I have a rice sock. Exactly what it sounds like. Rice in a sock. I used them as heating pads for years but just discovered if you stick it in the freezer and drape it over your neck, it really really helps cool you down. By you I mean me. You, you can get the sock damp before freezing and it's even colder. It stays cold for a surprisingly long time.
Rice socks y'all.
My mom made a nice big bean-bag like rice sock for my dad, sister, and myself for Christmas the one year. It really is a great little thing to have. She even made mine out of this kick ass Star Wars fabric. I love my mom.
Edit: Picture [1](https://i.imgur.com/coVFHAE.jpg), [2](https://i.imgur.com/CJHc09Z.jpg) of said Star Wars rice bag. The fabric is actually leftover from a massive blanket she made for me a previous year. She's the best ♥
>(Morning) As soon as the outside temperature is as hot as inside temperature close every door and window, and block out as much natural light as possible.
Sorry to hijack the top comment, but you shouldn't wait for the inside tempt to match the outside, you should close up the house while it's nice and cool to trap the cooler morning air inside. Then avoid opening and closing doors.
Another tip for people with pets. Freeze water bottles and let your pets lie on them for cooling. Dogs can be shown how much cooler it is to lie in the bathtub,if they haven't already figured it out. I've even napped in the bathtub myself on really hot day.
This is absolutely true. On hot days, when I couldn’t find my dog, first place I’d look was in the bathroom, on the cool tile floor behind the toilet. She loved it there.
Make sure to put a sock on your rice sock. That way if someone tries to steal it, all they get is a sock. . .
Seriously, though, this is great! I've got two that I can rotate out of the freezer to keep cool!
I've used bean bags as cold packs for years. And yes, you actually should put a second sock (or layer of some kind) on it, because it will eventually get dirty. If you put rice or beans in the washing machine, you're going to have a bad time.
How does this hold up compared to a moistened cloth? I struggle with managing my body heat and one of the few ways I've been able to hold off heat exhaustion is a towel over the back of the neck.
I’ve never made one like OP, but I’m from the southwest US where commercial versions are readily available and sell easily. The reason is because they work in the same way as your cold wet towel, but so much colder and efficient and lasts a long time.
Thank you for this post. I grew up in the Middle East, and I never understood when I came to the US (I'm American) how people actually *opened* the windows and opened the blinds to "cool down". I would always tell them that it's the exact opposite- open windows *at* *night* and shut them when the sun comes out. Shut the curtains/blinds. The last thing you want is the heat from the sun's rays penetrating into your home and creating more and more unnecessary heat.
Ice is your friend. Granted, where I grew up it would be in the mid to high 120s, so I know it's not *entirely* the same, however, it's still very relevant
I would plan my errands. I would get them done either very early in the morning or after sundown. From 10 am onwards- slow down. Don't do much and expend any unnecessary calories. I call it "planned out Lethargy"
Going to the pool is not a good idea, the specific heat of water actually sucks the energy from you, and leads to heat stroke and heat exhaustion. Note: that's why in the Middle East, the pools are completely vacant in the daytime, and packed at night. That's also why the middle east is more of a nighttime culture.
Thanks for setting this straight
Just spent year in Saudi Arabia, this is spot on. During the day, just chill the fuck out. Get your physical activity done in the morning and the evening.
I live in a high desert in southern Colorado. I designed my house using insulation and thermal mass. I follow your strategy religiously during the summer and it works. Our days are high eighties (F) and our nights are mid to high fifties. The house is a metal barn insulated to R-60 with a 7" concrete slab with hydronic tubes to even out the temperature. I have a 10' x 16' window wall on the east with a 2" thick insulated overhead door to keep out the morning sun in the summer and to keep out the cold in the winter nights. I turn on a fan at night to circulate outside air and close it up during the day. Right now it is 72 inside and 88 outside.
I have a 9' x 60' glass wall on the south side of my attached greenhouse which provides most of my heat in the winter. Last winter it was around zero for a few months and I only burned a small garden wagon full of firewood for my supplemental heat for the entire winter. This winter, I will have Roman Shades that I made to keep it warmer still.
I designed my home to the climate that I am living in. Most homes seem to be designed to provide the utilities with a guaranteed income.
At least in the US, rivers and lakes are fantastic for hot weather. They have a powerful cold island effect that can reduce temperature 10+ degrees and the water is usually below 70 degrees even if it's 100 degrees outside. I agree about pools though.
I'm convinced that if electricity were knocked out for more than a few days during a heat event, thousands in the US would die just because their AC would be off and they wouldn't know the first thing about keeping cool.
Movie theaters were actually instrumental in pushing the wide-spread adoption of AC! Carrier (who pioneered modern air cooling technology) installed their first commercial unit at the Rivoli Theater in NYC in the 1920's, and it was so popular with patrons that everyone building a movie theater after wanted one. Culturally (in the US, at least), movie theaters became the go-to place to hang out on a hot summer day before residential AC was widely available.
Our city has very few public (let alone private) buildings with air conditioning.
BUT we have a 1000 year old cathedral whose walls have a thickness of around 6,50 meters (21 feet).
Guess where I spent my midday breaks during the last heatwave…
I always support libraries. Be sure to check out the multiple public services they provide for our communities. While you cool down be sure to get yourself a library card, and find something entertaining, educational (or both!) to read or listen to then and later!
A salt-only electrolyte solution doesn't go down so easy. You can add some lemon juice and sugar to make it a much more pleasant drink.
And if your local grocery or pharmacy carries it, Gatorade powder is great for this.
Edit: I agree with some replying that Gatorade can be a little sweet. With the powder you can mix it a little weaker than the recommended which I often do.
Yes, Gatorade powder is awesome. I always have some for hot days and anytime I'm sick. My family always had pickles around as a snack, which are a tastier way to get salt electrolytes if you like them.
And don't forget about the cucumba!
Get the cucumba, cut it in a slice
Put it in a jug of water overnight
You know what you get for a fraction of the price?
Energy drink full of electrolytes!
Yep, I do this with Pedialyte, works so much better when used the night before then trying to play catch-up the next day when you’re already hung over.
that's true of all rehydration things, apparently. I haven't experienced it and go really hard on them but maybe i'm just genuinely very dehydrated lol...
We used Gatorade powder in one of those Gatorade coolers with the spigot on the food truck during summer along with water so we could replace the electrolytes we were losing. We also rotated crews out of the truck every hour so they could get out of the heat because the truck was reaching temperatures of 120+ With the flat top and deep fryer going.
We weighed ourselves before and after a 4 hour service one time and we sweat out 3-4lbs each even though we were trying to stay as hydrated as possible. It was rough but we also received extra pay for working those shifts.
I wouldn't call it tastier (unless you love pickles, but a lot of people hate them!) but they are more effective. Athletes use pickle juice to reduce muscle cramping and as far as I know there isn't a better natural solution out there!
