The rising temperature in St. Louis can cause one of the summer''s most preventable injuries, heat exhaustion.

"The type of heat injuries we get aren''t just heat cramps or complaints about being hot," said Joseph Primrose, MD, emergency room physician at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. "We receive more heat exhaustion or heat stroke victims who think they can handle these temperatures."

Heat stroke is the result of the body''s inability to cope with heat. Initial signs of heat stroke are heat rash, cramps, nausea, and dizziness. If these symptoms go untreated they can develop into dehydration, which can be mild to severe. Symptoms that develop into vomiting or blacking out need to be treated by a physician immediately.

The public has become more aware of the heat-related illnesses that occur in the summer time and the ways of protecting themselves, but no one is immune to dehydration, which seems to go hand-in-hand with heat stroke.

"People who are outside during peak heat hours should be drinking one quart of water for every hour they are outside, " says Dr. Primrose. "People don''t realize how much they sweat when they are out in this kind of heat."

It is also import to not consume excess amounts of alcohol or sodas. These beverages do not hydrate the body he way water does.

Setting a schedule around the heat will help avoid any heat-related illness. The best time to do any physical activity is in the early morning, between 6 and 9 a.m. and in the evening between 5 and 8 p.m.

If you''re outside working in the afternoons, Dr. Primrose suggests, pace your work as much as possible. Pushing your body too hard and too fast in the summer heat can raise your internal body temperature to around 106 degrees.

Athletes in summer training programs need to stay hydrated and have practices in the early morning or late afternoons. This will help to avoid any accidents that could have been prevented due to the heat.

According the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) an average of 350 people die each year due to the effects of heat. Those with the highest risk of fatality due to the intense heat are infants and the elderly who are on medications.

"Many elderly people are on medications and some meds can have harmful effects on their bodies when they''re combined with the heat," says Dr. Primrose. "Anyone taking blood pressure or diabetes medications need to be aware of the risks."

Dr. Primrose also says that there is a major problem, primarily in inner cities, that the elderly do not have access to air conditioning in their own homes. "If you have an elderly family member or neighbor, check on them, make sure they are drinking enough water and that they aren''t doing anything strenuous outside," says Dr. Primrose.

Heat illnesses are easy to prevent. Dr. Primrose suggests wearing loose light colored clothing, staying hydrated, taking breaks in the shade or an air conditioned areas.