Catawba County's temperatures are higher than normal for this time of year. At the same time, the Department of Social Services is out of money to help with cooling bills and fan giveaway programs have yet to begin.
DSS has a fund to help people pay cooling bills. The same pool of money helps cover heating costs in winter and this year's extremely cold temperatures drained the emergency fund.
When the money isn't depleted, the DSS Crisis Intervention Program offers money only to people who are in immediate danger of having power turned off.
DSS doesn't know when to expect the money, but WorkFirst Supervisor Karen Heffner said last year's crisis intervention dollars didn't come in until August.
Catawba County Social Services tries to serve everyone who needs assistance, she said. But when money is tight, the department tries to funnel cooling bill money to families of the very young, the elderly and people with medical conditions.
Those are the folks who are most at risk for heat-related health problems such as heat stroke.
People without air conditioning have been calling Heffner and local ministries in hopes of finding fan giveaway programs.
The Council on Aging expects to give out electric fans this year, but staffers aren't sure when the money to buy them will be available.
"Everybody is waiting for the fans," said the Rev. Robert Silber, who heads up the Eastern Catawba Cooperative Christian Ministry.
He said people who want to donate fans could do so at the ministry. The agency will distribute the fans based on who needs them most.
Greater Hickory Cooperative Christian Ministry has barrels of water and Gatorade available for people who need to escape the heat, as well as a shower ministry that has grown more popular since the mercury started rising. Folks also can sit in the air-conditioned lobby to escape the sun.
Burning up? Know how hot is too hot
This time of year, local thermometers normally reach 85 to 86 degrees, said Karen Yaussy, the county's emergency management coordinator. The county has seen a number of 90-plus days so far this month. And today is only the second day of summer.
Humidity, however, has not been higher than normal, Yaussy said.
It is not until highs reach close to 100 degrees and humidity gets above 50 percent that health problems become likely.
Among them:
Heat stroke: An excessively high body temperature of 106 or higher. A person having a heat stroke will have hot, dry skin instead of being sweaty. "That's a need-to-go-to-the-emergency-room kind of situation," Yaussy said. "People do die of that kind of thing."
Heat cramps: Muscle spasms, usually in the legs and sometimes in the abdominal area. A person having heat cramps will still be sweating. The cramps usually go away if the person drinks some water and sits in a cool place.
Other effects of overheating: High blood pressure, exhaustion, accelerated heart rate and fuzzy thinking.
What NOT to do: People who feel symptoms of overheating, should not drink beer or other alcoholic beverages. They also should stay away from caffeine. Those will dehydrate people further.
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