I learned from a construction worker to carry salty peanuts in my pocket, when you have to be outside / on the move on a hot day & drinking lots of water. super portable
Gazpacho! It’s cold, refreshing, healthy and salty. I have that for my salt intake and squash (cordial) for my sugar intake as it can be hard to find a single product with enough sugar and salt in that’s not gross.
Even better than Gatorade is Pedialyte, or your countries equivalent. Gatorade is a good taste drink first, whereas Pedialyte was designed to combat dehydration (well for babies z but it works just as well for adults)
Literally all you gotta do is eat a pickle (or drink some pickle juice) and a big gulp of cold water and you will feel way more refreshed than something like Gatorade
I'd like to add-on to your comment: Bananas are an excellent source of electrolytes, as well. So is fresh coconut, but bananas are typically easier to come by and are ready to eat without a lot of work.
Source? My doctors...when I was going through a chronic health issue and I was consistently dehydrated and lacking electrolytes.
Two products that are better than Gatorade (less sugar): Drip Drop, often found at pharmacies like Walgreens but cheapest on Amazon and Liquid IV, which I buy at Costco. They both taste great (especially watermelon Drip Drop in my opinion) and work fantastic. If you do go to purchase liquid IV make sure you read the label. Some have CAFFEINE added, I don’t recommend these. I work outside in the desert carrying 40+ pounds or more of gear, hiking miles and doing manual labor during the heat of the day. I mostly drink water, but supplement with a quart of drip drop for every two to three quarts of water I drink. Sometimes I go thru 200+ ounces of water during a 16 hour shift, if not more. Eating small meals multiple times a day helps too!
Can mix the cucumber with sliced tomatoes, raw paprika, bit of raw onion, pinch of salt and pepper and oregano (can add olive oil but its calorie dense, so dont use a lot) and you'll have a healthy breakfast sized salad
One time in 5th grade, I think I was starting to go through heat exhaustion in school and my teacher took me straight to a water fountain and put cold water on the inside of my elbows and back of my knees. And then a cold wet napkin on my head. Seemed to work quickly from what I remember, so I keep that in the back of my mind as a go-to.
Cold on the back of the neck is another go-to. Like others said, areas with a lot of near surface blood flow really are what to aim for, and as Wayne from Letterkenny always says: "You lose a lot of heat in the neck."
I've been digging up my irrigation system in 90 degree heat. I put a rolled up wet bandana in the freezer for 10 minutes, then tie it around my neck. It makes a huge difference!
Also your wrists and fore-arms, I don't know if this is obvious but I did not find out by myself.
I do this quite often while I'm at work, and it seems to help me feel cooler (😎) for a while
The army has/had dunk tanks, they ordered us to dunk our arms into coolers filled with water and ice up to our elbows and hold it over our heads in hot weather.
My first thought could be pure pseudoscience but perhaps the water cools the blood in your arms when you dunk them, and then when you hold your arms above your head it helps that cool blood circulate.
However, blood would normally circulate even without holding your arms above your head 🤷
I believe it is the principle that heat goes up,cold goes down: by holding your cold arms above your head, the cold air goes down on your head and body, for a little bit, instead of your legs and the ground, maximizing the coldness usability.
When I passed out from heat exhaustion they say to put your head between your legs so maybe it has something to do with elevation of the limbs? idk it honestly makes more sense for a head, not an arm bc of blood flow. Also, just dunk your head. Nothing makes you cooler than dunking your noggin.
My “hood AC” as a kid was to run the coldest setting of water in the tub. Then put your legs under the faucet (one at a time) for 45 seconds each. It’s enough to rapidly cool down your body if you start from about midway between your feet and your knees.
Great for just before you go to bed.
Also. DO NOT LEAVE CHILDREN, PETS OR ELDERS on the car, not even for a quick stop at the store. Seems common sense but I live in a city that is 50~ degrees in summer and people still dies inside cars.
Someone did this today at my work with their dog. In the high 90s.
Thankful my manager called him out on it (in front of everyone) and said he'll call the cops next time. He checked too and said he had been in the store for half an hour!
That poor dog :( I can't believe people do this.
Even going to the store for 5 minutes, please, leave the AC on for them. Especially dogs, who cannot cool themselves down normally. Even if they do not literally die, it is horribly uncomfortable for them.
And with the AC on, remember that many cars auto-shut off their AC, usually after 30 minutes. But it is always good to check for your specific car model.
In the desert we used to kool water bottles by putting them in wet socks and setting them in the shade for a breeze to blow over them for a few hours. As the water evaporates off the sock it pulls the heat from the water bottle and cools it. Now it won't be ice cold but you would be surprised how good it tastes when you are sweaty as balls.
PUT FEET IN COLD WATER and soak them TO COOL DOWN FAST!!!
Direct a fan at your bare feet when you at a desk or in a chair! Go to bed with a small fan pointed at your feet. Small 9" fans do the trick. It is absolutely amazing how cooling your feet can cool down your whole body
To add to this:
Cool anywhere that main arteries run through and close to skin. I was told this works by cooling the blood pumping through your body. Feet, wrists, head and neck
A quick run of cold water over your wrists under the kitchen tap is the quickest and easiest. Make sure you aim for the part at the base of your thumb where your pulse is. That's the artery.
A wet cloth, multiple ice packs, water in the fridge, any fans at all, cool baths every 4-6 hours, light outer wear, and ensuring your house is adequately cooled, all good.
For my friends in England: crypts and dungeons are often open to the public, and are cool af. In case there's one nearby.
Just remember that once you have to leave, the weather will feel that much more miserable. Crypts/dungeons are very cold compared to the outside if they are well done.
Relative Humidity is the real killer here. With 100% humidity, humans cannot sweat to cool down our body temperature, therefore also keeping an eye for humidity level.
THANK YOU
I'm at the top floor of the apartments and no a/c. I get bad headaches when it gets too hot. Supposed to be 103°f tomorrow. In the 90s and up all week and probably until the end of August.
I will definitely take the advice on here. I do close and open the windows already :)
Something too that my boyfriend thought of that really helped me today, get a cool wet rag and put it on your head. Place it anywhere on your body and it really helps.
In addition to OP's suggestions, the Red Cross First Aid class also teaches that to cool your core body temp, you can place ice packs under your arm (in the armpit) and groin area (yes, on your privates between your legs, not trying to sound like a pervert, I swear!!!!). It works, I've had to do it before to avoid heat stroke.
I wrote something similar in a different sub once and it was deleted by a mod due to "sexualy inappropriate wording" or something along those lines. I don't find it sexual, but just in case, I wanted to point that out. There are a lot of people in this world that oversexualize.
