Updates from the Health Department
July 25, 2025
As temperatures rise, so do the risks for heat-related illnesses like heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Older adults, young children, outdoor workers, and people with chronic health conditions are especially at risk, but extreme heat can affect anyone. Knowing how to prepare, spot the warning signs, and take action can help you stay safe.
Understanding Heat Alerts
Fairfax County activates its heat response plan when the National Weather Service (NWS) issues a heat advisory, watch, or warning — usually about 24 hours in advance. These alerts are based on the heat index, which combines temperature and humidity to reflect how hot it actually feels outside.
Heat Advisory: Dangerous heat is expected. Take precautions to stay cool and hydrated.
Extreme Heat Watch: Hazardous heat is possible. Reschedule outdoor activities, and make sure children, older adults, pets, and service animals have access to cool shelter.
Extreme Heat Warning: Dangerous heat is happening or about to happen. Avoid strenuous activity and direct sunlight. Stay indoors, if possible, drink plenty of fluids, and check on loved ones, pets, and service animals.
Heat-Related Illnesses: What to Watch For
Heat-related illnesses can come on quickly, so it’s important to know the signs and what to do.
Heat Exhaustion:
Symptoms: Heavy sweating, weakness, dizziness, nausea, cool or clammy skin, headache, muscle cramps.
What to Do: Move to a cooler spot (ideally indoors with air conditioning); apply cool, wet cloths to your body or take a cool bath; and sip water. Seek medical help if symptoms worsen, last more than an hour, or include vomiting.
Heat Stroke:
Symptoms: Confusion, slurred speech, body temp above 103°F, red or dry skin, rapid pulse, fainting.
What to Do: Call 911 immediately. This is a medical emergency. Move the person to a cooler place, use cool cloths or a cold bath to lower body temperature, and avoid giving fluids unless told otherwise by a medical professional.
Dehydration:
Symptoms: Dry mouth, fatigue, dizziness, dark-colored urine, muscle cramps.
What to Do: Sip water or electrolyte drinks to rehydrate. Avoid or limit caffeine and alcohol consumption, as these can be dehydrating.
Heat Rash:
Symptoms: Clusters of red blisters in sweaty areas.
What to Do: Keep the area cool and dry. Avoid heavy creams or ointments that can trap heat.
Heat Cramps:
Symptoms: Painful muscle cramps in the legs or abdomen, heavy sweating.
What to Do: Rest, sip water (unless you feel nauseated), and gently stretch or massage cramped muscles. If cramps last more than an hour, seek medical attention.
Sunburns:
Symptoms: Red, painful skin that feels hot to the touch.
What to Do: Use sunscreen SPF 30+ to prevent sunburn, reapply often, and stay out of direct sunlight. For burns, take cool baths, apply aloe vera, and stay hydrated. Seek medical care if blisters or fever occur.
Take Steps to Stay Safe in the Heat
When summer temperatures are high, you can protect yourself by following these Do’s and Don’ts:
Do:
Drink water regularly. Don’t wait until you’re thirsty!
Wear loose, light-color clothing and a wide-brimmed hat.
Stay indoors during the hottest part of the day, about 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Use sunscreen with an SPF rating of 30+ and reapply often.
Identify air-conditioned places you can go to stay cool.
Don’t:
Leave people or animals in parked cars.
Rely solely on a fan.
Exercise or do other strenuous activity outdoors during extremely high temperatures.
Drink alcohol or sugary drinks.
Fairfax County and its partners offer several programs to help you and your loved ones beat the heat:
Senior Cool Care Program: The Senior Cool Care Program is a program that helps low-income older residents in our jurisdiction keep cool during summer months. This program does not provide financial assistance, but it provides additional cooling at home by providing fans for eligible older adults, age 60 and older.
Cooling Assistance Program: The Cooling Assistance program helps keep Fairfax County residents cool during the summer months through financial assistance for paying electric bills, repairing central air conditioning systems, purchasing a whole-house fan, and more. To be eligible, at least one household member must be: 60 or older; 5 or younger; or disabled according to Social Security, Medicaid or 100% Veteran’s Administration.
Cooling Centers: Visit indoor air-conditioned locations during operating hours to stay cool. In addition to shopping malls, stores or movie theaters, you may consider cooling off at one of our county facilities designated as Cooling Centers, including libraries, community centers, REC centers, Human Services regional offices, and homeless shelters. Check that locations are open before you arrive.
Public Pools: The county operates several pools, which are open to the public.
Considerations for Medical Conditions
High heat can worsen existing medical conditions like heart disease and respiratory illness. Some medications, such as antidepressants, antipsychotics, and certain heart medicines, can make it harder for your body to cool down. Other medications, such as insulin, can be damaged by heat and lose their effectiveness. Diuretics can have a dehydrating effect. Talk to your healthcare provider about how heat may affect your condition and medicine.
