Beach accessibility guide to Almeria Heat stroke prevention

IT has been an exceptionally hot summer with more hot weather to come, and The Poniente district in Almeria has begun an information campaign in summer camps and schools to teach children how to identify and prevent heat stroke.

School nurses across the district are carrying out summer reinforcement programmes to urge children to take precautions against the heat. Children are particularly vulnerable to heat stroke, dehydration and sunstroke.

Last week, Poniente de Almeria Health District extended their programme to 60 public and private entities organising summer activities for children.

Children at swimming pools across the district are being educated about the risk of drowning and how to respond if they feel the symptoms of heat stroke coming on.

The Western District of Almeria is focusing on the elderly who are also highly vulnerable to heatstroke. Among the recommendations is to avoid too much sun exposure between 11.00am and 8.00 pm, drink two litres of water a day to prevent dehydration, and rest in a cool environment, shutting windows and blinds during the hottest hours of the day. Wearing loose clothing as well as eating lighter meals are further recommendations, as well as postponing physical activities such as gardening till the cooler hours of the evening.

Heat strokes symptoms include dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and chills. In extreme cases, loss of consciousness or mental confusion may also occur. In high temperatures, blood vessels dilate and blood pressure drops. If a person is displaying symptoms of heat stroke, it is advisable to move them to a cooler place, unbutton their clothes and ensure they can lie down with their head in an elevated position. Wetting the neck, forehead and forearms with cloth immersed in cold water can also help to lower body temperature.

FAAM presents a new app for the 16th edition of the Accessibility Guide to the beaches of Almeria province.

The Accessible Almeria app was created by the Almeria Federation of Associations for People with Disabilities, FAAM, and had was presented at the last FITUR convention t demonstrate the commitment to inclusive tourism.

After a year of development, the app has now been released, and it is a pioneering artificial intelligence system that provides information on the beaches and accessible services in Almeria.

Users can use the free app to find 46 access areas for those with disabilities using an interactive map, providing information on accessibility features. Users can even view the videos created from the different angles to get a better idea of the beach, and can save routes or rate routes created by others. An English version of the app is available.

Despite this step in the right direction, Almeria is suffering a qualitative design and reduction in accessibility elements due to lack of maintenance.

Valentín Sola, 2014 President of the Andalucian Confederation of Entities for People with Disabilities, has long been campaigning for improved accessibility. He believes that providing safe, au­ tonomous access to the beaches for people with disabilities, as the issues surrounding the decline in accessibility “clearly causes a violation of the rights of people with disabilities… and prevents any person with a disability from accessing the beach on an equal footing with the rest of society.”

Sola urges the local government to ensure that the elements for accessibility points are in place for next summer.

FAAM releases the guide on an annual basis both nationally through the associative network to which it belongs, and internationally by sending it to the specialised travel agencies across Europe.