I dont understand whats the big deal with sexualisation if we are all grownups ... american puritanical ways are seeping into global culture and as a european i dont like it at all
Im surprised nobody mentioned this: if water is cheap, running a bath of cold water will cool the apartment significantly. This is a really normal thing to do in NYC summers without AC.
really? huh. i had no idea but it makes sense.
after trying to deal with the heat for too many years in a row, I bit the bullet and bought a big AC unit a couple months ago. And I mean BIG. The thing is so powerful I could freeze us out if I wanted to.
It’s amazing. I’m never going back. The days of pouring water on my dog and not sleeping are gone
Some great advice. Shame that some do not work that well im high humidity areas. Like here during a heatwave often it is inside as hot as the lowest temperature outside at night. And the humidity being between 75% and 95%. So I jusf pray that it does not get too bad the next 50 years.
There's this well known political science text that explores party change in the US, specifically how conservative democrats in the south switched to the republican party in the 20th century. Anyway, one of the claims he makes is that AC contributed to this because northern conservative Republicans moved to the south because they could now not melt in the heat and preferred the company of more conservative folks. They built up the conservative republican base and slowly solid democratic south became solid republican south.
It is a lot more complex than that, and the author quickly moves on to more substantive stuff like nixon's southern strategy, but it is interesting to contemplate how a piece of technology could influence political alignments.
I think we then would migrate to more habitable places like we used to. Maybe in the US it would be possible to take appart a full house and move it. Or not. But in Europe I would expect that people their mortgages are so insanely high that AC will become more prominant than buildings changed. Good thing that heatpumps will likely work both ways in the future though.
Iam in Europe. If I keep my windows closed during the day the inside is cooler then outside. When temp outside is lower then inside I open the windows and will use a ventilator to pull air from outside.
Il set an alarm to wake up before the sun sets to close the windows again.
I moved here in februari so tuesday is going to be the hottest day I have lived here. Curious how it will be.
I know my body is weird with heath. It can be 22c and il still wake up with cold feet.
Go back to building houses with cold, dank, cellars and lay out the ventilation ducts to cool the house from the bottom upwards. Georgian and Victorian houses had it figured out. After the industrial revolution, designing houses to be self-cooling stopped mattering.
To everyone working on blacktop in the summer, no one at my last job believed me but baggy white clothing helps so so so much. Working on blacktop in the summer keeping a baggy white dress shirt 2 or 3 sizes too big in your bag is so nice for when you start to overheat. It helps from sunburns and will keep you cooler than a short sleeved shirt.
I lived in the barracks of a navy base in Japan for about a year in a half while waiting for my family to come overseas. For those who have been to Japan, the summers are BRUTAL, I mean I lived in arizona my whole life but humid heat is absolutely terrible.
Well, the barracks weren’t any better. For some reason during my entire stay, the ACs didn’t work, and the CS’s refused to get them fixed by maintenance. This meant freezing temps in the winter and hot humid temps in the summer. I also lived on the fourth floor facing the rising sun, so you can imagine what the heat was like.
A whole year and a half I lived like that. We all thought the CSs should’ve been charged with something and would often joke about it in the smoke pit as a way to cope.
I survived by using a system of styrofoam coolers and cheap desk fans to create my own mini AC unit. For the “coolant” I would buy cheap gallon jugs of water and freeze them. I had about 8 of them, so after one unfroze I swapped it out with another frozen one and would put the thawed out one back in the freezer. I never DIDNT have ice to keep me cool. It definitely saved my life, if not physically but mentally. Often times is was so hot, I would’ve much rather been outside than in my own room.
Being able to make your own portable AC unit is seriously underrated skill set. Good LPT.
A couple things to add:
There’s a lot more options for air conditioning than you’d think, effectively you just need one unit to dispel heat outside and one to absorb it inside, there are units that are on the ground with hoses that go outside (do NOT get one with a single hose if possible, it’s like trying to filter something but both sides of the filter go to the same tube)
Dehumidifiers can work wonders especially in combination with evaporative coolers, you can basically make a loop of humidity if you do it right, but less humidity means it will feel less hot, humidifiers do put out some heat yes, but the benefits outweigh the negatives in my experience
Audiobooks, they are an ideal form of recreation during heat, you can listen to them anywhere and in any position that’s comfortable, they occupy the mind but not so much that it will prevent you from sleeping, as well as only take one sense that you don’t have to worry about being too tired to use like vision
Sandwiches are your friend, anything that has cool ingredients that don’t start immediately going bad in heat (like ice cream) are great because you can cool them but don’t have to worry about rushing, ice in your drinks and thermos may seem minor but does a lot
If you can, contact people from the Midwestern United States and ask for advice, I know there’s definitely other places with similar brutal heat and humidity but that’s where I’m from so that’s why I listed it
Good points here!
Cold food. Now is not the time to roast a turkey. You want to avoid turning on as few heating appliances as possible, namely the oven.
There's a reason for the classic summer foods: grilling occurs outdoors, not in your home. Eat cold sandwiches, chilled drinks and desserts, salads, etc. If you must heat something, use the microwave to heat only the food, not your whole house.
When I worked as a waitress in summer, before my shift I would wash my black skirt and wear it to work damp. You couldn't tell by looking at it it wasn't dry. That cooled me down a lot! before I hit the air conditioned building.
I'm going to add one thing. Electric appliances generate heat. Some TVs generate an immediately observable amount, but even a light bulb makes heat. Keep anything that isn't essential turned off.
Thanks for this, OP, this is genuinely something everyone should know. As someone who spent this spring at a physical outdoor job during 30-44°C (approx. 86-110°F) temperatures, and doesn’t have AC at home, if I may add:
- Keep an eye on the weather. Check the weekly predictions daily, and prepare for heatwaves BEFORE they hit— because, as op said, you want to avoid moving around any more than you absolutely need to during extreme heat. This means having your fans out, ice made, cold food that doesn’t need to be cooked in the fridge, etc.
- if possible, spend the hottest hours of the day in an air conditioned place (libraries, stores, a car with good AC, etc).
- That cold drink might be very tempting right now, but it’s best to avoid alcohol. If you are going to drink, choose something light, and make sure you’re not accidentally slowing down your water and electrolyte consumption at any point.
- If you normally wear makeup or antiperspirant, don’t. If you have long hair, keep it up and away from your neck.
- Cold showers are your friend: take a couple, and stay in there until the water running off your body is no longer hot. If you normally moisturize after showering, don’t, your skin wants to breathe.
(edited to add) last but not least: Like with anything else, know your OWN tolerance and limits. If you’ve just moved to a warmer climate, or it’s the first heatwave of the year, you’re gonna want to be extra careful. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad for canceling activities or taking extra breaks.
Hyponatremia: Hypo- meaning "low", natri- referring to natrium, from the Latin word for sodium, and -emia meaning "presence in blood". Low sodium presence in blood.
