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As Minnesota enters another hot summer, St. Olaf College Assistant Professor of Nursing Emily Carroll shares practical tips for staying safe in the heat — including advice on preventing heatstroke, protecting skin, and preparing future nurses to care for a warming world.

How does summer weather affect skin health beyond sunburn, and what daily habits can help protect it? 
For all of its charms, Minnesota summers sometimes appear incompatible with human life. Between high ultraviolet (UV) radiation days, humidity, and mosquitoes, summer weather can pose a challenge. While it’s hard to ignore a painful sunburn, the longer-term effects of overexposure to UV radiation (the sun!) may not be as easy to see or feel right away. UV radiation can cause melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer that accounts for the majority of skin cancer deaths. UV radiation can also cause premature skin aging, cataracts, and even immune suppression as damage to the skin weakens its defenses. Protecting children from sunburn is especially important as serious sunburns in childhood are a well-known risk factor for melanoma. 

Luckily, we have plenty of options for protecting ourselves from UV radiation. We can block out the sun by wearing a brimmed hat or staying in the shade, especially at peak UV times. Mineral sunscreens and loose but darker, tight-woven clothing can also create physical barriers on the skin to protect against UV rays. Traditional sunscreens with a sun protection factor of at least 30 SPF applied every two hours — more frequently if you’re sweating or swimming — are often the best bet for enjoying the outdoors while protecting your skin. 

What are some tips for exercising safely in the summer heat? 
Hot weather in Minnesota often hits pretty fast and hard. After our long winters, we are keen to get out there and soak up the heat. However, it is important to remember that our bodies can take up to several weeks to acclimate to the heat. Take some time to let your body remember what summer feels like. It is always a good idea to take advantage of cool mornings and long summer evenings for more intense activities. If you do need to be out in the heat, be sure to stay very well hydrated and take breaks. Play the long game: don’t go out there too hard or too fast. 

Why is staying hydrated especially important during the summer months? And how can people tell if they’re not drinking enough water? 
Heat and humidity can be a dangerous combination if you are not well-hydrated. Luckily, our bodies come with a built-in color gauge to let us know if we’re drinking enough water. If your urine is a medium-to-dark yellow, you need to drink more water! Aim for pale yellow urine, especially during exercise. Our kidneys do a really marvelous job of balancing our fluids and electrolytes; we can show them love by giving them plenty of fluids. If you’re engaging in extended periods of exercise or exertion in the heat, you’ll also want to replace the salt in your sweat with salty snacks or an electrolyte drink or packet. 

How can people recognize the signs of heat exhaustion or heat stroke? 
Heat exhaustion is like a “tornado warning,” while heat stroke is the actual tornado. Heat exhaustion usually looks like heavy sweating, weakness, dizziness, and nausea. Heat exhaustion is reversible and can be treated with rest, cooling down, removing tight or sweat-soaked clothing, and plenty of fluids. If heat exhaustion isn’t treated, it may progress to heat stroke — the tornado. Heat stroke means your body temperature is above 104 degrees​​ Fahrenheit and comes along with behavior changes, hot skin, and decreased sweating. A body just cannot cool down. It is a medical emergency and requires immediate medical care: call 9-1-1 and move the person to a cooler place. EMS will give you further directions about how to cool the person down. 

What are some signs that your body might be overheating even if you don’t feel thirsty or sunburned?
Feeling hot, sweaty, sunburned, and thirsty are reliable indicators it is time to get a break from the heat. However, humidity — even on cloudy days — can make it harder to realize just how hot you are. With humidity, sweat doesn’t evaporate as effectively or cool your body as well as it is designed to. This leads to hotter body temperatures that can speed up sweating, which raises your risk of dehydration without necessarily sending the same thirst signals. Look out for muscle cramps, rapid pulse/heartbeat, or intense sweating as signs that you are hotter than you realize. Time to get out of the heat!

How does your work at St. Olaf prepare future nurses to care for Minnesotans?
St. Olaf nursing students certainly learn about the pathophysiology and nursing care for patients with heat stroke. Minnesotans are in good hands if they find themselves in an ER this summer with a heat-related illness with a St. Olaf nurse caring for them. 

However, St. Olaf nurses do not just respond to illness, they work to understand and prevent it as well. Ole nurses learn about how climate change is leading to hotter, more humid summers in Minnesota and around the world. In the Public Health Nursing class I teach, we learn about the Planetary Health movement and how nurses can advocate for policies that prevent further climate change. Ole nurses also learn how we can advocate for structural changes to protect vulnerable Minnesotans, such as migrant farm workers or construction workers who are most affected by our changing climate. Ole nurses also always, always, always wear sunscreen. 

Carroll teaches public health and public health nursing at St. Olaf and works part-time as lead nurse practitioner at HealthFinders Collaborative, a rural clinic serving underserved populations. Her clinical focus includes primary care, nontraditional care settings, opioid use disorder, and adolescent sexual health. She began at St. Olaf in 2018 and taught pediatric nursing from 2021 to 2024. Her research centers on nursing education and expanding health care access in rural areas. Originally from Toronto, she now lives in Northfield with her family.

For media inquiries, contact St. Olaf Director of Public Relations Kat Dodge at dodge2@stolaf.edu.