Doctor it is so hot!! Can I put the AC on for my infant?

Boy! Is it hot in Mumbai! As I write this, the temperature is a not too bad 33° C but due to the very high humidity (70%), the real feel is 38°C!

If we feel so hot, then what about poor babies? Newborns and young infants have

an immature [simple_tooltip style=’text-decoration: underline dotted blue;’ content=’Mechanism by which body temperature is   maintained’]thermoregulatory[/simple_tooltip] mechanism. This is a double whammy so that they cannot bear extreme cold nor extreme heat. When exposed to excessive heat, infants have a higher risk of [simple_tooltip style=’text-decoration: underline dotted blue;’ content=’Sudden Infant Death  Syndrome’]SIDS[/simple_tooltip]

So, in general it is a good idea to cool down the ambient temperature. But a note of caution:

• Do not set the temperature to less than 22° C (a general rule is that an adult wearing thin clothing should be comfortable)
• You can set the timer to control how long the room is cooled but beware that it can get too hot if the AC shuts off too soon.
• Dress your child with light clothes. If you bundle him up too tightly, and should the AC fail, it is possible that the child might develop [simple_tooltip style=’text-decoration: underline dotted blue;’ content=’Excessively high body temperature > 40°C’]hyperthermia[/simple_tooltip]. This can lead to dehydration and rapidly downhill condition unless attended to immediately (unwrap the baby till completely naked and sponge the body with water at normal temperature 28 – 30°C).
• Practice safe sleeping habits.
• Do not place the child’s crib directly in the path of the blast from the AC or the cooler. This can make the baby too cold.
• AC tends to dry up the air and it is even more imperative to apply some sort of moisturizing cream to your baby.

I don’t have an AC. How should I keep my baby cool?

• Don’t worry – It is only since 1902 that AC has been around. Babies have been born and raised for 200,000 years.
• In summer, the dress should be very light, especially in hot countries like ours, and preferably porous cotton, that allows free exchange of heat and air across it.
• You can cool the baby down by showering the baby twice or more frequently than that.
• You can use a cooler if available. Caution: Coolers in areas of high humidity are not good as they quickly become ineffective since the water in the coolers cannot evaporate. If you must use coolers in high humidity, keep one window open.
• Just a simple fan, works wonders! I know, that this was all that was available when we were infants!