2024-08-03 10:04:08
As many as 711 people in Spain died during July 2024 as a result of the extreme heat that the country experienced, according to data published on Friday by the Health Center of Carlos III.
⚠️ With two days left in July, we already have 625 deaths to extreme heat this summer 2024. The regions with the highest percentage are Zamora, Lleida and Soria with more than 3% characteristic . They are followed by Zaragoza and Teruel. #oladecalor #mace
🌐 pic.twitter.com/70SPLGuJna– MACE App (@calormace) August 1, 2024
In many cases, it is the elderly with pre-existing health conditions who lose their lives due to this heat exposure, a cocktail of meds and heat acting in negative and often unexpected ways.
Advertising
It is estimated that about half of the drugs distributed in pharmacies can be affected by heat waves and require special attention. That’s 7,500 according to the Spanish Society of Pharmacists.
In most cases these already require refrigeration in normal weather, so be sure to always check the prescriptions.
Then there are medicines that although properly stored can have negative effects on human health during heat waves.
Advertising
First, it is important to understand how the body handles heat and strives to maintain a good body temperature of 36.5 to 37C.
To cool down, the body either sweats (it escapes from the skin to cool the body) and it closes the blood vessels under the skin (to bring warm blood closer to the skin so it can release heat).
During the heat wave 🔥, many drugs 💊 interfere with the body’s processes of temperature loss or increase directly, warns Pablo Caballero, to @Farmaceuticos_.
https://t.co/wpmYkQ0loT– Pharmacy (@CFarmaceutico) August 2, 2024
However, a number of different drugs can disrupt the effectiveness of this complex by reducing the body’s ability to sweat or reducing blood flow to the skin. They can also cause dryness, and some can make the skin sensitive to sunlight, leading to rashes or sunburn.
Advertising
Below are eight types of medicine that you should be careful of taking during heat waves.
Heart medications: Diuretics, beta blockers, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) and antiplatelets.
Antidepressants: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) and tricyclic antidepressants.
Antipsychotics for mental health problems: risperidone, quetiapine, haloperidol, olanzapine
Central nervous system stimulants for ADHD: dextroamphetamine, methamphetamine and methylphenidate.
Anticholinergics for Parkinson’s disease and overactive bladder: benztropine, oxybutynin and tolterodine.
Antihistamines for seasonal allergies, insect bites, and bee stings: diphenhydramine.
Decongestants for common colds and allergies: pseudoephedrine, phenylephrine, oxymetazoline nasal spray.
Dopaminergic, also for Parkinson’s disease: carbidopa and levodopa.
Of course, in most cases it is important that people taking any of these medications continue to do so regardless of the weather, but it is more important than ever that you take precautions to stay cool, hydrated and out out of the sun during a heat wave.
Now onto something completely different. Ibiza is having an unusually quiet summer so far for tourists, and hoteliers and shopkeepers aren’t sure what the main reason is.
Two things come to mind. First of all, the vacation destination of the rich and famous costs less for the average Joe Tourist.
A regional government study found that the main complaints tourists on the Balearic island have are Ibiza’s high prices (47 percent), costing around €196 a day and €1,662 in total for the holiday.
And in high season it reaches another level, as holidaymakers pay around €1,000 for two nights in a three-star hotel.
Ibiza is not the place it used to be, I remember you were able to get a ticket on the day and it was the most expensive like 55 euros, now the tickets are charged and it’s crowded and people save every year only for a great sea. beach day haha that you kill.
– Ben read (@Benreadddd) July 27, 2024
Do you want to imitate some Hollywood celebrities and world famous DJs? Two Italian influencers soon found the hard way of access to the traditional beach club set them back €200 for sunbeds and the obligatory bottle of champagne, and another €200 for lunch.
The second reason that may affect the unmet need of tourists in the peak season is the recent protests against mass tourism.
The big ones are in Barcelona, Tenerife and in Palma in the neighborhood of Mallorcabut Ibiza has also made its own demonstrations against the impact that tourism has on the lives of its inhabitants.
Protest against overcrowding in the es Vedrà square in Ibiza in front of hundreds of touristshttps://t.co/BwzvBl2jrZ
– Diario de Ibiza (@Diario_de_ibiza) July 30, 2024
In fact, last Monday, twelve protesters gathered at the famous es Vedrà Lookout site calling for a change in the travel model.
However, there is no evidence yet that the negative media coverage of Spain’s massive tourism protests has deterred tourists from coming this summer, so perhaps the eye-watering prices are largely to blame.
Wow! Ibiza is the most expensive coastal area in Spain for housing, with prices exceeding €6,000 per square meter! Check out the full report at: https://t.co/od3y8MMQnT
– ibiza house (@ibiza_haus) August 2, 2024
Even though the summer season is not over, and the Olympic Games may be part of the low numbers, the head of Ibiza and Formentera’s Hospitality Association Miguel Tur told the Spanish news agency EFE that “the market can be corrected”.
Does this mean that Ibiza has been taken over too expensive for your own good? If you ask the thousands of people who work there and are forced to live in cars because they can’t afford to rent a small house, the answer is definitely a resounding yes.
READ MORE: Spain’s Balearics struggle to fill job vacancies due to high rents
#Meds #avoid #heatwaves #Ibizas #quiet #summer