produce similar symptoms.
The most common summer intestinal infections are dysentery, salmonellosis, parasitic infections, and rotavirus or enterovirus infections. Symptoms include abdominal pain and cramps, fever, diarrhea with mucus or blood, nausea, and vomiting. Diarrhea can also stem from other causes: stomach, pancreas, or liver disease; stress; poisoning; or overheating.
A traditional remedy for diarrhea is a decoction made from roasted sunflower seeds. Pour two cups of boiling water over a cup of seeds, simmer until half the water evaporates, and strain the decoction. For children with diarrhea, give one tablespoon one to three times a day; adults can drink half a cup. For mild stomach upset, mix one tablespoon of potato starch with water and take it. Because many different causes can produce similar symptoms, have a doctor monitor treatment.
Diarrhea
Nausea and abdominal pain can sometimes signal something more serious than indigestion: they can be signs of a heart attack. In women this may go unnoticed because the lower part of the heart sits nearer the diaphragm and can cause pain that feels like stomach discomfort. If stomach pain comes with anxiety and a sense of fear, consider the possibility of a heart attack and get an ECG; women may lack other classic signs such as severe chest pain or left-arm numbness.
If you have high blood sugar or cholesterol, excess weight, or hypertension, recognize those as heart-attack risk factors and pay close attention to these symptoms. Diarrhea can also indicate food poisoning. Mushroom poisoning, for instance, may cause diarrhea, vomiting, headache, dizziness, cold sweat, limb cramps, vision disturbances, extreme thirst, and abdominal pain. Even edible mushrooms can upset the stomach if they are old or improperly prepared.
To avoid mushroom poisoning, don’t eat unfamiliar mushrooms or ones that are wormy, overripe, or stored for more than a day. Poisonous species include fly agaric, death cap, the satanic mushroom, false chanterelle, and bitter bolete; non-edible or poorly prepared edible mushrooms can also cause harm. Eat milk caps immediately after harvesting; improperly prepared chanterelles, black trumpets, and saffron milk caps may cause mild poisoning. Avoid mushrooms with a sweet aroma or the smell of radish or rotten potatoes.
Seasonal Infections
Summer is also peak season for contagious viral diseases such as mumps, measles, and hepatitis. Mumps mainly affects children during the summer months. This so-called “camp infection” spreads among children via respiratory droplets when an infected child coughs or sneezes. The parotid gland swells and becomes painful, often with a high fever. Vaccination, given twice in childhood as part of the national schedule, builds immunity.
Measles is another summer viral respiratory infection. Early symptoms include high fever, sore throat, cough, runny nose, and red eyes; a rash then appears on the face and along the hairline, and small white spots may show inside the mouth. Vaccination is the primary prevention method: the first dose is given at one year, the second at six years. Adults who never had measles or were not vaccinated should consider vaccination.
Hepatitis can also spread in summer and can be life-threatening. The virus may enter the body via the fecal-oral route through contaminated food or water. Key signs of hepatitis include yellowing and itching of the skin, pale stools, and dark urine. Hepatitis affects the liver. Prevent it with vaccination, good hygiene, safe sexual practices, and avoiding sharing personal items like manicure tools, toothbrushes, and razors.
How Heat Affects Children
Infants have immature thermoregulation, which makes them more susceptible to heat stress. While heat can worsen chronic illnesses in adults, children are more vulnerable to overheating and dehydration. Symptoms and prevention of heat stroke are the same as for adults: watch for elevated body temperature, rapid pulse and breathing, loss of consciousness, seizures, and even possible heart failure. Stay in a cool environment during the hottest part of the day to prevent severe consequences.
Heat also raises the risk of dehydration in children. Fluid loss through sweating can lead to overheating—particularly dangerous for infants. Warning signs include decreased appetite, lethargy, weakness, nausea, and vomiting. Heat can worsen chronic conditions (especially cardiovascular ones) and increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome. Keep children hydrated, dress them in light natural fabrics, cool them if necessary, and seek medical help when needed.
Expectant mothers also need care in the heat: pregnancy and high temperatures do not mix well. Avoid overheating for the mother and the fetus; stay hydrated, wear loose clothing, and avoid sun exposure during peak hours. Heat raises discomfort and the risk of complications. Severe fluid loss can reduce breast-milk production and may harm fetal development. Overheating can lead to fetal hypoxia and, in extreme cases, miscarriage. Heat also worsens swelling and varicose veins.
Headaches
A pulsating headache often signals elevated blood pressure. To help reduce blood pressure include garlic and beets in your diet; these foods can assist blood-pressure control. Base meals on vegetables, fruits, and seafood. But summer headaches can also come from low blood pressure, anemia, or weakness due to poor nutrition. Eat four to six small meals a day; fasting in the heat can trigger headaches.