As you sweat, you can lose important salt and minerals from your body. Talk with your doctor about how you can safely restore lost salt and minerals from heavy sweating.
Caretakers of individuals with chronic conditions should monitor whether the individual is drinking enough water, showing signs of heat stress, knows how to keep cool, and knows where and how to access air conditioning.
High heat also comes with other health considerations:
Mental Health: High temperatures can increase stress, anxiety, irritability, and other negative feelings. Check in with your loved ones and neighbors. The county’s Community Services Board offers mental health services. Check out resources.
Animals (including Service Animals): If temperatures are unsafe for you, then temperatures are unsafe for pets and service animals. Never leave pets in cars or on hot pavement. To report a pet in a hot vehicle, you can call Animal Protection Police at 703-691-2131. Make sure that they have constant access to fresh water and bring service animals and pets indoors during extreme heat. Certain animals such as short-nosed dogs and cats, senior animals, and those with heart or lung conditions are more affected by heat. Look out for symptoms of overheating, such as excessive panting, difficulty breathing, increased heart rate, or weakness. Learn more emergency preparedness tips for animals.
Outdoor Workers: Wear breathable gear and take frequent breaks, as possible. Limit heat exposure by taking frequent breaks in cool or shaded areas, trying to work in the shade, and staying hydrated by drinking lots of water.
To learn more about extreme heat and available county resources, visit the Department of Emergency Management and Security’s extreme heat webpage.
July 24, 2025
Over the last two months, there has been an increase in the number of people seeking emergency care for hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD), especially involving young children, ages 0 to 4-year-olds in Fairfax County. HFMD is a common viral illness that usually affects infants and children younger than five years old. There have been six outbreaks of HFMD reported in the Fairfax County Health District in 2025, with five of them being reported in the past two months. These increases are also being seen across the rest of Northern Virginia.
What is hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD)?
HFMD is a viral illness that most commonly affects infants and children under 5 years of age. Symptoms typically last 7-10 days and include:
Fever
Sore throat
Painful mouth sores that blister
Rash commonly found on hands and feet (palms and soles)
The illness is usually not serious, but it is very contagious and can spread quickly through childcare, schools, and summer camps. HFMD spreads by respiratory droplets, contact with secretions, fluid from the blisters, or feces, and by touching environmental surfaces that are contaminated with the virus.
What should you do if your child has HFMD?
Children with symptoms should stay home from school/daycare and camps. Children can return to school/daycare or summer camp when they are fever-free for 24 hours without medication and have no uncontrolled drooling with mouth sores, and they feel well enough to participate in classroom activities. Over-the-counter medications may be used to relieve fever and pain caused by mouth sores. Mouth sores can make it painful to swallow, but it is important to ensure your child drinks enough to stay hydrated.
How can you prevent HFMD?
HFMD can spread through contact with virus particles after a person sneezes, coughs, or talks or touching an infected surface. Prevent spreading by:
Washing hands often with soap and warm water for 20 seconds; hand sanitizer is not effective against the virus
Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces
Avoiding close contact with others
Learn more about HFMD.
July 17, 2025
From the Virginia Department of Health
The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) is urging parents and caregivers to take the Pool Safely Pledge (en Español) as the Commonwealth continues to see a concerning rise in accidental drownings among children under the age of five in swimming pools.
Pool Safely is a national public education campaign led by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to help prevent child drownings and entrapments in pools and spas.
The pledge – available for both adults and children – takes less than a minute and reinforces simple, life-saving safety practices.
The adult pledge includes commitment to:
Designate a water watcher every single time children in their care are in or near the water.
Make sure their kids know how to swim.
Learn CPR.
Always remove portable pool ladders when not in use.
Ensure all permanent pools have a proper fence and gate and anti-entrapment drain covers.
The children’s pledge includes reminders to:
Never swim alone.
Ask their parents to sign them up for swimming lessons.
Stay away from drains in the pool or hot tub.
Have fun and always follow these safety steps in and around the water.
To date, children under age five have accidentally drowned in Virginia pools in 2025, an increase from the last three years (three in 2024, two in 2023, and four in 2022.)
“The tragic rise in drowning deaths of young children demands that we all become extra vigilant about pool safety,” said VDH Chief Deputy Commissioner for Community Health Services Susan Fischer Davis, MD. “Have fun at the pool – but always be alert to risks, especially with young children.”
Drowning is the leading cause of death among children ages one to four. From 2022 through 2024, an estimated average of 6,300 children under age 15 years were treated annually in U.S. emergency departments (EDs) for nonfatal drowning-related injuries. Seventy-three percent of those children were under age five.
