Every summer I have some version of the same conversation at a cookout. Somebody says it’s hot today, and by the third round, somebody admits they haven’t had water since breakfast. The day feels good, and drinking water starts to feel like a chore instead of something the body needs.

Talking with a few Monument Health physicians about what heat really does to the body changed how I think about those ninety degree days.

What Heat Stroke Actually Does To Your Body

Dr. John Tronnes walked me through what’s happening during heat stroke, and it’s more complicated than I expected. Your internal temperature climbs higher than it should, setting off a chain reaction. “It causes the body’s physiology to do all sorts of weird things, causing it to shift fluid to places where it ought not to be, to try to cool your core temperature down,” he said. “And that’ll lead to low blood pressure, passing out, end-organ damage.”

The tricky part is catching it early. Your body’s main defense against heat is sweat, and the warning sign to watch for is when that stops working. “There will be a point sometimes where the body will stop sweating. That’s oftentimes a bad sign,” Dr. Tronnes said. “And then lightheadedness, black spots in your vision, things like that.”

If that happens to you or somebody you’re with, get out of the heat, get cool, and get fluids in. “If you’re out in the heat and you’re feeling lightheaded, you’re getting kind of black spots in your vision, get to some place cool,” Dr. Tronnes said. “If you can get inside with air conditioning, or if you can get under a shady spot and try to hydrate as much as possible.” If things don’t improve fast, get to an emergency room.

Keeping Kids Safe In The Summer Heat

Kids handle heat differently than adults do, and Dr. Kyle Lemley put the fix in three words. “Hydration, hydration, hydration, really,” he said. Once the sweating kicks in, water alone won’t cut it. “The hotter it is, where you’re sweating more and more, you need to start having electrolyte replacement. So like Gatorade, Powerade, any kind of electrolyte drink is better when you’re sweating like that.”

For younger kids and babies who can’t say how they feel, Dr. Tamra Lemley says the clues show up in smaller ways. “You’re watching for their urine output. Are their diapers as wet as they normally would be?” she said. “Are they going to the bathroom? Is their pee turning a darker color than it normally would be? Are they not wanting to keep playing? Sometimes kids will complain of a headache.”

There’s also a simple way to tell heat exhaustion apart from heat stroke. “The easiest way to think about the difference is: are you sweating or not? Is your skin moist or is it not?” Dr. Kyle Lemley said. “If you’re starting to have headaches and dizziness but you still have moist skin, then you’re at heat exhaustion. If you’re starting to lose consciousness, but you have dry skin for sure, that’s a heat stroke.” Either one calls for an emergency room, since by that point your body can’t fix the problem with a glass of water.

Sunscreen: What Actually Matters

Sunscreen questions come up constantly, and Dr. Kyle Lemley keeps the answer simple. “SPF fifteen to thirty is really all that you need,” he said, noting researchers are still studying whether anything higher actually helps. He also flagged an ingredient worth checking labels for. Dr. Tamra Lemley explained why oxybenzone gets skipped in a lot of kids’ sunscreens. “It can mess with your kid’s hormones, is what they’ve shown in the research,” she said. Still, any sunscreen beats none at all.

For babies six months and younger, sunscreen isn’t an option. “You can’t put sunscreen on babies. So it’s not recommended, period,” Dr. Tamra Lemley said. “So then you’re looking at protective clothing, barrier, sun hats, the long-sleeve swim shirts, sitting in the shade under the umbrella.” She also mentioned something a lot of parents miss: swim shirts wear out after enough washes and stop blocking rays the way they did when new.

None of this means keeping kids inside all summer. It means packing more water than you think you need, watching for the small signs your body and your kids’ bodies give you, and taking those signs seriously. Summer in the Black Hills is too good to spend it worrying, and a little preparation goes a long way.