Delaying snacks can lead to migraines, dizziness, and nausea—chew ginger to ease nausea. For hypotension and dizziness, a decoction of walnut shells can help. Drinks that may relieve heat-related headaches include coffee, sweet compote made from dried fruits, or lemon tea. Vitamin C helps maintain blood-vessel elasticity and tone in the heat, supporting circulation.
If every action feels difficult, eat 50 grams of any nuts and 100 grams of dried fruit—raisins, apricots, dates, or prunes. Dark grapes, because of their melanin pigment, may help with weather sensitivity. To prevent headaches, soak a handful of raisins in cold water overnight and drink the infusion in the morning. Foods that help weather sensitivity include vegetables, whole-grain bread, blueberries, olive oil, beans, and walnuts. Reducing salt intake is not harmful for most people.
Nervous System
Extreme temperatures can affect the nervous system, causing fatigue, irritability, sleep disturbances, and reduced cognitive performance. Some people feel down or moody in summer; others wake up tired and drowsy. Magnesium, found in the same foods recommended for heart health, can help ease so-called “summer blues.”
Find magnesium in rye bread, buckwheat, walnuts, oatmeal, bran, cocoa, and spinach. The brain also needs lecithin, which is present in grains, brewer’s yeast, peanuts, soy, eggs, liver, and fish. Short-term physiological stressors—cold exposure, fasting, and movement—can stimulate immunity. Physically active people with a naturally active lifestyle tend to be less sensitive to heat and weather changes. To help the nervous system cope with heat, stay physically active and include manageable exercise in your routine.
While chronic stress weakens immunity, short-term stress can boost resistance and endurance. For nervous-system health, keep work and diet in balance. Excessive work pressure, persistent low mood, and constant worrying can worsen chronic illnesses in the heat and provoke psychosomatic and respiratory conditions.
Angina
Sudden temperature changes can stress the immune system: stepping from heat into cold air from air conditioning, eating cold food, or drinking icy beverages. With a weakened immune system, the body struggles to fend off the staphylococci and streptococci that cause angina; these bacteria spread via respiratory droplets. A chronic tonsillitis or a persistent infection in the body (for example, untreated dental cavities) can allow bacteria to re-infect the throat.
In upper respiratory infections, mucus production in the lungs increases and the body expels it by coughing. Because coughing helps clear viruses, do not suppress it with medication without a doctor’s advice. In some cases, doctors prescribe expectorants that thin mucus and aid bronchial clearance. Keep air cool and stay hydrated to prevent mucus from drying out. When expectoration is difficult, use moist compresses for wet coughs; for dry coughs with sore throat, gargle to clear tonsillar mucus.
Do not apply heating compresses during fever, and never place them over the heart (front or back). When treating children’s coughs, do not add alcohol or vinegar to compresses because of poisoning risk. For dry coughs and sore throats, gargle with water mixed with lemon juice (1 teaspoon of juice per glass of water) or with herbal infusions: steep 2 tablespoons of calendula, eucalyptus, chamomile, coltsfoot, or oak bark in 0.5 liters of boiling water for an hour, strain, and use for gargling; do not swallow the gargling liquid.
Runny Nose
Summer is a season of viral infections, and a runny nose is often the first sign. Nasal mucus helps neutralize infection at the throat and lung entry points because it contains virus-fighting substances. To keep mucus from drying out, stay hydrated, ensure clean cool air, and moisturize nasal passages with mucus-thinning drops. Rinse the nose with saline solution every hour. To prevent drying of the nasal mucous membranes, use an emollient—an oily liquid with mild disinfectant properties.
Do not use antibiotic solutions as nasal drops. Drink raspberry, linden, chamomile, rosehip, or ginger tea with lemon. Seek plant-based immune boosters—adaptogens—such as echinacea, eleutherococcus, ginseng, Chinese lemongrass, and rhodiola rosea. Avoid excessive use of antibacterial soap and very hot water, which strip the skin’s natural lipid barrier and reduce its protective function.
Rinse with cool water and avoid aggressive hygiene products. A sterile environment can harm immune development by preventing natural hardening and exposure to benign bacteria. A runny nose is protective and will resolve once it has done its job. For viral rhinitis, avoid vasoconstrictor drops like Nazol, Galazolin, Sanorin, or Naphthyzin: they may relieve congestion briefly but can later cause rebound swelling of the nasal mucosa. Those medications are intended for non-infectious rhinitis, not allergic rhinitis.
