With temperatures this week approaching the 100-degree mark, it's definitely worth paying attention to those tried-and-true health recommendations for heat sufferers: drink more water - unless your physician has recommended otherwise - and find yourself some cool, cool air conditioning.

With that in mind, The Courtyard Assisted Living facility has opened its doors for the next several days to non-resident seniors in need of shelter and water. All they have to do is show up.

"We're a great, air conditioned place to hang out," said Gretchen Tester, marketing director of Courtyard. "It's the first year we've done this and we've got lots of water and snacks ready. Seniors are usually high-risk when it comes to hot weather, so we hope to provide a safe place for them to come to."

The Courtyard Assisted Living at 2100 E. Sherman Ave. in Coeur d'Alene will be welcoming air conditioning seekers from 10 a.m. through 7 p.m., Tuesday through Friday of this week. For more information, call 765-8364.

From heat exhaustion to heat stroke, the amount of damage that ultra-hot weather can cause appears limitless. But that damage, the experts say, is mostly preventable.

At highest risk are the young and the old. With infants, vulnerability comes in part from their inability to let adults know that they're thirsty. In adults older than 65, their bodies are often less able to cope with sudden changes in body temperature. Other high-risk categories include those with underlying health problems, the obese, and people not used to high temperatures or humidity.

According to the Mayo Clinic, patients taking medications like diuretics, stimulants for ADHD or hypertensives such as beta blockers should also be extra-cautious during a heat wave because these drugs can affect the body's ability to stay hydrated.

Advice from Dr. Cheri Savage, a physician at Coeur d'Alene Pediatrics, is universally applicable - no matter what your age: "If temperatures are in the 90s to the 100s," she said, "definitely limit your time outside to less than one-hour chunks and make sure to take 20 to 30-minute sunbreaks between those chunks." Savage adds that humidity is as much a problem as air temperature, since we lose more fluids in humid conditions.

And don't forget the sunblock, either, experts said. Just because you can't always see the sun when you're outside, doesn't mean those damaging rays aren't out there.