People shield themselves from the midday heat as they pass by a park fountain on Shoe Avenue in Marikina City on April 16, 2024. Maria Tan ABS-CBN News 

MANILA — With the extreme heat projected to last until the middle of May, it’s not just make-up or office essentials that fill an individual’s everyday bag. 

Health experts are also not limiting essentials to just a bottle of water.

Sheryll Dacumos, an office employee, now carries with her three different bags: one for personal belongings and two for office-related equipment. 

At a time when the mercury is rising at record levels, it’s the former that would protect.

“Among the things I carry everyday are a fan, sunscreen which I begin to apply even before I leave home. The heat now is like 49 degrees to hell! It’s really giving the public a hard time,” she said in Filipino.

Dacumos also carries with her two sets of umbrellas, one for the rain (which has happened less due to the ongoing El Niño) and a much bigger one to protect her against the sting of the sun.

But water bottler, sunscreen, and umbrella aren’t the only ones an individual should be carrying around regularly. 

The Department of Health (DOH) said while they may be sweet, hard candies should also be handy even during hot weather

“Ito ay to address yung hypoglycemia dahil alam natin na kapag matindi ‘yung init, matindi rin ang ating pagpapawis so mabilis na-de-deplete yung mga essential nutrients sa ating katawan,” said DOH-CALABARZON’s officer-in-charge for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Unit Joehl Francisco.

(This is to address hypoglycemia. We know that during hot weather we sweat profusely which causes the depletion of essential nutrients in our body.)

Aside from this, first aid medication as well as maintenance medication especially for the elderly and those with a comorbidity are important as an increase in temperature may also affect one’s blood pressure.

On Thursday, Metro Manila’s temperature reached 38.2 degrees Celsius, the highest so far for the year. 

While heat exhaustion and heat stroke are among the most serious threats from the hot weather, it can all start from dehydration.

According to DOH, among the signs of dehydration are dry lips, mouth and skin, headache, yellow urine and fatigue.