PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Mother Nature is continuing to turn up the heat on the Pittsburgh region, which makes it very important to take precautions to stay safe.

“We’ve seen a number of people come in with heat exhaustion. We have had no cases of heat strike so far,” UPMC Mercy Hospital Chief Of Emergency Services Dr. Mike Turturro said.

He also said this kind of sun and heat can make for heat casualties.

“This can happen to anybody. Obviously, people that are on chronic medications, particularly heart medications, endocrine medications, diabetics, people that are on psychiatric medications are particularly prone, infants are particularly prone, elderly are particularly prone, but it can happen to just about anybody,” Dr. Turturro said.

Other steps you can take to beat the heat are to not smoke, avoid caffeine and dress light and in light colors. However, staying hydrated may be the most important thing.

“What you need to do first is make sure you’re drinking and drinking a lot of water. That is really key,” Dr. Turturro said.

But, how can you tell if you or someone else is starting to be overcome by the heat?

“Might start to feel a little bit dizzy, little light-headed. You might be a little noxious and your body might start to profusely sweat and just not feel right overall,” Dr. Turturro said.

Dr. Turturro said the difference between heat exhaustion and heat stroke is very narrow.

While you should be able to recover from heat exhaustion easily, heat stroke can be fatal.

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