No. of heatstroke cases reaches all-time high in July

basroil: "I bet a large portion of the cases would have been prevented if people just ignored setsuden (well, at least prevented until they hit peak use)"

Most elderly I know here hate to use air-conditioning as it is, let alone of the world's third-biggest nuclear crisis. A senior friend of mine got heatstroke and was hospitalized, and did nothing but complain about the air-conditioning in the hospital while in there. Fact is this summer has been hotter than previous summers, and it's harder to cope, air-conditioning and power consumption or not. 9,531 out of 21,000 were elderly, and that's not really a majority in terms of overall number. I'm willing to bet most of the rest were kids out training on the dust fields the schools call play grounds.

Sorry but I fail to see how 9,531 is the "majority" of 21,082 ?

Anyway, take the advice given and drink lots of... WATER (as well as "whatever"...)

FightingViking: Sorry but I fail to see how 9,531 is the "majority" of 21,082

Well, the number of elderly (9,531) represents over 45% (9,531/21,082 = 0.452) of the total number of victims of heatstroke in July. So if the remaining 11,551 (21,082 - 9,531) victims is broken up into two or more categories (say people under 20 years of age and people 21-50 years of age), then the 9,531 elderly individuals would at 45% constitute the majority of victims.

The agency also urged elderly people to switch on their air conditioning.

But the electric companies said to conserve electricity. I bet a large portion of the cases would have been prevented if people just ignored setsuden (well, at least prevented until they hit peak use)

I got heatstroke last week and I felt terrible. Ki wo tsukete everyone.

I know plenty of people who spend an absolute fortune (both in time and monetarily) prancing around trying to stay cool for hours on end every single day... changing their cool biz underpants 3-4 times, special fruit oil baths, alcohol soaked sheets, ionized sweat towels, cold drinks & food, and all kind of other nonsense.

Seriously guys, just put the A/C on 25 and be done with it. It's quicker, cheaper, and ultimately... perhaps more environmentally friendly than going through a bunch of consumer products and frozen snacks & drinks every single day. Please stop prancing around on eggshells like a bunch of fairies.

In order to better prepare for heat stroke you need to drink plenty of water even if you are not thirsty. We hear this so much that we ignore it anymore. We need to drink a lot of water on these hot days and nights especially when the heat index is high with high humidity. By drinking plenty of water we are replenishing exactly what our body needs to keep us cool thus enabling a heart to keep up with the demands of the body's need to pump blood during heat. However the older you are, the more susceptible to heat illness and heat stroke. Eating three square meals daily and exercising regularly and prioritizing sleep can always strengthen your heart.

The highest ever recorded was back in August 2010 when 28,448 people were treated for heatstroke. They (FDMA) only started taking data back in July, 2008.

CrazyJoeAug. 18, 2012 - 04:47PM JST

The highest ever recorded was back in August 2010 when 28,448 people were treated for heatstroke. They (FDMA) only started taking data back in July, 2008.

Yes, but the article clearly states a record for July. The record before that was about 18k.

@basroil

Yes, I know.

Perhaps the best term is a "plurality of victims" or more commonly the most people of any age group (with 3) of victims.

smithinjapanAug. 18, 2012 - 08:32PM JST

Fact is this summer has been hotter than previous summers,

About 0.6C above average if you consider the maximum temperature, compared to 0.5C in 2011. But in terms of average temperature above average, it is actually colder than last year at 2.0C compared to 2.1C. This is of course, in just the Osaka area, but Japan is small enough that weather patters tend to apply to the nation in general. The weather is mostly the same as last year, but the increase in cases is larger than the temperature differences. It is, however, quite close to the energy use difference.

novenachama- and salts remember.

basroil

But the electric companies said to conserve electricity. I bet a large portion of the cases would have been prevented if people just ignored setsuden (well, at least prevented until they hit peak use)

Yes and you do realize that nuclear caused all this mess in the first place?

Don't Japanese senior know when not to go out?

I mean why you see the need to go out in this kind of weather at your age?

OK.... and the percentage of people that are 65 or older in Japan reached a record in July also.... there just might be a correlation.