August 6, 2025 • 8 mins
Cincinnati and the Tri-state region see their fare share of scorching days. It's not just the heat... it's the humidity, as we say. When the National Weather Service issues heat advisories, its a serious warning about taking the heat seriously. Dr. Stephen Feagins has answers to the questions we had about how to take care of oneself and one's family.
Dr. Feagins is the VP of Medical Affairs for Mercy West Hospital in Cincinnati.
Dr. Feagins is the VP of Medical Affairs for Mercy West Hospital in Cincinnati.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This week on iHeart Sensy. In this weltering Midwest heat,
the triple digit temperatures are dangerous to the human body.
That when the National Weather Service issues a heat advisory,
it's a warning to take these conditions seriously and take precautions,
which means planning ahead, and we're going to try to
help you do that today. My guest is the medical
director of the Hamilton County Public Health Agency, doctor Stephen Figans.
(00:23):
He's providing answers today to questions you may be asking
about how to take care of yourself and your family
in this heat and later. Trains are a big part
of Cincinnati's success, and the tracks are everywhere, Some are gated,
some are not, and all can be dangerous when drivers
aren't paying attention. My guest is Alan Stouder. He's the
director of Operation and Life Saver with important safety information,
(00:44):
and he explains today why something so large and so
fast and.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
The train just glid you can hardly hear it.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
And how that makes them even more dangerous for distracted
drivers and pedestrians. Now on Iheard Sensey with Sandy Collins
here every week at this time bringing you the best
of the tri State Great organizations that make the difference
here in our hometown, like my first guest, doctor Stephen Figins.
He's a long time posian and clinical leader. He serves
(01:12):
as the VP of Medical Affairs for Mercy West Hospital.
He got his medical education at the University of Tennessee,
after earning a chemical engineering bachelor's degree and then a
marketing MBA. His job is to advise the Board of
Health and the Health Commissioner about local and national public
health issues, and doctor Fagins is here today to answer
(01:33):
questions about the heat. Doctor Fagins, thanks for coming on today.
Let's first talk about the heat advisory from the National
Weather Service. It's in effect, the warning of those temperatures
one hundred degrees or more. This advisory really is meant
for anyone at any age. But when you're young, you're strong,
you feel like you're kind of bulletproof and you're not
(01:54):
going to be affected. But I know that younger people
are at risk. Especially it's important for folks with heart
or lung diseases, the very young and the elderly. So,
doctor Figgins, do you think that people with those types
of medical issues actually kind of know that this heat
advisory is especially important for them to pay attention to.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Well, we've tried to reinforce that, you know, when they
see their physician, of course, but absolutely, And the older
you are and the more sensitive you can be to
both heat and humidity, and so it's the combination that
really causes you to have difficulty not just getting rid
of the heat, but also breathing and.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Your heart has to pump more.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
And so if you're starting at a lower level, you're
going to have more difficulty. If you think about that,
when you're out there working harder in the outside, what
of the.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
First feelings that you're getting too overheated? What do people feel?
Speaker 3 (02:50):
Yeah, you start to feel kind of fuzzy thinking, and
so you're like, what's up with this? I'm you know,
I'm not hearing the heat and stuff, and I'm walking
around I'm just not thinking. Right, that's heat illness. That's
one of the beginning things of heat onness. So your
brain is telling you it needs to cool off and
it needs to get more fluids. And so that's the
big thing is hydrating.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Hydrating with cool fluids. It doesn't really matter. Water is
as good as anything, if not best.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
Sometimes adding carbohydrates or certainly caffeine can do more harm
than good in your fluids.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
You want to hydrate well.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
And then what is the next level heat illness and done?
Speaker 3 (03:26):
What? Yeah, well it's heat illness and then heat stroke.
