It has been a terribly hot summer, with both high temperatures and high humidity. Beijing Weekend talked to Fu Si, director of the Chinese Medicine Spleen and Lungs Department at the Sino-Japanese Friendship Hospital, about how to prevent heat exhaustion and other common summer health problems.

According to the doctor, summer is a time when people's yang energy comes outside of the body, which makes circulation and metabolism very active. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) warns people of three possible harming factors in the season: one, excessive heat in the hottest period of the summer; two, possible cold when one stays in a cool place to avoid the heat, and three, humidity throughout summer time. The emphasis of health maintenance this season is to protect one's yang energy from getting exhausted, or hurt by the cold.

Heat stroke and cold

If one walks under the scorching sun, or works in intensive heat, or plays in a poorly ventilated room, he or she is at risk of heat stroke. But if one gets under an electric fan when he is sweating, or sleeps when the air conditioner is set at a low temperature, or works, plays too hard or gets too tired in highly chilled environments, he or she may catch a cold. This sensitivity to temperature is especially common for old people and children, who are likely to then develop chronic bronchitis, asthma or a bad cold and fever.

Therefore one should avoid staying in high temperatures for a long time, and they should take measures to beat the heat, but modestly. For example, drinking tea, lotus leaf dew, green bean soup or watermelon juice can dispel heat and quench one's thirst.

Alimentary canal diseases

These problems include acute inflammation of the intestinal tract, food poisoning and dysentery.

The summer heat makes bacteria reproduction very fast and food can be easily infected, increasing the chance of acute stomach and intestinal problems.

People have a lot of chances to dine out during the summer. But some venues have poor hygiene conditions, or sell infected food or drinks, which can lead to stomach and intestinal problems.

To prevent these problems from happening, one should avoid dining at places with poor hygiene, disinfect food utensils regularly and take some preventive medicines with them if necessary.

Hepatitis A

This disease infects people from the alimentary canal and is one of the most common infectious diseases of the season. Once people contract Hepatitis A, they will have a poor appetite, a dislike of oily foods, lack of strength, nausea, vomiting and a yellowing of the skin. Getting a Hepatitis A vaccine and using caution will help prevent the disease.

Gallbladder and pancreas diseases

Spicy foods, alcohol, oily foods and humidity can combine to create gallbladder stones and pancreas inflammation, especially in the summer.

To prevent these problems, people need to avoid the above-mentioned habits and have a balanced diet.

Air conditioner syndrome

Low temperatures in air conditioned rooms cause the sweat glands and sebaceous glands to shrink, which can lead to blocked blood circulation and nervous adjustment function disorder. The symptoms include discomfort caused by air conditioners, such as a fear of cold, muscle pain, weakness and headaches. Another problem is infectious diseases, which are caused by unventilated indoor air and an increased number of viruses and bacteria. These could lead to a cold and pneumonia. A third possible problem is allergies: epiphytes and mites hidden in air conditioners can enter the respiratory tract and cause cough, asthma, swollen skin and itching.

To prevent air conditioners from causing problems, people should take care not to turn them to lower than 20 degrees Centigrade. They should also keep the indoor air fresh by opening the windows regularly and disinfecting indoor air. Lastly, people should clean their air conditioners regularly.

(China Daily 07/29/2005 page8)