VIDEO: Staying Hydrated

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- With the Fourth of July holiday comes some of the hottest temperatures the area has seen this year.

For a holiday that is renowned for outdoor cookouts and boating on the water, it’s important to make sure your body can handle the heat.

You don’t need to look at a calendar to know that summer is here in the Golden Triangle.

Residents are probably used to the heat after living here for some time, but they still know to stay hydrated when being outside for a long time.

“It’s very important to make sure you drink plenty of water, Gatorade, Sportade, Powerade, anything to keep you rejuvenated when you’re out in the sun,” says Ellis.

Many symptoms leading to heat exhaustion and heat stroke can take affect quicker the older you get.

“Older people are more susceptible to getting dehydrated faster than the young, so they go down a little faster. If you’re an older person, you need to stay out of the heat, stay in the air conditioning,” says Ellis.

If you’re on the water drinking beer or any other alcoholic beverage, it’s important that you have enough water to replace to fluids you lose.

“you know, out on the beach or out on the water, drinking, you need to be careful about drinking too much beer or anything like that because you’ll get dehydrated on that,” says Ellis.

Inez Ellis is cooking for twenty five people. That’s why she’s prepared for the worst that the sun has to offer.

“I have sprite, water, plenty of liquids just getting the dinner ready for my family,” says Ellis.

Aside from the obvious drinking water and staying in the shade, some other ways of preventing heat related illnesses are wearing loose, light-colored clothing and using the right amount of sunscreen.