BALTIMORE — Cora Brown worked for a railroad company for years, so mowing the lawn in this heat is no big deal.
"I'm tolerating it well because I'm an outside worker. I know how to hydrate and stay cool, wet towels to the neck occasionally, and drink plenty of water," Brown explained.
But she still recognizes the dangers of exerting yourself on a day like today. That's why she's taking care of this chore for her mother.
"If you feel like you're becoming overheated, take a break, stop. Rest a bit. So that you won't pass out, because it can happen very easily," Brown said.
Dr. Matthew Levy would recommend that advice too; he's an emergency physician at Johns Hopkins.
He often sees patients come in complaining of things like fatigue, dizziness, headaches, having no idea that they're suffering from a heat-related illness.
The heat can also worsen already existing health problems.
Dr. Levy says things like heat exhaustion and heat strokes can turn life-threatening very quickly.
"The longer the period of time where we have sustained periods of heat, the greater the risk is for people. And the more likely we are to see people coming in. So an isolated day here or there is one thing but when you start talking about several days back-to-back-to-back of sustained and continued heat, that's when we begin to see problems," Dr. Levy said.
It's a concern for people who have to work outside all day, like Chris Kadan and his landscaping crew. He makes sure his guys know when to stop.
"We don't push the guys to that extent, where they would have an issue like that. If somebody feels dizzy or hot, they sit down and take a break," Kadan said.
But Kadan says as long as he takes the right precautions, the heat really doesn't bother him that much. He made that clear when we asked him what he planned to do after working outside all day.
"I go home and take a shower and then I'm probably gonna go mountain biking. I like to be outside as much as I can," Kadan added.
Even though the heat wave looks to be ending soon, Dr. Levy says that doesn't necessarily mean we're in the clear just yet. That's because the overnight low temperatures aren't going to fall quickly.
"There really isn't a sufficient period of cooling off of buildings, structures, concrete, asphalt, so in that context it can prolong the overall exposure to heat," Dr. Levy said.
