Closed vehicles quickly become dangerous to children and pets

http://www.nhtsa.gov/ Every week, it seems, we can find another sad reminder of how dangerous it is to leave children or pets unattended in closed-up vehicles.

This has been a particularly troubling and sad year for accidental heat-related deaths. More than 21 children have lost their lives after being left in a closed car this year, according to the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration (NHSTA), more than twice as many reported at this time last year.

As a parent, I cannot imagine the scope of loss one would feel—particularly because these accidental deaths are completely preventable.

Simply put, there is no safe time to leave a child or pet in a closed up vehicle.

“Child deaths from heat stroke have occurred as early as February and with an outside temperature as low as 57 degrees F,” said Julie Brown, a child safety program specialist for Oakwood Healthcare.

In fact, internal temperatures can rise as much as 20 degrees in as little as 10 minutes if conditions are sunny and can reach 110 degrees, even if it is only about 60 degrees outside.

Sometimes, these are accidents—a child wanders away and gets into a car unnoticed. Other times, parents think there is no danger and leave them when they are running into a store for just a few minutes, or that keeping the windows open a crack will help. It does not. Even with the windows cracked open temperatures, on average, increase by 19 degrees in the first 10 minutes, 29 degrees in 20 minutes, 34 degrees in half an hour and 43 degrees after an hour or more.

Brown recommended taking additional precautions, including:

· locking your car and securing the keys so that your kids can't get to them

· warning children about playing in the car by themselves without adult supervision

· installing a trunk release mechanism

· taking your children out of the car first, before you unload your car

· making sure that child care providers and day care workers have a plan to make sure that kids aren't left in their vehicles

 Heat, in general, is an underappreciated health risk, according to Dr. Daniel Sheesley, director of trauma and emergency medicine at the Oakwood Hospital & Medical Center. He said it’s important to stay hydrated and limit your exposure to the sun and intense heat of stifling summer days.

“If you go out in the middle of the day in direct sunlight it puts a lot of stress on your body,” said Sheesley. “Get to areas with cooler temperatures. There are certain facilities, like malls, that are cooler if individuals don’t have proper resources like air conditioning.”

Symptoms of dehydration and heat stroke include: nausea, dizziness, lightheadedness, general weakness, or headache and chest pain. Everyone has different tolerance levels but some, like the very old or very young, can experience symptoms in 20 minutes.

“If they’re older and frail or are young ones, then they can lose vital fluids much quicker than we do,” he said.

Help spread the word on July 31, which has been dedicated as National Heatstroke Prevention Day. Joine the conversation with @NHTSA and #heatstroke.