The Buckeye Country Superfest is bringing thousands of people to central Ohio this weekend to enjoy two days of nonstop country music, but it also comes on a weekend where extreme heat poses a threat to the health and safety of attendees.
The tailgate outside the stadium starts each day at 10 a.m. and the main act, Zach Bryan, goes on at 9:30 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday. That means a full day of thousands of people hanging out in the sun, likely drinking alcohol. Nicholas Kman, an emergency medicine physician at the OSU Wexner Medical Center, said drinking alcohol in the summer heat can be fun, but also dangerous.
“It is very dangerous,” Kman said. “Alcohol is a diuretic, so it dries the body out, and heat is already going to dehydrate the body. Heat also causes our bodies to dilate and sweat. And so what we tend to see is heat-related illness. Things like people passing out, heat exhaustion and then heat stroke. We also see people who get heat cramps. We'll see sunburn.”
He said heatstroke is a life-threatening heat-related emergency, but there’s also heat exhaustion and heat syncope to worry about.
“We see people who die from heatstroke, quite frequently,” Kman said. “Heat exhaustion is going to cause nausea, vomiting, headache, lightheadedness, flushing, faintness and it's going to just make you feel awful up until the point where you may have to leave the concert. Heat related syncope is when a patient faints or when somebody faints because of the heat, and alcohol and dehydration contribute to that.”
He said ways we can help prevent heat-related illness is to hydrate before and during the event. Drink plenty of water, Gatorade, and be sure to get some electrolytes in there. Also, he said to make sure you’re eating healthy meals before and during so that your body is fueled. He also recommends people find shade and take breaks from the sun. Lastly, he said to drink in moderation.
He recommends waiting until the headliner so that you’re not drinking all day. Kman said this heat is no joke, and he wants everyone to have fun, but to be careful.
“We want people to have fun and enjoy the weather,” Kman said. “During the summer, it looks like it's going to be a hot summer the whole time. So if they can mitigate those things by drinking plenty of fluids, by staying in the shade, by wearing sunscreen, by wearing the loose fitting clothing or a hat, you know, that's just going to help the experience. And it's going to keep us in the emergency department, which is, you know, ten minutes from the horseshoe, from being really busy on Saturday and Sunday.”