When the thermometer goes crazy in summer, certain daily habits can be particularly risky for the health of little ones. It is therefore essential to learn to identify these invisible traps in order to adapt our reflexes and protect them effectively against heatstroke.
During periods of heatwave, it is essential to adopt the right actions to protect babies risks linked to high temperatures, such as dehydration or heat stroke. Certain reflexes are essential: remove superfluous items from the stroller to improve air circulation, install a parasol on the stroller or a sun visor in the car, cover baby’s head with a hat, apply sunscreen appropriate to his age and offering broad-spectrum protection against UVA and UVB, offer him water very frequently (even if he does not ask for it) and avoid going out between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., when the sun is the most intense. While these actions are often common sense, other attitudes may seem harmless but are in reality strongly discouraged, because they increase the risk of overheating.
1 – Do not cover the baby’s stroller
The first thing to avoid is covering your baby’s stroller with a diaper to protect it from the sun. Indeed, this widespread practice is particularly misleading. Pediatrician Svante Norgren at Stockholm Children’s Hospital points out that this creates a “furnace effect” or greenhouse effect. In addition, the air does not circulate properly, which prevents good ventilation. As a result, the child has difficulty breathing and “the temperature in the stroller increases considerably”he told the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet. During his tests, the pediatrician found that after an hour and a half, a covered stroller reached 37°C, compared to 22°C for an open-air stroller. That’s a considerable difference of 15°C!
2 – No bottle of milk in the sun or in the heat
Another idea not to repeat: give your child a bottle of lukewarm milk. Under the effect of heat, milk can deteriorate more quickly, thus encouraging the multiplication of bacteria. If your baby does not finish his bottle and it stays in the sun for too long, you should definitely not give it back to him afterwards.
3 – Be careful of the mister in the refrigerator
Furthermore, to cool baby down, parents often use a mister. Certainly, this can be very useful, but for a young child, the spray should not be kept in the refrigerator, because if you spray them with a mist that is too cool, it could cause thermal shock, caused by the difference between the coolness of the water and the ambient heat. It is best to keep the spray in a cool place away from heat, in a cupboard or a temperate room.
4 – Beware of air conditioning or fan
Finally, putting a baby near air conditioning, whether mobile or wall-mounted, is strongly discouraged for the same reason: the risk of thermal shock. Instead, take advantage of his absence to turn on the air conditioning in the house or in his room, in order to freshen the air before his return. Finally, you can also place a fan in the main room without pointing it directly towards the child. Also make sure that he is far enough away from the fan so that he is not tempted to slip his little fingers in there.
5 – Choose the right clothing materials
In hot weather, it is also important not to dress your baby in synthetic textiles or to wear multiple layers of clothing. These artificial materials can worsen irritation on baby’s sensitive skin, already affected by heat and sun. Favor natural fibers (cotton, linen, etc.), which allow the skin to breathe better. And if your child doesn’t like to stay only in diapers during the summer, opt for a short-sleeved bodysuit.
