If you’re over 65 – or know someone who is – it’s important to take high temperatures seriously.
Experts say that three factors combine to increase older adults’ risk: Biological changes that occur naturally with age, higher rates of age-related chronic diseases and greater use of medications that can alter the body’s response to heat.Old man drinking water during a hot day. The human body has two main mechanisms to cool itself: Sweating and increasing blood flow to the skin.
Chronic conditions that are more common in old age, most notably cardiovascular disease and diabetes, can exacerbate these issues. A diseased heart isn’t able to pump as much blood, further reducing blood flow to the skin. And if the nerves become affected in people with severe diabetes, the body might not receive the message that it needs to start sweating. .
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