Osheaga 2024: How to stay safe amid 40°C heat, fungal infections, festival flu and other health concerns

This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Contact a qualified medical professional before engaging in any physical activity, or making any changes to your diet, medication or lifestyle.

Festivals like Montreal's Osheaga Music and Arts Festival brings lots of joy to Canadians in the summer. However, they're also hot spots for heat-related health problems and infections that can quickly damper a weekend meant to be full of fun.

Earlier this week in California, health officials warned that thousands of people who attended a music festival in May might've been exposed to a dangerous and potentially-deadly fungus. According to Global News, the California Department of Public Health released a statement on Monday indicating cases of Valley fever are linked to the Lightning in a Bottle festival, which ran from May 21 to 25 in Buena Vista Lake, Calif.

While roughly 20,000 people attended the festival, health officials have identified five attendees who have Valley fever, an infectious disease caused by the Coccidioides fungus, which grows in the state. Three people were hospitalized and there could be additional cases linked to the festival.

Contracting Valley fever might be a rare situation for Osheaga festivalgoers who are on the other side of the continent, but that doesn't mean people shouldn't be aware of other health risks associated with festivals. Festival flu is one problem that can arise amongst people who attend outdoor festivals.

What is festival flu and how do you prevent it?

The American Lung Association indicated this is an overarching slang term to describe illnesses — including colds, flus and other infections — people pick up at festivals. These events are superspreaders of such health problems: Amid typically poor access to handwashing stations and dehydration, allergens like dirt, pollen, mud and grass also create an issue for festivalgoers.

If someone has festival flu, they might present common respiratory illness symptoms. These include coughing, sore throat, sneezing, runny nose, watery eyes, fever and body aches. To prevent contracting festival flu, you can practice the following tips:

• Wash your hands or use hand sanitizer

• Stay hydrated and avoid drinking too much alcohol

• Avoid smoking, including second-hand smoke

• Strengthen your immune system

• Wear a mask and physically distance yourself from others

• Maintain a healthy diet

How can you stay safe amid hot weather?

This weekend, Environment Canada has issued a heat warning for the Montreal area. This consists of humidex levels near 40 degrees on Thursday and Friday, with nights seeing warm temperatures around the low 20s. The weather will cool a bit on Saturday and Sunday with forecasted showers, but temperatures will remain in the mid to high-20s on both days.

According to Dr. Mike Howlett, president of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians, one of the most important things festival attendees need to be aware of is their hydration. The Dalhousie University associate professor recently told Yahoo Canada people should prioritize drinking fluids as they spend time outside in the heat during festivals like Osheaga.

"While hydration is important, also the amount of heat exposure and the warming up of your body temperature past what it can manage is another issue," he added. "They're related, but not identical."

How can people stay hydrated and avoid heat-related health issues?

One way Howlett suggested people avoid any possible health problems during summer festivals is by taking frequent breaks, particularly from "hostile" environments: "If you're finding it extensively hot and and humid, then finding shade, finding cool areas as well as having enough fluids to drink and the ability to cool off a little bit is important."

Moreover, Howlett recognized summer festivals are often events where people consume alcohol or drugs, but he warned people to stay safe while using such substances. For instance, intoxicants can sometimes make it easier for issues like heat exhaustion, heat stroke and dehydration to happen.

Older adults and younger children should also take higher precautions, since they likely don't have as much resilience to dehydration and heat than other people. Additionally, Howlett urged people with underlying medical problems — such as diabetes, heart or lung disease, kidney problems or other health issues — should also be more careful about taking breaks and being hydrated.

Finally, he recommended people wear loose-fitting light clothing, use hats and apply sunscreen if they're planning on spending time at an outdoors festival: "It's better to make a plan where you're going to take breaks out of the sun, where you're going to have lots of fluids, use hats and if you have medical problems, be more careful and avoid substances that are intoxicants that lower your ability to pay attention to what's happening."

What's the difference between heat exhaustion and heat stroke?