And so that's the thing you want to most definitely
avoid because that's when your body starts shutting down. And
we sometimes see that in athletes. And you know, we're
about to go into the local high schools doing towadays
in early August, and so they start those five days
not even putting pads on, because the pads don't let
you get rid of heat. They're acclimating, and they're doing
(03:49):
early morning and then doing a little bit more and
more out there in the heat to sort of acclimate
to that. And so when you're sweating profusely, that's actually
a pretty good thing. That's the way your body's supposed
to work. If you stop sweating, bad thing. If you
start to feel fuzzy, thinking, bad thing. I mean, certainly,
if you're just not a feeling rider, you begin to
get nausea, that's the beginnings heat illness, going to potentially
(04:12):
heat stroke, and you need to get into an air condition.
You can't treat heat on this outside, you have to
get to an air conditioned place. The city actually has
various air conditioned places. We even have in mass gathering,
you know, like concerts and things like that, big trucks
that are air conditioned that we put put on in.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
They had one of the Bengals players, at least one
already before noon was reported that they had some heat
related difficulty at their beginning practices. So it affects no
matter how healthy you are, it can't affect you well.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
And certainly the bigger you are, the more you can.
You know, you're not dissipating heat as much. But every
athlete we look at that a lot. Even when we
had the FIFA Club World Cup, we were very concerned
about heat. We monitored that and you know, we had
opportunities to water breaks for the heat. And ultimately, if
you have that heat on and it's going to heat stroke,
(05:05):
you got to get an ice water and we have
ice water baths kind of standing by many sporting events,
including I'm sure the Benkles that you can't cool off
without getting into the ice water bath.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
What should people do to get ready to go to
these outdoor events where they're going to be out for
a sustained amount of time.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Yeah, I know.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
Make sure you've got plenty of fluids or have access
to plenty of fluids.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
That's number one. Remember that alcohol is not one of
those fluids.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
It's going to help you replenish what you've lost, especially
and neither is really caffeine and plenty of water, plenty.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Of cold water.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Does iced tea count as water?
Speaker 3 (05:39):
Not really, it's got a water caffeine.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
If you drink a bunch of ice tea, what do
you want to do?
Speaker 3 (05:44):
You want to go urinate because of the caffeine, and
so you kind of lose what you gained.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
And so water counts as water, well.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Said, sounds good. And then does the color of clothing
really make a difference white versus darks?
Speaker 2 (05:58):
We can ask that a lot.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
You know, historically you think of white clothing. It actually
is how loose the clothing is. So tight fitting clothing
of any color doesn't dissipate, doesn't let you sweat anywhere
near loose fitting clothing. So if you look in climates
where heat and humidity are there a lot they wear
a lot of loose fitting things.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
And it really have all kinds of colors.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
And so i'd be thoughtful about that really, you know,
tight fitting thing or something like that. You want something
loose that allows you to sweat underneath and dissipate heat.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Pretty well, doctor, I don't want people to get to
this point, but what happens at the end stage if
you don't treat the heat stroke? What happens what can do?
Speaker 2 (06:35):
That could be deadly.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
Yeah, there's an entire institute called the Corey stream or institute.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
It talks about heat onness.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
You know, we've had, unfortunately, some issues you know, in
the past where an athlete who was beginning to develop
those symptoms simply didn't stop or wasn't allowed to stop,
and can certainly it can be deadly.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
And of course kind of a side issue here is
kids in hot cars. We've seen so many of those
this summer and it's devastating. That's just got to be
agony for the kids.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Well, it is. It's agony for anything like a pet
or a kid.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
One hundred and twenty hundred.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
And thirty degrees that's not physiologic, and so absolutely even
rolling the window down, the cars get incredibly hot and
that's not a place for any kid or anybody to
be for any length of time.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Yeah, check that backseat, put your purse back there, your
belongings in case you forget that. The kids in the
back seats, especially if they fall in asleep on the
way somewhere you're going. It's easy to do. Parents get
really busy. Any final thoughts there, doctor Figins.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
Now, just hydrate, you know, and don't forget alcohol is
not hydration. If you want to enjoy your alcohol, you know,
a big old thing of cold water between each each
veer is not a bad way to go.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
And just make sure you hydrate and enjoy, enjoy the events.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
Doctor Stephen Figins the medical director for the Hamilton County
Public Health Agency. There is a ton of useful information
at their website for you and your family at hamiltoncountyhealth
dot org. Coming up. And we always tell people, you know,
you don't walk down the middle of ice seventy five
or anything like that because they know better.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
Well.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Railroad tracks are the same way. It's private property and
if you're on it, it is trespassing.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
This is iHeart. Sinsey
This week on iHeart Sensy. In this weltering Midwest heat,
the triple digit temperatures are dangerous to the human body.
