When it's hot outside, babies or children who are only a few years old should not be in the sun for any length of time.
This is especially true during the warm hours of the day, between 11 am and 3 pm, says Dan Sandberg, medical director at Närakut Danderyd, Stockholm Region.
He points out that it's great that young children are outside enjoying the summer with their parents - but it should be done with common sense. Dan Sandberg raises a warning finger: young children cannot sweat as well as adults and get hot much faster than adults.
Their smaller bodies heat up significantly faster than a larger body does.
Signs of high temperature
If small children get too high a body temperature, it can be noticeable by them whining, becoming lethargic and perhaps vomiting and, in the worst case, becoming unconscious.
For infants, high heat can be life-threatening.
It's rare, but there are tragic cases where parents have forgotten small children in cars, says Dan Sandberg.
However, he is not aware that the local emergency room has received babies who have become ill from excessive heat.
It has happened that parents have come in with children who have felt unwell from the heat. In these cases, it has been about slightly older children who have become dizzy, tired and who may have vomited. The parents wonder what happened and why the child is feeling unwell.
Unusually
Nor is it common for infants who have become ill from heat to be admitted to the emergency room at Astrid Lindgren's Children's Hospital at Karolinska in Solna.
Not this year anyway. We haven't experienced heat wave effects, but we have had a few children admitted who are on the verge of it, says Katri Sandholm, who is the head physician at the hospital's pediatric emergency department.
Sometimes, however, 1-3 year olds come in who have been in the sun for far too long.
They come in with symptoms such as nausea, headaches, they may also have vomited, become tired or pale, she says.
Protect the child from the sun during the middle of the day.
The child should wear slightly looser clothes and preferably wear a hat.
Children can be completely naked, but should not be in the sun at all.
Make sure the child drinks properly, offer the child fluids or breastfeed.
If the child does not want to drink, give fruit instead, such as a piece of watermelon, or an ice cream cone for older children.
When it's hot outside, parents need to keep an extra eye on their child and react if they don't seem to be feeling well.
Sources: Dan Sanberg, Närakut Danderyd and Katri Sandholm, Astrid Lindgren's Children's Hospital.