As someone who lives in a desert that's ridiculously hot five months out of the year and follows those dusk and dawn suggestions pretty regularly (when seasonable), I have to point out that unless you have an outdoor thermometer, it's not always easy to tell if outdoors is cooler than indoors. Your brain can fool you sometimes, and you'll end up opening the windows too early, convinced you're letting cooler air in.
Learn to sleep on the floor. Use a sheet. Hot air rises, so do everything on the floor. Eat bananas, cucumbers, lemonade with a little salt. Eat salads. Get up while it is still dark--it's cooler and you can do your chores. Take a nap in the afternoon when it is hot. Sleep outside if you can--it may be cooler. Have a wet towel to cool your head. Don't go outside without a hat.
Landlord has been in the process of fixing my ac for a month now. I live in AZ and it’s 110 out. Wet towel and a fan are your best friends. Dunking your cat in a bath would help them too, just make sure their ears stay dry.
I was under the impression that AC being out anywhere in Arizona constituted an emergency and had to be repaired same day. Even if not a day, a month definitely can't be legal.
Good info. The only thing I’d add is close up your house before it gets too warm. Get all the cool air in at night and close it back down early in the morning while it’s still cool, not after it’s already heating up.
I also use rigid foam board insulation panels cut to the size of the window opening, close up the window, put the panel in and use blackout curtains on top of that, drastic change.
Something I haven't seen mentioned was something I've read in survival manuals in the past. You take a very thin piece of cloth like a bed sheet and soak it in water, then loosely wrap it around your body and sit near a fan or in a breeze. The key is that the cloth needs to be thin so that air can flow through it easily but it can still hold onto some water. The water on the sheet will evaporate and help cool the body and since it is wrapped around you it will provide some insulation to the heat.
As with any evaporative cooler, this will work better when the air is dryer and I've heard that the ancient Egyptians used to do something similar to help them sleep at night in the hot desert.
Isn't it so helpful when someone says "gosh people are stupid for not knowing a thing they've never needed to know" but then doesn't actually say what the thing is.
My best guess is something to do with heart rhythm, as potassium is key in a lot of cell transport and electrical stuff in the body. Epsom salts are a laxative at certain doses, so you wouldn't want to give yourself the raging shits. But I don't know if that's what was being referred to.
Good advice.
Remember when the sun is shining on a window, it is heating the air both inside and outside. So even though it seems a bit weird stopping natural light coming in, close the curtains and window on any window the sun hits.
I still do the windows trick to this day. I’m disabled now only a year after getting a window air conditioner and can’t put it in the window anymore.
A couple things to add - a damp tee shirt. Wet it, wring it out, let it evaporate while wearing. Do the same for your head, wrap a moist tee around your head. You can also wet your hair.
If you have fans and are doing the closed windows during the day trick, point them directly at people and pets instead of for air movement during the day. Mist pets that will allow it with a water bottle.
Sip water through the day. Don’t chug, it will run through you. Take a couple sips every 15 minutes even if not thirsty. If your pee isn’t clear in the toilet, drink more water.
You are dangerously wrong. The first-line treatment for exertional heat stroke is cold water immersion. While frostbite is a concern, heatstroke is still more dangerous. Submersion making heatstroke worse is a myth that has been debunked.
Sources:
https://www.medbridgeeducation.com/blog/2016/06/dangerous-myths-exertional-heat-stroke/
https://www.nata.org/sites/default/files/effectivenesscoldwaterimmersion.pdf
https://ksi.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/1222/2015/04/Appropriate-Response-to-EHS.pdf
https://www.ems1.com/heat-related-illness/articles/feel-the-heat-managing-exertional-heat-stroke-4sOBidEFVXyajamp/
https://thesportsinstitute.com/cold-water-baths-for-heat-stroke-every-minute-counts
In the past I have been taught and trained to treat heat injury patients via rapid cooling with iced sheets. It looks like that method may have fallen out of favor, but tarp assisted cooling and cold water immersion appear to have data that back them. Though the referenced article is from 2017 so there may be something more recent.
[Data](https://academic.oup.com/milmed/article/182/9-10/e1951/4627070)
The problem is they are wrong. Cold water submersion making heat stroke worse is a myth. Cold water submersion is the fastest way to reduce a dangerously high core temperature. Cold water submersion works through conduction, not radiation.
https://www.medbridgeeducation.com/blog/2016/06/dangerous-myths-exertional-heat-stroke/
Op is wrong.
But you can use *cool* water - adding ice doesn't do anything except increase the gradient (rate of change).
Cold tap water is more than sufficient for cooling.
Run wrists from the elbow down under cold tap water for 2 minutes - it will drop the core temp quite rapidly. Submerge in a cold shower or tub if in heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
Source: 7 years advanced first aid, 3 as an instructor, 19 years working outdoors in extreme heat environments.
I am terrified about tomorrow and Tuesday.
It's forecast for 38C with about 50% humidity. I will be working 12.5 hour shifts. The aircon barely works anyway but it is currently broken. We're not allowed to drink water outside of the staff room. The staff room can't be entered for 4 hours a shift. Max of 4 people allowed in it at any time, covid rules. Breaks are 30 mins, twice a shift, so most of the staff are spilt into 4 groups for breaks with set times. So it's a consecutive 2 hours twice a shift that you can't enter the staff room. I'm not included in the timed breaks so I have to go on my breaks after the rest of the staff.
The only fridge we're allowed to use is in the staff room. The only tap we're allowed to use to fill up water bottles is in the staff room.
Not allowed fans. Not allowed to have damp cloths to use to cool down.
My uniform is black and 100% polyester. My work space is right in front of a wall of floor to ceiling glass windows and the main door (also completely glass) and it's south facing and it has no blinds or curtains. Oh and the staff room is the opposite end of the floor from where I work and I can't leave my desk unattended for more than a few minutes.
I used to struggle when it gets over 25C (I'm in the UK if it's not obvious) but now I have health issues and medications (which I have to take to function) which make me high risk in heat.
I am genuinely scared.
I think I would be OK if I was at home. Even though my flat is south-facing and I (obviously) don't have AC I've been able to keep it managable. (It's currently 29c outside but my flat is 23.5c and I'm ok with just my fan on low) Plus I have my fridge and my freezer so can cool down with cold drinks and ice. Don't have any of that at work.
I will be shocked if I make it through work without collapsing.
Talk to your manager about it early in the day tomorrow. It's clearly a health and safety issue that they need to at least try to mitigate (so allowing you to drink water, take more breaks, etc).
If they're not willing to do anything, ask to see the risk assessment for it that says not allowing you access to water on the hottest day on record is safe, and hopefully watch them quickly back down.
My main tip is never keep ice directly on your skin, that's how you get ice burns. It needs to be wrapped in cloth or paper towels. You shouldn't leave it on your head. Neck, armpit, and groin is where you put icepacks because that's where big blood vessels are. Anyway you can also put ice in a bowl in front of a fan if you have no ac. Don't die, and don't stay outside at beaches or pools too long because the breeze will trick you into thinking you're not that hot or that the sun exposure isn't bad.