In Virginia, on average, one person drowns every four days. Drownings happen quickly – often silently. Take action now. Take the Pool Safely Pledge today and commit to protecting your family this summer.
Visit swimhealthyva.com for more information. Swim safe. Stay safe!
July 16, 2025
Lyme disease is the most reported tick-borne disease in the Fairfax area. In 2025, 80* cases of Lyme disease have been reported in the Fairfax Health District so far. In a voluntary survey provided to individuals with confirmed cases of tickborne diseases, only 23% reported finding a tick attached or on them prior to their diagnosis. Exposure to ticks can occur in many places, including your own backyard. It is important to always perform a tick check after spending time outside, especially if you have been in brushy, wooded, or high grass areas. *Preliminary data subject to change.
Lyme disease is spread through the bite of an infected blacklegged tick (also known as a deer tick). If left untreated, the disease can spread to joints, the heart and the nervous system.
Recognize the Symptoms
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Early symptoms of Lyme disease typically occur 3 to 30 days after the tick bite and include:
A bull’s-eye rash (Only 70 to 80 percent of people with Lyme disease get this rash)
Fever
Headache
Achy muscles and joints
Fatigue
If you have symptoms or signs of Lyme disease or another tick-borne illness, see your doctor – even if you don’t remember being bitten by a tick. Most cases of Lyme or other tick-borne diseases can be treated with a few weeks of antibiotics. Learn more about the symptoms of Lyme disease.
Prevent and Protect
Avoiding ticks is the best defense against Lyme disease and other tick-borne infections. It is important to be extra vigilant from March through October when ticks are most active. Blacklegged ticks are also active on warm winter days when the temperature is greater than 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
Have a Tick-Free Yard
Blacklegged ticks need the higher humidity levels of woodland to survive and die quickly in drier environments. Keep ticks out of your yard by:
Increasing exposure to sun and air by removing leaf litter
Mowing the lawn frequently
Clearing tall grass and brush around houses and at the edges of lawns
Laying down wood chips or gravel where laws butt up against wooded areas
Building fences to discourage animals, such as deer and raccoons, from entering your yard
Permethrin is an insecticide that is effective in both killing and repelling ticks in your yard. Contact a professional pesticide company to apply pesticides at your home.
Use Insect Repellent
Use EPA-registered repellents containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus (OLE) or para-methane-diol (PMD), or 2-undecanone and always follow product label instructions
American Academy of Pediatrics recommends using products containing no more than 30% DEET on children
Never use oil of lemon eucalyptus and para-methane-diol on children under 3 years of age
Apply repellent to your clothing as well as exposed skin
If you are using sunscreen, apply sunscreen first and insect repellent second
Do not use any insect repellent on babies under 2 months of age
Dress to Protect
Long sleeves and pants in light colors provide protection and make it easier to spot ticks that may have hitched a ride on your clothing. Tuck pant legs into long socks to help prevent ticks from climbing up your shoes and socks and onto your skin.
Permethrin can be used to treat clothing and gear ahead of time and can last through several washes. When used properly, it will kill ticks before they bite.
Check for Ticks After You Come Inside
Check your clothing; tumble dry clothing on high heat for 10 minutes to kill any remaining ticks
Bathe or shower as soon as possible
Use a mirror or ask a friend, partner, or spouse to help check your body for ticks; pay close attention to warm, moist areas that ticks are drawn to including armpits, the groin area, in and around ears and hairline, belly button, backs of your knees and between your legs
Check your children, gear, and pets for ticks
Remove Ticks Safely
If you do get bitten, follow these steps to remove the tick:
Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin surface as possible
Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Do not twist or jerk the tick; this may cause the mouthparts to break off and remain in the skin
After removing the tick, thoroughly disinfect the bite site and wash your hands with soap and water
Do not squeeze, crush, or puncture the body of the tick
Do not use nail polish, petroleum jelly, or a hot match to make the tick detach from your skin
Have the tick identified
Fairfax County Health Department offers a free tick identification service.
The Health Department does not test for Lyme disease or other tick-borne diseases. Still, having your tick identified is useful if you develop symptoms and need to see your medical provider.
After you remove the attached tick, you can get it identified by the Health Department by submitting a photo online, bringing it in, or mailing it in.
Learn more about this service.
Wash Your Hands Often
Mosquito & Tick Bite Prevention
Health Dept. Strategic Plan
Parents: Get your child's immunizations up-to-date!
Ensuring children are up-to-date on their vaccinations helps provide immunity before they are exposed to potentially life-threatening diseases.
And remember, vaccination it important at all ages. Parents, grandparents, and caregivers, make sure you are up to date, too!