Tips for this heatwave

[Festie]

Hello all. I'm really struggling with the heat. I can feel myself getting weaker all the time. I stay well hydrayed and don't leave the house when the heat is at its peak. Wondering if anybody has any tips on how they are coping?

[Sjf129903]

I keep a supply of pop cycles on hand it keeps the body cool from the inside or flavored ice cubes help too

[Ergendl]

If we sit and do nothing for two weeks we lose a lot of muscle tone, which makes our bodies a lot weaker. It's why people aren't kept in hospital for weeks at a time unless really necessary these days. So it's important to keep moving.

I have windows open at the front and the back of my house to keep air circulating, and work in the coolest room of my house, one with just a north facing window that doesn't get the sun. I go for a walk mid evening when the air is much cooler, to keep up my fitness. I wear loose fitting cotton and linen clothes and change them a lot. I have a bottle of water with me all the time to drink. Dabbing some of the water on the wrists and the back of the neck can help cool the body down too.

[WheezyAnne]

Make use of evaporation. Spray your top sheet or clothes with water and feel the cooling sensation as it evaporates. Wet a scarf and put it on your neck or wrists to cool your blood down. Fill a hot water bottle with cold water and place it wherever you are feeling especially hot. Keep curtains closed in rooms that get the sun.

[jac401]

I have asthma and find the heat too much to cope with. I sweat profusely, especially my head, face and neck. The only way I know how to cool my body down is to fill the kitchen sink with cold water, then submerge my forearms as far into it as possible, for around 4 minutes at a time. This gives the blood time to travel around your body several times, cooing it as it passes through the arms. Repeat as often as needed - it really works. Oh and stay in the shade at all times! Also, WheezyAnne's idea of wetting clothes is effective too - we used this method when we were in Rhodes a few years ago an the had a heatwave. We used to go into the shower fully clothed and just get wet through. After walking for 20 mins we would be bone dry again, but it's very cooing while it lasts.

[peege]

I do what I used to do in Africa. Keep the shutters closed & blinds down on the hottest rooms and the windows open on the north facing side. Also a quick douse in a Luke warm shower - that's what we'd do if by a pool to cool off after all. Rule in hot weather: if the air is hotter outside than in then don't let it in. I do my exercise early and late when it's cooler.

Whatever you do don't do what I did yesterday. Nice lunch out and I used the black napkin to wipe my brow, face and neck. Yes, you guessed it, walked out with dark grey face & neck. My friends thought it too funny to tell me 😁

[Hidden]

Use an electric fan Festie ..don't let it rotate keep it straight on you.hope it helps,works for me,Ger

[Dibola04]

Thank you everyone for posting their tips, have found these really useful.

[Beth1949]

I'm just curious, do most of the people who replied to Festie live not in the US? Most homes and apartments (flats) in the US have air conditioning. If not a whole house ac, then at least a room air conditioner that is usually put in the window.

I don't know if I could tolerate the heat if I didn't have ac. I know my health would suffer.

[Festie in reply to Beth1949]

Hi Beth, I am from the uk. We don't often get really hot weather but have had a 2 week heatwave!!! Would love aircon.

[maggiewhiteley in reply to Beth1949]

I'm from the UK too

[janice01 in reply to Beth1949]

Think you will find most people on here live in Britain....😊

[WheezyAnne]

I am from the UK too. However, I would recommend a portable air conditioner, one with the hose which goes out through the window, for anyone who has a lung condition. These are excellent at reducing the humidity, drying the air, or can be put on to cool the temperature down. You will need to pay around £250 to £350 to get a good one if I remember. I went the whole hog and got an air conditioning unit fit in the sitting room last year as I was so ill in the summer. I wish I had saved my money. It is nowhere near as good at regulating the humidity as the portable one. Still, we don't have to leave the windows open now for the hose. I have seen the air conditioners you put in the windows on the TV in America, but never seen any over here. They seem to be all either portable (but quite heavy to move) or fitted to the wall, with the invertor (looks like a big fan) part outside. The window fittings which come with the portable air conditioner hose to make a seal don't fit our windows, which means I had to leave the window open third of the way to put the hose out. There is a plastic zip thing you can get to cover the gap, but my partner didn't like it. Which was why I went for fitted air-conditioning. What I did not appreciate at the time was that no fitted air conditioner is as good as the portable air conditioners at getting the moisture out of the air. I read that on some professional website afterwards......

[Beth1949]

Well, now I understand why you don't usually have air conditioning. A lot of homes in the Northern states here don't need it.

We live in the central US, and usually the temps are decent during the months of June-Sept, but it's the humidity that can drain your energy. This summer has been usually hot, we've had record breaking heat days.

A little over a week ago we had 9.5 inches of rain in a 4 hr period, creating flash floods (fortunately, it didn't flood in our neighborhood). But haven't had any rain since. It's been a strange summer so far.

Try to think cool thoughts, Beth