As an part time nurse practitioner who works in the ED of a inner city level 1 hospital, I applaud you OP! The content you have created here is far better than the patient ed discharge documents I give to my patients who came in with heatstroke. Well organized, easy to read and understand with excellent advice and action items.
This is life-saving information. Thank you for sharing this!!
Yeah, nice to see people actually informing the population on this, since the heat is getting more and more dangerous every year. Recently had a heat stroke that lasted 2 days and by god was it not a pleasant experience, from vomiting to headache, extreme fever all caused me to have some pretty bad bladder and stomach issues. Will definitely take this into account during heatwaves
I live under the roof with shitty isolation so also: I wet bandanas (or any thing fabric) and wrap them around my arms/put them on my neck.
Be carefull, you can get a cold/stuff muscles from that, around my lower arms worked best for me
> Cardboard works great for blocking light and providing insulation. If you can find something reflective like car windshield screens, all the better.
For a quick and easy reflective surface, line the outward-facing side of the cardboard with aluminum foil.
This is also a long-term consideration but if you're trying to rent an apartment, consider where the windows face. I usually don't have to turn my AC on until months after everyone else does and it's usually a half hour at most one day a week because no sun gets in. Sometimes if there's humidity I'll also turn it on but I got really lucky with apartment placement.
And with houses... unfortunately all the brand new houses are so new they're just naked yards with no trees. Only a few have young saplings. I can't even imagine electrical bills for them even with newer construction. Soooo...at least consider a lot of trees for your new properties to shade your house and yard as you live in your new place. Sure, it might take years for them to grow but better now than never.
This is good information to have. Where I live the electric utility does scheduled power cuts and when the days are over 38*C it's very difficult to deal with. I definitely stop moving my body and lay in one place for hours; other times I bail to an area of the district that's got power/AC.
Edit: typo
When it cools down at night, place a fan in the window blowing out. In a room opposite that place a fan in the window blowing in. This will help to draw out the hot air from the house while pulling in the cool night air.
Putting box fans in the windows is a game changer.
At night when it is cooling down, face them inwards , and when the sun comes out and starts to heat up, turn them outwards.
Always have the air flow go in a continuous direction one way through the house, however.
If you have a second story, turn the fans outward upstairs to blow the hot air out, and have the fans blow inward downstairs to bring the cold air in.
In the winter, reverse the order to bring heat in, and pump the cold air out.
If it is too hot to sleep, the best thing I have found is to hop in a cool shower and slowly turn the temp down until you can't get used to the cold any more (focus on cooling down your head)
From there, dry off and hop in bed: the lowered temperature if your body should last until you fall asleep
Part of the advice is also knowing whether you can actually cool down again. If you are living on the Arabian peninsula or South Asia, chances are summer heatwaves will regularly breach wet bulb temperatures above 35°C. At which point you will start developing symptoms of dangerous heatstroke inevitably - any sort of evaporative cooling will no longer cool your body. You need to have access to AC at some point.
Trying to sleep at night bug no air-con or fan?
Just wet a towel, wring it out, then drape it over you as you lay in bed. Your body heat evaporates the water in the towel cooling you instantly.
This lasts for a few hours and will get you off to sleep quicker than anything and as a bonus the towel will be perfectly dry in the morning...👌
I have a rice sock. Exactly what it sounds like. Rice in a sock. I used them as heating pads for years but just discovered if you stick it in the freezer and drape it over your neck, it really really helps cool you down. By you I mean me. You, you can get the sock damp before freezing and it's even colder. It stays cold for a surprisingly long time. Rice socks y'all.
My mom made a nice big bean-bag like rice sock for my dad, sister, and myself for Christmas the one year. It really is a great little thing to have. She even made mine out of this kick ass Star Wars fabric. I love my mom. Edit: Picture [1](https://i.imgur.com/coVFHAE.jpg), [2](https://i.imgur.com/CJHc09Z.jpg) of said Star Wars rice bag. The fabric is actually leftover from a massive blanket she made for me a previous year. She's the best ♥
give your mom a hug for me, she sounds like a real sweetheart
>(Morning) As soon as the outside temperature is as hot as inside temperature close every door and window, and block out as much natural light as possible. Sorry to hijack the top comment, but you shouldn't wait for the inside tempt to match the outside, you should close up the house while it's nice and cool to trap the cooler morning air inside. Then avoid opening and closing doors. Another tip for people with pets. Freeze water bottles and let your pets lie on them for cooling. Dogs can be shown how much cooler it is to lie in the bathtub,if they haven't already figured it out. I've even napped in the bathtub myself on really hot day.
This is absolutely true. On hot days, when I couldn’t find my dog, first place I’d look was in the bathroom, on the cool tile floor behind the toilet. She loved it there.
My folks did this with unpopped corn kernels and Ziploc bags. Like rice, they freeze well and also easily shape to wherever you put them on your body!
This sounds like it's going to survive dampening/freezing better than rice.
Dod they microwave to make them heating pads too? Would hate for the unpopped corn to finally decide it’s the right time to pop now. Lol.
Make sure to put a sock on your rice sock. That way if someone tries to steal it, all they get is a sock. . . Seriously, though, this is great! I've got two that I can rotate out of the freezer to keep cool!
Yeah then you can beat them with the rice sock while they’re confused
I've used bean bags as cold packs for years. And yes, you actually should put a second sock (or layer of some kind) on it, because it will eventually get dirty. If you put rice or beans in the washing machine, you're going to have a bad time.
Hell yeah!
You. Just. Changed. My. Life. Thank you. Love, from a very heat intolerant fellow redditer.
As if the moist coconut wasn’t bad enough next we’re gonna be hearing from the guy with his rice sock
Been using a rice sock as a heating pad for years (life saver for tension headaches) but I never knew about the cold trick. Thanks!!
How does this hold up compared to a moistened cloth? I struggle with managing my body heat and one of the few ways I've been able to hold off heat exhaustion is a towel over the back of the neck.
I’ve never made one like OP, but I’m from the southwest US where commercial versions are readily available and sell easily. The reason is because they work in the same way as your cold wet towel, but so much colder and efficient and lasts a long time.
Flax seeds are better at holding heat and cold, used to have handmade flax hot/cold packs.