That when the National Weather Service issues a heat advisory,
it's a warning to take these conditions seriously and take precautions,
which means planning ahead, and we're going to try to
help you do that today. My guest is the medical
director of the Hamilton County Public Health Agency, doctor Stephen Figans.
(00:23):
He's providing answers today to questions you may be asking
about how to take care of yourself and your family
in this heat and later. Trains are a big part
of Cincinnati's success, and the tracks are everywhere, Some are gated,
some are not, and all can be dangerous when drivers
aren't paying attention. My guest is Alan Stouder. He's the
director of Operation and Life Saver with important safety information,
(00:44):
and he explains today why something so large and so
fast and.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
The train just glid you can hardly hear it.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
And how that makes them even more dangerous for distracted
drivers and pedestrians. Now on Iheard Sensey with Sandy Collins
here every week at this time bringing you the best
of the tri State Great organizations that make the difference
here in our hometown, like my first guest, doctor Stephen Figins.
He's a long time posian and clinical leader. He serves
(01:12):
as the VP of Medical Affairs for Mercy West Hospital.
He got his medical education at the University of Tennessee,
after earning a chemical engineering bachelor's degree and then a
marketing MBA. His job is to advise the Board of
Health and the Health Commissioner about local and national public
health issues, and doctor Fagins is here today to answer
(01:33):
questions about the heat. Doctor Fagins, thanks for coming on today.
Let's first talk about the heat advisory from the National
Weather Service. It's in effect, the warning of those temperatures
one hundred degrees or more. This advisory really is meant
for anyone at any age. But when you're young, you're strong,
you feel like you're kind of bulletproof and you're not
(01:54):
going to be affected. But I know that younger people
are at risk. Especially it's important for folks with heart
or lung diseases, the very young and the elderly. So,
doctor Figgins, do you think that people with those types
of medical issues actually kind of know that this heat
advisory is especially important for them to pay attention to.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Well, we've tried to reinforce that, you know, when they
see their physician, of course, but absolutely, And the older
you are and the more sensitive you can be to
both heat and humidity, and so it's the combination that
really causes you to have difficulty not just getting rid
of the heat, but also breathing and.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Your heart has to pump more.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
And so if you're starting at a lower level, you're
going to have more difficulty. If you think about that,
when you're out there working harder in the outside, what
of the.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
First feelings that you're getting too overheated? What do people feel?
Speaker 3 (02:50):
Yeah, you start to feel kind of fuzzy thinking, and
so you're like, what's up with this? I'm you know,
I'm not hearing the heat and stuff, and I'm walking
around I'm just not thinking. Right, that's heat illness. That's
one of the beginning things of heat onness. So your
brain is telling you it needs to cool off and
it needs to get more fluids. And so that's the
big thing is hydrating.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Hydrating with cool fluids. It doesn't really matter. Water is
as good as anything, if not best.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
Sometimes adding carbohydrates or certainly caffeine can do more harm
than good in your fluids.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
You want to hydrate well.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
And then what is the next level heat illness and done?
Speaker 3 (03:26):
What? Yeah, well it's heat illness and then heat stroke.
And so that's the thing you want to most definitely
avoid because that's when your body starts shutting down. And
we sometimes see that in athletes. And you know, we're
about to go into the local high schools doing towadays
in early August, and so they start those five days
not even putting pads on, because the pads don't let
you get rid of heat. They're acclimating, and they're doing
(03:49):
early morning and then doing a little bit more and
more out there in the heat to sort of acclimate
to that. And so when you're sweating profusely, that's actually
a pretty good thing. That's the way your body's supposed
to work. If you stop sweating, bad thing. If you
start to feel fuzzy, thinking, bad thing. I mean, certainly,
if you're just not a feeling rider, you begin to
get nausea, that's the beginnings heat illness, going to potentially
(04:12):
heat stroke, and you need to get into an air condition.