Hay Fever
The clinical term for the seasonal illness caused by an allergic reaction to plant pollen is pollinosis, or seasonal allergic rhinitis. Allergy symptoms appear when the immune system overreacts to pollen. Hay fever causes watery eyes, nasal congestion, sneezing, coughing, and fatigue. It can resemble a cold but is treated with antihistamines rather than decongestants alone.
Signs of pollinosis:
- Unlike a cold, which often lasts about a week, hay fever persists longer;
- Itching in the nose and nasopharynx is constant in pollinosis, and headaches may occur;
- Sneezing in allergic rhinitis tends to be continuous rather than in bursts like a cold;
- There is no fever with hay fever;
- Symptoms in pollinosis are usually worse in the morning than in the evening;
- Symptoms of allergic rhinitis or conjunctivitis lessen indoors and worsen outside;
- Rainy weather often improves symptoms for allergy sufferers even when they go outside.
To choose the right medication, distinguish between a runny nose and hay fever. An untreated cold can lead to complications, while an allergic reaction can ruin an outdoor trip. During peak pollen times, stay inside until about 11 a.m. When you go out, wear sunglasses to protect your eyes from irritating bright rays, and wash your face after returning indoors.
Allergies and Asthma
Allergy sufferers and people with asthma should wash their faces, eyes, and noses with water after coming in from outdoors. Pollen in the respiratory tract is harmful for both groups, so do regular wet cleaning in the home and keep windows closed with fine mesh screens; keep those screens slightly moist if possible. Start antihistamine pills (for example, loratadine or cetirizine), nasal sprays (such as azelastine), and appropriate eye drops about a week before pollen season begins. Avoid perfumes and cosmetics during flare-ups.
Move potted houseplants to a balcony in summer if possible, because some houseplants share antigens with outdoor pollen and may worsen symptoms. Natural triggers include lily of the valley, lilac, jasmine, rose, chrysanthemum, aster, chamomile, and calendula. Among houseplants, primrose, violet, begonia, geranium, dieffenbachia, ivy, and ficus can be problematic. Flowering plants, insect bites, and certain foods can intensify allergic reactions.
Avoid foods that cross-react with pollen allergens. For example, bananas can cross-react with ragweed pollen; avocados and melons can also cross-react; cereal grains can cross-react with grass pollen; apples with alder; walnuts with hazelnuts; peanuts with potatoes and soy. Seasonal allergies may appear as skin rashes (hives) or shortness of breath and can trigger asthma attacks. Allergists identify causes with tests and prescribe treatment.
Urinary System
Resort vacations and travel often come with romantic encounters. Despite frequent warnings about protection and contraception, summer brings annual spikes in sexually transmitted infections: chlamydia, genital herpes, gonorrhea, and syphilis. Symptoms that should prompt medical attention include genital itching, pain during urination, fever, headaches, weakness, unusual discharge, rashes, sores, or ulcers. Seek medical care promptly in such cases.
After laboratory tests, doctors prescribe individualized treatment courses that must be completed fully; do not stop therapy when symptoms disappear. Successful treatment shows up in follow-up tests. Also be mindful of other urinary conditions in summer: prolonged swimming in open water, exposure to cold air from air-conditioning, and dehydration can harm the kidneys and bladder. Change out of wet swimwear promptly.
Cystitis is a common seasonal bladder infection. Cooling of the pelvic area can lower local immunity and allow pathogenic microflora to activate. Cystitis is often called “wet-swimsuit disease.” In heat, heavy sweating concentrates urine, and without enough fluid intake inflammation can develop in the bladder. A sedentary lifestyle that causes pelvic stagnation can also contribute to cystitis.
Sunburns
First aid for sunburn: cool the skin with a compress or a cool shower, apply aloe vera or panthenol to the burned area, and drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration. You can apply sour cream or rub the area with half a cucumber. Some people dab a reddened face with vodka (do not use this on children) or spread a beaten raw egg; these are traditional remedies. Take ibuprofen or acetaminophen for pain and avoid further sun exposure on the burned skin.
For a refreshing post-sun facial mask, blend three grapes, half a banana, two tablespoons of pure aloe vera pulp, and two tablespoons of vegetable oil. Apply for 15 minutes, then rinse. Treat burned skin with an emulsion made from dried dandelion roots: crush the roots, mix with oil at a 1:10 ratio in an enamel container, steep under a lid for a day, warm in a water bath for an hour, and strain. Apply this cream three to four times a day.
A strong, freshly brewed tea also soothes sunburns—soak a towel and make a compress. Do not pop blisters, which can lead to infection. If a blister breaks, rinse with soap and water, apply antibacterial ointment, and cover with a sterile bandage. Prolonged sun exposure and overheating weaken the immune system. To enjoy summer, avoid excessive tanning and seek shade during peak heat.