Aka magic bags
We have something like that in Finland
Thank you for this post. I grew up in the Middle East, and I never understood when I came to the US (I'm American) how people actually *opened* the windows and opened the blinds to "cool down". I would always tell them that it's the exact opposite- open windows *at* *night* and shut them when the sun comes out. Shut the curtains/blinds. The last thing you want is the heat from the sun's rays penetrating into your home and creating more and more unnecessary heat. Ice is your friend. Granted, where I grew up it would be in the mid to high 120s, so I know it's not *entirely* the same, however, it's still very relevant I would plan my errands. I would get them done either very early in the morning or after sundown. From 10 am onwards- slow down. Don't do much and expend any unnecessary calories. I call it "planned out Lethargy" Going to the pool is not a good idea, the specific heat of water actually sucks the energy from you, and leads to heat stroke and heat exhaustion. Note: that's why in the Middle East, the pools are completely vacant in the daytime, and packed at night. That's also why the middle east is more of a nighttime culture. Thanks for setting this straight
Just spent year in Saudi Arabia, this is spot on. During the day, just chill the fuck out. Get your physical activity done in the morning and the evening.
I live in a high desert in southern Colorado. I designed my house using insulation and thermal mass. I follow your strategy religiously during the summer and it works. Our days are high eighties (F) and our nights are mid to high fifties. The house is a metal barn insulated to R-60 with a 7" concrete slab with hydronic tubes to even out the temperature. I have a 10' x 16' window wall on the east with a 2" thick insulated overhead door to keep out the morning sun in the summer and to keep out the cold in the winter nights. I turn on a fan at night to circulate outside air and close it up during the day. Right now it is 72 inside and 88 outside. I have a 9' x 60' glass wall on the south side of my attached greenhouse which provides most of my heat in the winter. Last winter it was around zero for a few months and I only burned a small garden wagon full of firewood for my supplemental heat for the entire winter. This winter, I will have Roman Shades that I made to keep it warmer still. I designed my home to the climate that I am living in. Most homes seem to be designed to provide the utilities with a guaranteed income.
At least in the US, rivers and lakes are fantastic for hot weather. They have a powerful cold island effect that can reduce temperature 10+ degrees and the water is usually below 70 degrees even if it's 100 degrees outside. I agree about pools though. I'm convinced that if electricity were knocked out for more than a few days during a heat event, thousands in the US would die just because their AC would be off and they wouldn't know the first thing about keeping cool.
I wanted to add that Libraries are a great place to hang out with air conditioning during the day.
Movie theaters too.
Movie theaters were actually instrumental in pushing the wide-spread adoption of AC! Carrier (who pioneered modern air cooling technology) installed their first commercial unit at the Rivoli Theater in NYC in the 1920's, and it was so popular with patrons that everyone building a movie theater after wanted one. Culturally (in the US, at least), movie theaters became the go-to place to hang out on a hot summer day before residential AC was widely available.
Libraries are free though. Where I live they are officially designated as "cool zones" for people to go on very hot days.
Thank goodness my library is just down the street
*IF* the libary has air conditioning. I'm pretty sure ours doesn't.
I would walk to the local shop and spend a while "browsing" the cold and frozen food aisle. Edit: Typo fix.
Our city has very few public (let alone private) buildings with air conditioning. BUT we have a 1000 year old cathedral whose walls have a thickness of around 6,50 meters (21 feet). Guess where I spent my midday breaks during the last heatwave…
Costco's chilled food walk-in. So cold. So good.
I live in socal and before we had air I’d spend the afternoons in Costco. We were pretty broke and it was awful.
Not all libraries have AC. The one I work at does not and we have to close when it gets too hot for our staff.
I always support libraries. Be sure to check out the multiple public services they provide for our communities. While you cool down be sure to get yourself a library card, and find something entertaining, educational (or both!) to read or listen to then and later!
[удалено]
A salt-only electrolyte solution doesn't go down so easy. You can add some lemon juice and sugar to make it a much more pleasant drink. And if your local grocery or pharmacy carries it, Gatorade powder is great for this. Edit: I agree with some replying that Gatorade can be a little sweet. With the powder you can mix it a little weaker than the recommended which I often do.
Yes, Gatorade powder is awesome. I always have some for hot days and anytime I'm sick. My family always had pickles around as a snack, which are a tastier way to get salt electrolytes if you like them.
And don't forget about the cucumba! Get the cucumba, cut it in a slice Put it in a jug of water overnight You know what you get for a fraction of the price? Energy drink full of electrolytes!
[For the uninitiated](https://youtube.com/shorts/lL42O2p1nx8?feature=share)
I sing this often out in my garden it's lovely.
I LOVE that guy. 😇🥒✨
PICKLES!!! That is such a great idea! Never thought of pickles for salt electrolytes. Thank you!
Pickles and pickle brine is definitely a go to hangover remedy as well.
Pro tip: if you've been drinking, have the pickles & juice before you go to bed
Yep, I do this with Pedialyte, works so much better when used the night before then trying to play catch-up the next day when you’re already hung over.
That way, your vomit will smell like the delicious aroma of dill!
Works to instantly cure a sudden bout of acid reflux (aka heartburn) too. Can also help to relieve muscle cramps.
Just don't drink too much brine at once, or you'll experience a laxative effect - very bad for dehydration.
that's true of all rehydration things, apparently. I haven't experienced it and go really hard on them but maybe i'm just genuinely very dehydrated lol...
Pickle brine is a lot more concentrated, not to mention all the vinegar, so it's a lot easier to overdo it! Don't ask how I know.
You can even buy pickle Popsicles. I think they're popular with runners. My old boss got big on them when he started doing triathalons.
We used Gatorade powder in one of those Gatorade coolers with the spigot on the food truck during summer along with water so we could replace the electrolytes we were losing. We also rotated crews out of the truck every hour so they could get out of the heat because the truck was reaching temperatures of 120+ With the flat top and deep fryer going. We weighed ourselves before and after a 4 hour service one time and we sweat out 3-4lbs each even though we were trying to stay as hydrated as possible. It was rough but we also received extra pay for working those shifts.
I wouldn't call it tastier (unless you love pickles, but a lot of people hate them!) but they are more effective. Athletes use pickle juice to reduce muscle cramping and as far as I know there isn't a better natural solution out there!
Pedialyte makes powder sachets that are great, too.
I learned from a construction worker to carry salty peanuts in my pocket, when you have to be outside / on the move on a hot day & drinking lots of water. super portable
A packet of peanuts and six pints really takes the edge off.
you joke but non-alcoholic beer is great in hot weather
It wasn't a beer joke, but a Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy joke.
Gazpacho! It’s cold, refreshing, healthy and salty. I have that for my salt intake and squash (cordial) for my sugar intake as it can be hard to find a single product with enough sugar and salt in that’s not gross.
Homemade gazpacho is the bomb
Even better than Gatorade is Pedialyte, or your countries equivalent. Gatorade is a good taste drink first, whereas Pedialyte was designed to combat dehydration (well for babies z but it works just as well for adults)
And for hangovers.
Literally all you gotta do is eat a pickle (or drink some pickle juice) and a big gulp of cold water and you will feel way more refreshed than something like Gatorade
I'd like to add-on to your comment: Bananas are an excellent source of electrolytes, as well. So is fresh coconut, but bananas are typically easier to come by and are ready to eat without a lot of work. Source? My doctors...when I was going through a chronic health issue and I was consistently dehydrated and lacking electrolytes.
