Although the tomato plants and succulents in the garden are thriving in Oklahoma’s warm sunshine, gardeners need to take precautions to keep themselves safe when working in the heat. It’s just as important for gardeners to know how to protect themselves from the heat as it is to know how to treat squash bugs.
As the summer heat intensifies, gardeners need to be aware of the dangers of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Both can be dangerous and require medical attention. Gardeners with heat exhaustion can experience heavy sweating, weakness, dizziness, nausea and an elevated heart rate. These symptoms must be taken seriously, or they can escalate to heat stroke, which is life-threatening. Heat stroke symptoms include high body temperature, confusion, no sweating, rapid breathing, seizures and possibly the loss of consciousness.
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David Hillock is a consumer horticulturalist with Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension.