Emergency rooms in Savannah see heat-related, firework injuries over the weekend

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Emergency rooms in Savannah were busier than normal over this long holiday weekend.

Dr. Jay Goldstein who works in the emergency department at Memorial Health says he alone had about 10 patients with injuries related to heat like exhaustion, burns and strokes. He says other doctors also had their hands tied up with similar injuries.

Dr. Goldstein says he felt they had more patients come in compared to past 4th of July weekends.

Besides it being a holiday weekend, he says he also saw an increase in heat injuries from people doing everyday activities.

“I wish I could give you an answer of why, why the preponderance. We definitely saw them coming back in batches. So, people that were out doing their normal routine of exercise and were doing it in groups whether it was bicycling or running, things of that nature. We saw groups come in in different allotments and so it was a pretty significant number this year,” said Dr. Goldstein.

The sun wasn’t the only thing sending folks to the ER. Dr. Goldstein says they saw a few patients with injuries from pointing bottle rockets at each other and holding fireworks as they went off. They had more than dozen people come to the ER with firework related injuries.

St. Joseph’s and Candler hospitals combined had one person injured by fireworks and two patients with heat exhaustion cases.

Folks are most likely putting their fireworks away for now, but this scorching weather isn’t going anywhere soon. Dr. Goldstein encourages folks to stay hydrated with water and electrolytes.

He says if you feel lightheaded or dizzy to get out of the sun immediately if possible.

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