U.S. already seeing deaths from young kids being left in hot cars

According to statistics from kidsandcars.org, 16 children already this year have died from vehicular heatstroke after being left in hot cars for too long. Eighty-seven percent of children who die from vehicular heatstroke are under the age of three.

Dr. Curtis Sandy with Portneuf Medical Center said heatstroke is the number one cause of death from children being left in hot temperatures. He said a child’s body temperature can reach 104 or 105 degrees quickly, and that’s dangerous.

“Children within that temperature range have a really hard time regulating their body’s temperature,” Sandy said. “They don’t sweat as easily as adults do, their brains are not mature enough to be able to handle the change in temperatures and so they can end up becoming unresponsive.”

“Eventually the brain can essentially fry to a certain extent because the temperatures get so hot and the brain loses its ability to function,” Sandy said.

Sandy said being in excessive heat is dangerous for anyone, but children are more susceptible because their bodies can’t adapt as quickly as adults.

A child’s body overheats about three to five times faster than an adult’s, so when their internal body temperature rises, children can’t regulate their core temperature as easily as adults. This can cause their systems to shut down quickly.

Sandy said it doesn’t take long for a child’s body temperature to skyrocket. We wanted to see just how quickly a car can heat up so we used a thermometer. The outside temperature was about 81 degrees. We placed the thermometer inside of a car for 10 minutes. Temperatures rose quickly, and after just ten minutes, the temperature on the inside of the car was about 127 degrees.

That’s what the fire department said every minute matters. Taking a few extra minutes to double check a car could make all the difference. Kim Stouse with the Pocatello Fire Department and EMS said that’s also why it’s important to call 9-1-1 if you see a child alone inside a car. The quicker the child gets help, the better off they are.

Stouse said sometimes parents forget their kids and it’s often due to a big change in schedule.

“Statistically, the contributing factors to kids left in cars is a change in daily routine,” Stouse said. “Most parents out there would say ‘I would never forget my kid in a car,’ but when you have a change in habit, like maybe a lot of stress or you’re sleep-deprived, maybe you forget to drop the kids off at daycare, maybe you’re going a different way and it just changes your routine.”

Sandy recommends putting personal belongings, like a cell phone or a wallet, in the back seat with your child. That way, you have to open the door to get your items out and you’ll remember the kid is still inside too.

Both Stouse and Sandy said the most important thing people in the community can do is call if they see any situation like this.