Glen Kenny, a University of Ottawa professor and director of the Human and Environmental Physiology Research Unit, previously told Yahoo Canada that heat is a "silent killer." Howlett reiterated that sentiment, noting heat-related health problems can easily "sneak up on people."

Howlett added that heat stroke is basically an extreme version of heat exhaustion, where "your body has totally lost its ability to control its core temperature." In that case, your temperature will rise dramatically, leading to serious ailments like coma or seizures.

"For every 10 minutes that you're not treated, it increases your death rate," he warned. "So, it's extremely important not to get to that state in the first place. Before that happens, you want to pay attention to things like if you're excessively tired and really worn out and fatigued more than usual for yourself, if you're starting to get dizzy and lightheaded."

According to the Canadian Red Cross, heat-related health problems arise when someone is dehydrated — and they can happen to anyone who stays in the heat or under the sun for too long. There are key differences between heat exhaustion and heat stroke that everyone should recognize.

Signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke

"If those things are happening, you should not go back out until it's settled over, which is not an hour or two," Howlett said. "It's like two or three days before you should go back out again."

Moreover, the Canadian Red Cross indicated you should immediately call 9-1-1 if someone has heat exhaustion if they're nauseous, vomiting, fainting, dizzy and have anxiety. If they have heat stroke and present any of the listed symptoms, call emergency services.

Is it safe to drink alcohol in the heat?

While alcohol is a fluid, you don't want to make the mistake that it's keeping you hydrated: "Anything with alcohol in it will tend to dehydrate you," Howlett shared.

While consuming alcohol, the body releases an antidiuretic hormone called vasopressin, according to Cleveland Clinic. This hormone works with your kidneys to help balance your body's fluids. However, alcohol is also a diuretic, which means it increases your need to urinate and, in turn, lose fluid.

The best way to counteract this is to stay on top of how much water you're drinking. While a common recommendation is to drink around eight glasses of water a day, the actual required amount of water someone should drink daily depends on the person.

While drinking alcohol, Cleveland Clinic dietitian Julia Zumpano suggested drinking eight to 12 ounces of water for every alcoholic beverage you consume. That will help slow your alcohol intake and mitigate the effects of the next morning's hangover.

Is it safe to take drugs in the heat?

When it comes to drugs, there are some that simply don't mix well with the sun. Howlett shared substances like ecstasy, cocaine or others within the amphetamines group can cause their own heat-related health problems. For one, he said it's possible they can cause a heat-related injury even without being in a hot environment. Moreover, they can make people become more active than they usually are, causing their body temperature to increase.

Other substances that might alter your cognition could present other issues. For instance, some might make you more drowsy or less oriented than usual, possibly causing you to fall asleep or remain under the sun for longer than you normally would.

While recreational drugs might be one concern, there are some medications that might also impact someone's sensitivity to heat. According to New Brunswick Public Health, there are several medications you should modify how you take if you're spending time outside in the heat:

• Common medications including some antihistamines (like Benadryl), over-the-counter sleeping pills and anti-diarrhea pills

• Psychiatric drugs like chlorpromazine, thioridazine, perphenazine, fluphenazine and more

• Anti-parkinson drugs like benztropine, biperiden, ethopropazine and more

• Anti-depressants like amitriptyline, doxepine, clomipramine and more

Are summer festivals safe?

There's no doubt summer festivals are exciting events that draw thousands of people in, but there are certain risks festivalgoers must be aware of before they head out in the sun for the day. During Osheaga 2023 at Montreal's Parc Jean-Drapeau, paramedics responded to a dozen cases, four of which required hospitalization, according to the Canadian Press.

Howlett noted even though someone might be young and healthy, they shouldn't automatically believe they're immune to heat-related health problems. Still, he said festivals with prolonged days or multi-day events likely aren't the best places to bring young children or seniors. Either way, he urged people to practice "common sense things" like not leaving your children in unshaded areas for long amounts of time and instead take precautions when heading outside.

"Dehydration, heat exhaustion, progressing to more serious states, it's a real thing. It's something you have to pay attention to," Howlett shared. "There's a reason why these major festivals hire ambulance services and paramedics to help. ... It's a big potential risk."

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