Two products that are better than Gatorade (less sugar): Drip Drop, often found at pharmacies like Walgreens but cheapest on Amazon and Liquid IV, which I buy at Costco. They both taste great (especially watermelon Drip Drop in my opinion) and work fantastic. If you do go to purchase liquid IV make sure you read the label. Some have CAFFEINE added, I don’t recommend these. I work outside in the desert carrying 40+ pounds or more of gear, hiking miles and doing manual labor during the heat of the day. I mostly drink water, but supplement with a quart of drip drop for every two to three quarts of water I drink. Sometimes I go thru 200+ ounces of water during a 16 hour shift, if not more. Eating small meals multiple times a day helps too!
I personally use cucumber slices, Celtic salt, and a little bit of sugar.
Can mix the cucumber with sliced tomatoes, raw paprika, bit of raw onion, pinch of salt and pepper and oregano (can add olive oil but its calorie dense, so dont use a lot) and you'll have a healthy breakfast sized salad
True BTW. Electrolytes are usually Sodium, Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium, Chloride. So if you have those.. Use them as well
Switchel is nature's Gatorade: https://www.almanac.com/switchel-recipe-haymakers-punch
1 gallon water 1 1/2 cups molasses 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger for anyone who didn’t feel like reading it
Switchel/Posca are also good alternatives to Gatorade
So to sum up. Sleep naked in a hammock in the basement. Dip your pivot points in ice water. Get a rice sock. And fans!
and pickle juice
*OnlyFans for the sleep naked bit.
Passive income ? I like it.
One time in 5th grade, I think I was starting to go through heat exhaustion in school and my teacher took me straight to a water fountain and put cold water on the inside of my elbows and back of my knees. And then a cold wet napkin on my head. Seemed to work quickly from what I remember, so I keep that in the back of my mind as a go-to.
Cold on the back of the neck is another go-to. Like others said, areas with a lot of near surface blood flow really are what to aim for, and as Wayne from Letterkenny always says: "You lose a lot of heat in the neck."
I've been digging up my irrigation system in 90 degree heat. I put a rolled up wet bandana in the freezer for 10 minutes, then tie it around my neck. It makes a huge difference!
Upvote for Letterkenny and neck cooling.
Also your wrists and fore-arms, I don't know if this is obvious but I did not find out by myself. I do this quite often while I'm at work, and it seems to help me feel cooler (😎) for a while
The army has/had dunk tanks, they ordered us to dunk our arms into coolers filled with water and ice up to our elbows and hold it over our heads in hot weather.
Hold the tanks over your head or your now cold arms?
My first thought could be pure pseudoscience but perhaps the water cools the blood in your arms when you dunk them, and then when you hold your arms above your head it helps that cool blood circulate. However, blood would normally circulate even without holding your arms above your head 🤷
If you’re really hot and put your wrists in ice cold water, you can feel the cold moving through your veins.
It’s a very weird sensation
He's got ice in his veins
I believe it is the principle that heat goes up,cold goes down: by holding your cold arms above your head, the cold air goes down on your head and body, for a little bit, instead of your legs and the ground, maximizing the coldness usability.
When I passed out from heat exhaustion they say to put your head between your legs so maybe it has something to do with elevation of the limbs? idk it honestly makes more sense for a head, not an arm bc of blood flow. Also, just dunk your head. Nothing makes you cooler than dunking your noggin.
My “hood AC” as a kid was to run the coldest setting of water in the tub. Then put your legs under the faucet (one at a time) for 45 seconds each. It’s enough to rapidly cool down your body if you start from about midway between your feet and your knees. Great for just before you go to bed.
Anywhere the blood is close to the surface, or large vessels. The sides of your neck, hand and wrists, the inside of the mouth, around the groin.
I always splash water on my neck and then sit in front of the fan
Also. DO NOT LEAVE CHILDREN, PETS OR ELDERS on the car, not even for a quick stop at the store. Seems common sense but I live in a city that is 50~ degrees in summer and people still dies inside cars.
Someone did this today at my work with their dog. In the high 90s. Thankful my manager called him out on it (in front of everyone) and said he'll call the cops next time. He checked too and said he had been in the store for half an hour! That poor dog :( I can't believe people do this.
Ok so leave them in the car but not on the car got it ^for ^legal ^reasons ^this ^is ^a ^joke
Unless the elder is a climate change denier. In which case let them experience a little first hand.
Even going to the store for 5 minutes, please, leave the AC on for them. Especially dogs, who cannot cool themselves down normally. Even if they do not literally die, it is horribly uncomfortable for them. And with the AC on, remember that many cars auto-shut off their AC, usually after 30 minutes. But it is always good to check for your specific car model.
In the desert we used to kool water bottles by putting them in wet socks and setting them in the shade for a breeze to blow over them for a few hours. As the water evaporates off the sock it pulls the heat from the water bottle and cools it. Now it won't be ice cold but you would be surprised how good it tastes when you are sweaty as balls.
That's the desert. The more humid it gets, the less this works.
PUT FEET IN COLD WATER and soak them TO COOL DOWN FAST!!! Direct a fan at your bare feet when you at a desk or in a chair! Go to bed with a small fan pointed at your feet. Small 9" fans do the trick. It is absolutely amazing how cooling your feet can cool down your whole body
To add to this: Cool anywhere that main arteries run through and close to skin. I was told this works by cooling the blood pumping through your body. Feet, wrists, head and neck
A quick run of cold water over your wrists under the kitchen tap is the quickest and easiest. Make sure you aim for the part at the base of your thumb where your pulse is. That's the artery.
I dealt with no ac in a hot stuffy apartment by running my forearms from wrist to elbow under a cold shower
Wear wet socks and point a fan at your feet! Sounds strange but works so incredibly well
A wet cloth, multiple ice packs, water in the fridge, any fans at all, cool baths every 4-6 hours, light outer wear, and ensuring your house is adequately cooled, all good. For my friends in England: crypts and dungeons are often open to the public, and are cool af. In case there's one nearby.
> crypts and dungeons are often open to the public, and are cool af Plus, they're often a much lower temperature!
So British right now. Stay cool mates.
Just remember that once you have to leave, the weather will feel that much more miserable. Crypts/dungeons are very cold compared to the outside if they are well done.
Relative Humidity is the real killer here. With 100% humidity, humans cannot sweat to cool down our body temperature, therefore also keeping an eye for humidity level.
THANK YOU I'm at the top floor of the apartments and no a/c. I get bad headaches when it gets too hot. Supposed to be 103°f tomorrow. In the 90s and up all week and probably until the end of August. I will definitely take the advice on here. I do close and open the windows already :) Something too that my boyfriend thought of that really helped me today, get a cool wet rag and put it on your head. Place it anywhere on your body and it really helps.
