GREEN LAKE (NBC 26) — Many counties in northeast Wisconsin saw extreme heat on Monday, including Green Lake and Fond du Lac counties.
- A local doctor said heat can cause issues like heat rash, heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke.
- Experts recommend staying hydrated, staying out of the sun if possible, and using sunscreen.
- Neighbors in Green Lake said they're staying cool in the extreme heat.
- The video shows a doctor's advice and neighbors beating the heat.
Marie Harkness and her husband Steve live in Texas most of the year but spend summers in Green Lake.
"We come up in the summertime to get away from the heat—the real heat, like the three-digit heat," Marie Harkness said.
They’re no stranger to extreme heat and came prepared to the lake on Monday.
"We have sunscreen, plenty of water, and I've got an umbrella that I'll be using," Harkness said.
Dr. Elizabeth Strittmatter, a family medicine doctor with SSM Health, said there several health issues that can come with heat, including heat rash (which Dr. Strittmatter says looks like bumps on the skin), heat cramps in the abdomen, and heat exhaustion.
"[Heat exhaustion] is a little bit more severe, and people will feel weak or sometimes nauseated," Dr. Strittmatter said.
But, Dr. Strittmatter said the most severe danger is heat stroke.
"That's a medical emergency," Strittmatter said. "That is a failure of the body to regulate temperature, and patients can be confused and can die. It can be very serious."
Luckily, Dr. Strittmatter said there are a few ways to prevent those outcomes.
"Staying well hydrated is very important, and staying inside at the peak of the day," Strittmatter said.
Dr. Strittmatter said it's also important to protect the skin.
"Sunscreen is important...a lot of times we think about it just for preventing sunburn, but this the skin is the largest organ in the body," Strittmatter said. "And so, if it gets burned, and it's injured. It's unable to regulate temperature as well as one of its main functions."
Neighbors I spoke with in Green Lake say they’re ready to stay cool.
"Maybe if it’s too hot, I’ll jump the water," said boater Joe Morales.
