The Health Promotion Administration (HPA) has warned parents against leaving their children in hot cars, after a toddler left in a car in Taitung County died due to heatstroke on Friday last week.
The one-and-a-half-year-old was left unattended in a jeep by her 11-year-old sister, it said.
As summer temperatures in Taiwan often rise above 35°C, vehicles parked outside can heat up quickly, the agency said.
Children and infants are not as adaptable as adults to changes in temperature and could die from heat-related complications if left in hot vehicles, it said.
Even if the windows of a vehicle are left slightly open, the temperature inside can reach 51°C in a matter of minutes, the agency said, adding that a child’s body overheats three to five times faster than an adult’s.
Fifty-five percent of child vehicular heatstroke deaths were caused by people unknowingly leaving children in vehicles, it said.
HPA Director Wang Ying-wei (王英偉) urged parents to always “check the back seat before leaving the vehicle, keep car keys out of children’s reach and keep children’s daily schedules in mind” when parking their vehicles, even for a short time.
The HPA urged parents to make sure they always open the back door to check the back seat before leaving, keep the vehicle locked when parked and teach children not to play hide-and-seek in vehicles.
Parents could ask teachers to immediately inform them if their child does not arrive at school on time, it said.
It also urged people to watch out for signs of heat injury, either in themselves or relatives, such as high body temperature, red and dry skin, rapid heartbeat, headache, dizziness and light-headedness, nausea and vomiting, muscle weakness, cramps, confusion, disorientation, staggering and unconsciousness.
People showing heatstroke should leave the hot environment as soon as possible, try to bring down their body temperature by loosening clothes, using a fan or wiping the skin with a cool, wet towel, the agency said.
It also advised drinking cold water with salt, as well as seeking medical attention.
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