Struggling to keep their cool

Older Victorians living alone are urged to monitor their health during warmer weather as new data reveals they are most at risk of a heat-related illness.

Statistics from the Victorian Heat Health Information Surveillance System, which monitors the impacts of extreme heat on human health, finds Victorians aged over 64 years are four times more likely than younger people to attend an emergency department during heatwaves.

“As we age we can lose our thirst receptors, so we think ‘not thirsty’ and don’t drink until it is too late.

“Older bodies, those into their 80s and 90s, can be more susceptible to heat, and the body’s natural cooling is not as effective, and with other conditions, this can be very dangerous,” Victoria’s Council on the Ageing chief executive, Sue Hendy, tells DPS News.

According to Ms Hendy, in January 2009, more than 300 older people died of heat stroke as a result of a heat wave before the Victorian Black Saturday bushfires.

She advises elderly Victorians – as well as the rest of the nation’s seniors – to “use the air-conditioner and keep cool”.

“Don’t go out in the heat if you don’t have to. Drink lots of water, even if you think you aren’t thirsty. Don’t exercise in the heat, and that includes the gardening, cleaning… it can wait a day or two,” she says.

Victorian Health Minister David Davis says the effects of heat can kill, encouraging Victorians to keep an eye on their “vulnerable” neighbours and family members.

However, good news comes for aged care and hostel residents who are recorded as the “least likely” of all accommodation types to need medical assistance in the heat.