The American Academy of Pediatrics recently offered new guidelines to prevent heat illness and injury in young athletes. Before your kids start training for fall sports, please be sure to check out the following recommendations for those hot, humid days. By following the proper guidelines, you can ensure you and your athlete have a great – and safe – season!

• Ensure trained staff are available on-site to monitor for and promptly treat heat illness.
• Educate your children on how to prepare for the heat to improve safety and reduce the risk for heat illness.
• Allow children to gradually adapt to physical activity in the heat.
• Offer time for, and encourage sufficient fluid intake before, during and after exercise.
• Modify activity given the heat and limitations of individual athletes.
• Provide rest periods of at least two hours between same-day contests in warm to hot weather.
• Limit participation of children who have had a recent illness or have other risk factors that would reduce exercise-heat tolerance.

For more on this topic, please visit CHOC’s pediatric health library at: http://www.choc.org/healthlibrary/topic.cfm?PageID=P02822