A hot car turns into an oven for kids and pets Health Tips

A hot car turns into an oven for kids and pets

With last weeks tragedy of a toddler dying in Homestead, possibly after being left in a daycare centers van, its time for an urgent refresher on cars and summer heat.

Parked cars can quickly become ovens this time of year, posing a major health threat to children who are forgotten or play in unattended vehicles. Pets also are vulnerable.

Last year, 49 children in the United States died of vehicular heatstroke, according to KidsAndCars.org, a nonprofit child-safety group in Leawood, Kan. More than 500 children have died in hot cars since 2008.

No parent wants to think this could happen to him or her, but its easier than you might think to forget about a child in the back seat. Stress, sleep deprivation and changes in routine are part of the job description of parenthood, but they can stack the deck against overtaxed brains, sometimes with tragic results.

Taking a few common-sense precautions can make the difference between life and death, according to child health and memory experts.

What people dont understand is this is not a failure of love, said Janette Fennell, founder of KidsAndCars.org. This is a failure of our memories.

Memory lapses

About 35 to 40 children die every year because they were accidentally left behind by otherwise good parents whose memories failed them, said David Diamond, a neuroscience professor in the psychology department at the University of South Florida in Tampa. The problem is particularly acute in Florida and Texas.

Diamond has studied more than 50 such cases and in all of them there was a change in routine or a perfect storm combining stress and sleep deprivation. Ive never seen a case where a parent simply forgets and theres nothing out of the ordinary going on, he said.

The brain under stress often defaults to a memory system that lets people perform habits like going to work without stopping at day care without thinking about them, Diamond said.

Sue Hubbard, a spokeswoman for the American Academy of Pediatrics and a pediatrician in Dallas, said she discusses the issue with parents during the summer months. A few years ago, a child in her groups practice died in a hot car.

Children are more vulnerable to heatstroke than adults because their bodies cant yet regulate temperature as well. Heatstroke, also known as hyperthermia, is different from having a fever, Hubbard said.

In the summer, caregivers should take children out of the car no matter how quick the errand, she said. Dont even go into the cleaners and leave your child in the car, because it can happen in minutes.

Hubbard advises parents who discover their child is missing to check the pool first if they have one, then the car. Dont be afraid to dial 911. A child whos suffering from heatstroke needs emergency medical attention.

New car features

KidsAndCars.org wants technological solutions such as having cars come equipped with seat-belt reminders for all seating positions. Weight-sensing devices in the back seat then could do double duty to alert parents when a child is still strapped in, Fennell said.

In June, two children died in Indiana after getting into the trunk of a 2000 Chevrolet Malibu in an incident eerily similar to one that happened in 2009, she said. KidsAndCars.org renewed pressure on General Motors to recall its 2000 and 2001 vehicles with trunks and retrofit them with an internal glow-in-the dark trunk release, a federally mandated standard for all cars sold or leased in the United States since 2002.

They said they were being the leader and they did nothing, Fennell said of GMs early promises after 11 children died of trunk entrapment in its vehicles in the summer of 1998. KidsAndCars.org offers a trunk-release kit for $9.99 on its website.

GM has no plans to recall and retrofit its older-model cars with the releases but does educational outreach through the organization Safe Kids Worldwide, Washington, D.C.-based spokeswoman Carolyn Markey said.

We think awareness is an important component in this issue, Markey said. Its an avoidable tragedy and were trying hard to help parents.

Safety tips

To protect your child from car-related heatstroke:

• Put something in the back seat that you will need when you arrive at your destination. It could be a cellphone, purse or briefcase, and its placement should force you to see your child.

• Keep a teddy bear or toy in the front passenger seat any time a child is riding in the back to remind yourself.

• Have your day-care provider agree to call you at all your phone numbers if your child doesnt show up for day care. Better yet, call the provider yourself and confirm that your child has made it if you have a change in your drop-off routine.

• Keep your car locked with the windows up even in the driveway and garage. Keep keys and key fobs out of reach since children are adept at getting in.

Virtual Health Center