You can't treat heat on this outside, you have to
get to an air conditioned place. The city actually has
various air conditioned places. We even have in mass gathering,
you know, like concerts and things like that, big trucks
that are air conditioned that we put put on in.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
They had one of the Bengals players, at least one
already before noon was reported that they had some heat
related difficulty at their beginning practices. So it affects no
matter how healthy you are, it can't affect you well.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
And certainly the bigger you are, the more you can.
You know, you're not dissipating heat as much. But every
athlete we look at that a lot. Even when we
had the FIFA Club World Cup, we were very concerned
about heat. We monitored that and you know, we had
opportunities to water breaks for the heat. And ultimately, if
you have that heat on and it's going to heat stroke,
(05:05):
you got to get an ice water and we have
ice water baths kind of standing by many sporting events,
including I'm sure the Benkles that you can't cool off
without getting into the ice water bath.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
What should people do to get ready to go to
these outdoor events where they're going to be out for
a sustained amount of time.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Yeah, I know.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
Make sure you've got plenty of fluids or have access
to plenty of fluids.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
That's number one. Remember that alcohol is not one of
those fluids.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
It's going to help you replenish what you've lost, especially
and neither is really caffeine and plenty of water, plenty.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Of cold water.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Does iced tea count as water?
Speaker 3 (05:39):
Not really, it's got a water caffeine.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
If you drink a bunch of ice tea, what do
you want to do?
Speaker 3 (05:44):
You want to go urinate because of the caffeine, and
so you kind of lose what you gained.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
And so water counts as water, well.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Said, sounds good. And then does the color of clothing
really make a difference white versus darks?
Speaker 2 (05:58):
We can ask that a lot.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
You know, historically you think of white clothing. It actually
is how loose the clothing is. So tight fitting clothing
of any color doesn't dissipate, doesn't let you sweat anywhere
near loose fitting clothing. So if you look in climates
where heat and humidity are there a lot they wear
a lot of loose fitting things.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
And it really have all kinds of colors.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
And so i'd be thoughtful about that really, you know,
tight fitting thing or something like that. You want something
loose that allows you to sweat underneath and dissipate heat.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Pretty well, doctor, I don't want people to get to
this point, but what happens at the end stage if
you don't treat the heat stroke? What happens what can do?
Speaker 2 (06:35):
That could be deadly.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
Yeah, there's an entire institute called the Corey stream or institute.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
It talks about heat onness.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
You know, we've had, unfortunately, some issues you know, in
the past where an athlete who was beginning to develop
those symptoms simply didn't stop or wasn't allowed to stop,
and can certainly it can be deadly.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
And of course kind of a side issue here is
kids in hot cars. We've seen so many of those
this summer and it's devastating. That's just got to be
agony for the kids.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Well, it is. It's agony for anything like a pet
or a kid.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
One hundred and twenty hundred.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
And thirty degrees that's not physiologic, and so absolutely even
rolling the window down, the cars get incredibly hot and
that's not a place for any kid or anybody to
be for any length of time.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Yeah, check that backseat, put your purse back there, your
belongings in case you forget that. The kids in the
back seats, especially if they fall in asleep on the
way somewhere you're going. It's easy to do. Parents get
really busy. Any final thoughts there, doctor Figins.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
Now, just hydrate, you know, and don't forget alcohol is
not hydration. If you want to enjoy your alcohol, you know,
a big old thing of cold water between each each
veer is not a bad way to go.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
And just make sure you hydrate and enjoy, enjoy the events.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
Doctor Stephen Figins the medical director for the Hamilton County
Public Health Agency. There is a ton of useful information
at their website for you and your family at hamiltoncountyhealth
dot org. Coming up. And we always tell people, you know,
you don't walk down the middle of ice seventy five
or anything like that because they know better.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
Well.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Railroad tracks are the same way. It's private property and
if you're on it, it is trespassing.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
This is iHeart. Sinsey
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