I can't believe it... my niece got heatstroke after just a 30-minute walk 🥺

Hello 😊

This is Hikaru.

Actually, yesterday, my younger niece got heatstroke 🥺

I heard they went for a walk to a nearby park early in the morning with her dad and her two sisters. Even though they said it was early, it was past 7:00 AM. They each brought a water bottle, wore sun hats, and headed to the park, which is about a 10-minute walk away.

At the park, they spent time in the shade watching the dogs that were out for walks. Since it was already getting hot even in the morning, they decided to head home after about 30 minutes.

It was hot even in the shade, so her dad said he kept telling the girls, "Make sure you drink from your water bottles often."

They said neither of them seemed unusual on the way home, but when they arrived, my younger niece's face was bright red. She was sweating profusely and saying, "I'm hot..." so her older sister panicked, laid her down in the living room, and cooled her body.

They turned the air conditioning up high to cool the room down properly and put an ice pack on her neck. They also made several makeshift ice packs using small plastic bags from the supermarket and cooled her armpits, the insides of her thighs, and her ankles.

They also made sure she drank plenty of water to prevent dehydration.

Fortunately, she was able to respond clearly and remained conscious, so it seems it was only a mild case of heatstroke. Still, when I think that it could have become serious if they had noticed later, I'm really glad they caught it early.

The older niece didn't seem to have any issues, but just in case, they wrapped a cold towel around her neck and had her drink plenty of water.

Luckily, my younger niece's fever went down after about an hour, and she started saying, "The air conditioner breeze is cold," so they removed the makeshift ice packs, kept only the ice pack, and let her rest a little longer.

It is said that because children are shorter than adults, they are more strongly affected by the heat reflected from paved roads. It might also have been a factor that not much time had passed since they woke up, so their bodies weren't fully accustomed to the heat yet.

Actually, they were supposed to come visit our house yesterday, but that was canceled because she got heatstroke.

However, once she started feeling better, she apparently started saying, "I want to see Grandpa and Grandma!"

But since it was impossible for her to travel by train in the heat while still recovering, they managed to persuade her to give up on the idea.

Heatstroke in children can be life-threatening if it goes unnoticed. I'm really glad that this time, the family noticed the change early and was able to respond immediately, so it didn't turn into a major incident.

When my mother contacted me to say my niece had heatstroke, I was a bit shocked 😲, but I'm relieved she recovered safely.

Even so, when children feel unwell and then start feeling better, they immediately want to "play!" or "go out!", so it's quite a struggle to calm them down 😊

The hot days are still continuing.

Please, everyone, don't push yourselves too hard, make sure to stay hydrated and take plenty of breaks, and please be very careful about heatstroke (._.) bow

Hikaru