Heatwave: In emergency rooms, more than 100 visits per day are linked to the heat

The use of heat-related emergency care has increased in France since the return of high temperatures in August, the French public health agency noted on Wednesday, August 13, with already more than 100 visits to emergency rooms each day.

"The first observed health impacts highlight that heat is a health risk for all age groups," the public health agency emphasizes in an initial health assessment of the consequences of the new heat wave.

This began on August 8, with a large part of France on orange alert, and has clearly intensified this week, with several departments moving to red alert , particularly in the Southwest.

Although it is far too early to assess the effects of this heatwave in terms of deaths, Public Health France can already measure the use of emergency care for disorders directly linked to the heat: dehydration, heat stroke, etc. It uses an indicator, called iCanicule, which is based both on visits to emergency rooms in hospitals and consultations with SOS Médecins.

"The use of care for the composite health indicator iHeatwave has been increasing since August 8, with more than 100 visits to emergency rooms and around thirty SOS doctors consultations observed daily," notes Public Health France.

The problems don't just affect older people, who are more vulnerable to heat waves. The increase is even more marked among 15-44 year-olds, "mainly due to hyperthermia or heat stroke," according to the agency.

At this level, heat-related emergency room registrations are nevertheless far from reaching their level of July 1st, the peak of the previous heatwave, with more than 300 visits across France. On the ground, professionals contacted refrained for the time being from mentioning a massive effect of the heat, emphasizing the need for more perspective.

There is "no saturation of services or intensive care units linked to the heatwave to date" and "no significant excess mortality observed" , reported Dr. Anne Geffroy-Wernet, president of SNphare, the National Union of Hospital Anesthesiologist-Resuscitators, while the high temperatures are expected to last several more days in the country.