NORTH AUGUSTA, Ga. ()- Extreme heat can make you sick and a heat illness is caused by your body’s inability to regulate its temperature.

Recognizing the symptoms and taking action is crucial so you can prevent serious problems.

A heat illness can start as small as a mild headache and can lead to heat stroke.

One doctor says between 10am and 2pm is where the sun can affect you the most.

But he also says that our heat index plays a factor too.

“It’s not just based on the temperature. It’s based on what we call the heat index, which is a combination, really, of other things, including humidity. So when the heat index gets around 90 or above 80 to 85, to feel good at 90 or above is really dangerous. You need to kind of monitor what you do in the daytime, limit you out time outside activities, make sure you hydrate all those things,” said Dr. Bo Sherwood, medical director for Piedmont Prompt Care.

And he says the key is to hydrate.

“Your body’s way to defend yourself against heat, heat exhaustion is to sweat. So when you limit the sweating for any reason, I mean, you can’t sweat if you don’t have fluids. So you’ve got to stay hydrated. And I always tell people, if you’re going to be in the sun, if you’re going to play golf, if you’re going to be gardening or exercising, you need to pre-load. Make sure you pre-load before you go outside.”

Preloading means drink plenty of water before you go outside, while your outside, and after your done being outside.

Photojournalist: Dania Alawir