MIDWAY, FL. (WTXL) -- Earlier this week, a baby died after deputies say the 7-week old was left in a hot van in Okaloosa County for hours. It's just another sobering reminder to always check your backseat for kids before exiting the car.
From 1998 to 2016, it's estimated that there have been at least 77 children who have died in Florida from being left in a hot car. This ranks Florida in the top ten for hot car deaths.
"If a child is left behind in a car with the windows turned up, that temperature can rise pretty quickly, so you definitely don't want to leave your kids out in the car," says Gayatri Patel, MD, a doctor in the Tallahassee Memorial Family Medicine Residency Program.
While driving, most of us us use the AC or roll the windows down to keep us cool, but what happens to a car once it's parked? Well, those temperatures can reach 120 degrees. Now, that is hot, and you don't want to be left in there.
But what makes cars heat up so much and so quickly? A lot of it is due to the lack of air flow in a closed vehicle. The sun heats up the air inside, and without any place for the it to escape, it's forced to continue heating, much like an oven. And if left in those hot temperatures for too long, children and adults start having problems.
Those problems come in the form of heat exhaustion and later heat stroke.
When a person going through heat exhaustion, they begin to feel weak, nauseous, dizzy, and will start sweating profusely. When conditions worsen, that's when heat stroke sets in. These individuals become more confused, have a rapid heart rate, and may even lose consciousnesses.
"At some point, it's just your body's natural ability to feel and the inability to adapt and thermal regulate or cool itself," explains Dr. Patel. "So once the temperatures rise, and it' they go above a certain temperature, which is 104 degrees, that's heat stroke for you.
If you see someone suffering from heat exhaustion or having a heat stroke, it's recommended that you help by giving them cold water, and trying to cool them with fans or ice packs.
It's always recommended that parents put their purse, phone, or other important items in the back seat to ensure that babies and children are not left in the car.
