HEALTH bosses in the south west have issued advice on how to stay safe during the current high temperatures.

NHS England is advising people should be looking out for others, especially older people, young children and babies and those with underlying health conditions.

Advice includes closing curtains in rooms which may face the sun, keep indoor spaces cooler than outdoors.

Health bosses say to drink plenty of fluids and avoid excess alcohol, dress appropriately for the weather and slow down when it is hot.

Main risks from a heatwave are: dehydration, overheating, heat exhaustion and stroke.

Most at risk are older people – especially those over 75 and female and those who live on their own or in a care home.

Others at risk are people who have a serious or long-term illness including heart or lung conditions and some mental health conditions.

NHS England is also warning people who are on multiple medicines that may make them more likely to be badly affected by hot weather to be aware.

Those who find it hard to keep cool such as babies and the very young, the bed bound, those with drug or alcohol addictions or with Alzheimer’s Disease should be monitored as well as people who spend a lot of time outside or in hot places such as those who live in a top-floor flat, the homeless or those whose jobs are outside.

Advice is also to check for signs of heat exhaustion which include: a headache, dizziness and confusion, loss of appetite and feeling sick, excessive sweating and pale, clammy skin, cramps in the arms, legs and stomach, fast breathing or pulse, a high temperature of 38C or above and being very thirsty.

The symptoms are often the same in adults and children, although children may become floppy and sleepy.

If someone is showing signs of heat exhaustion, they need to be cooled down.

To cool someone down, the advice is to follow four steps.

Stay with them until they’re better.

They should start to cool down and feel better within 30 minutes.