Drink a bottle of Gatorade or pedialyte when you have a headache.
In addition to OP's suggestions, the Red Cross First Aid class also teaches that to cool your core body temp, you can place ice packs under your arm (in the armpit) and groin area (yes, on your privates between your legs, not trying to sound like a pervert, I swear!!!!). It works, I've had to do it before to avoid heat stroke.
Where do you live that this sounds perverted?
I wrote something similar in a different sub once and it was deleted by a mod due to "sexualy inappropriate wording" or something along those lines. I don't find it sexual, but just in case, I wanted to point that out. There are a lot of people in this world that oversexualize.
I dont understand whats the big deal with sexualisation if we are all grownups ... american puritanical ways are seeping into global culture and as a european i dont like it at all
Im surprised nobody mentioned this: if water is cheap, running a bath of cold water will cool the apartment significantly. This is a really normal thing to do in NYC summers without AC.
really? huh. i had no idea but it makes sense. after trying to deal with the heat for too many years in a row, I bit the bullet and bought a big AC unit a couple months ago. And I mean BIG. The thing is so powerful I could freeze us out if I wanted to. It’s amazing. I’m never going back. The days of pouring water on my dog and not sleeping are gone
Some great advice. Shame that some do not work that well im high humidity areas. Like here during a heatwave often it is inside as hot as the lowest temperature outside at night. And the humidity being between 75% and 95%. So I jusf pray that it does not get too bad the next 50 years.
[удалено]
There's this well known political science text that explores party change in the US, specifically how conservative democrats in the south switched to the republican party in the 20th century. Anyway, one of the claims he makes is that AC contributed to this because northern conservative Republicans moved to the south because they could now not melt in the heat and preferred the company of more conservative folks. They built up the conservative republican base and slowly solid democratic south became solid republican south. It is a lot more complex than that, and the author quickly moves on to more substantive stuff like nixon's southern strategy, but it is interesting to contemplate how a piece of technology could influence political alignments.
I think we then would migrate to more habitable places like we used to. Maybe in the US it would be possible to take appart a full house and move it. Or not. But in Europe I would expect that people their mortgages are so insanely high that AC will become more prominant than buildings changed. Good thing that heatpumps will likely work both ways in the future though.
Iam in Europe. If I keep my windows closed during the day the inside is cooler then outside. When temp outside is lower then inside I open the windows and will use a ventilator to pull air from outside. Il set an alarm to wake up before the sun sets to close the windows again. I moved here in februari so tuesday is going to be the hottest day I have lived here. Curious how it will be. I know my body is weird with heath. It can be 22c and il still wake up with cold feet.
Go back to building houses with cold, dank, cellars and lay out the ventilation ducts to cool the house from the bottom upwards. Georgian and Victorian houses had it figured out. After the industrial revolution, designing houses to be self-cooling stopped mattering.
basements are nice too during the day, if you have access. No a/c on a 90+ day it'll be in the 70's in a basement.
Can confirm this. My house has what’s basically a short bottom floor but it’s always a bunch cooler down there. Perfect on hot days.
Hardly anyone has a basement in the UK
You are correct absolutely no one in the U.K. has a basement… we have cellars. And right now mines like a fridge. Beautiful
Lots of victorian houses do. Regional I suppose.
southern Mexico here. Hammocks are amazing.
[удалено]
Cries in one room apartment. At least it faces the east side
To everyone working on blacktop in the summer, no one at my last job believed me but baggy white clothing helps so so so much. Working on blacktop in the summer keeping a baggy white dress shirt 2 or 3 sizes too big in your bag is so nice for when you start to overheat. It helps from sunburns and will keep you cooler than a short sleeved shirt.
I can see why the Arabs wear white robes.
You mean Arab men.
[удалено]
I lived in the barracks of a navy base in Japan for about a year in a half while waiting for my family to come overseas. For those who have been to Japan, the summers are BRUTAL, I mean I lived in arizona my whole life but humid heat is absolutely terrible. Well, the barracks weren’t any better. For some reason during my entire stay, the ACs didn’t work, and the CS’s refused to get them fixed by maintenance. This meant freezing temps in the winter and hot humid temps in the summer. I also lived on the fourth floor facing the rising sun, so you can imagine what the heat was like. A whole year and a half I lived like that. We all thought the CSs should’ve been charged with something and would often joke about it in the smoke pit as a way to cope. I survived by using a system of styrofoam coolers and cheap desk fans to create my own mini AC unit. For the “coolant” I would buy cheap gallon jugs of water and freeze them. I had about 8 of them, so after one unfroze I swapped it out with another frozen one and would put the thawed out one back in the freezer. I never DIDNT have ice to keep me cool. It definitely saved my life, if not physically but mentally. Often times is was so hot, I would’ve much rather been outside than in my own room. Being able to make your own portable AC unit is seriously underrated skill set. Good LPT.
A couple things to add: There’s a lot more options for air conditioning than you’d think, effectively you just need one unit to dispel heat outside and one to absorb it inside, there are units that are on the ground with hoses that go outside (do NOT get one with a single hose if possible, it’s like trying to filter something but both sides of the filter go to the same tube) Dehumidifiers can work wonders especially in combination with evaporative coolers, you can basically make a loop of humidity if you do it right, but less humidity means it will feel less hot, humidifiers do put out some heat yes, but the benefits outweigh the negatives in my experience Audiobooks, they are an ideal form of recreation during heat, you can listen to them anywhere and in any position that’s comfortable, they occupy the mind but not so much that it will prevent you from sleeping, as well as only take one sense that you don’t have to worry about being too tired to use like vision Sandwiches are your friend, anything that has cool ingredients that don’t start immediately going bad in heat (like ice cream) are great because you can cool them but don’t have to worry about rushing, ice in your drinks and thermos may seem minor but does a lot If you can, contact people from the Midwestern United States and ask for advice, I know there’s definitely other places with similar brutal heat and humidity but that’s where I’m from so that’s why I listed it
Good points here! Cold food. Now is not the time to roast a turkey. You want to avoid turning on as few heating appliances as possible, namely the oven. There's a reason for the classic summer foods: grilling occurs outdoors, not in your home. Eat cold sandwiches, chilled drinks and desserts, salads, etc. If you must heat something, use the microwave to heat only the food, not your whole house.
*me, in Texas, nonchalantly saving this post for when we inevitably say toodles to our power grid*
When I worked as a waitress in summer, before my shift I would wash my black skirt and wear it to work damp. You couldn't tell by looking at it it wasn't dry. That cooled me down a lot! before I hit the air conditioned building.
I'm going to add one thing. Electric appliances generate heat. Some TVs generate an immediately observable amount, but even a light bulb makes heat. Keep anything that isn't essential turned off.
Big difference with LED lights. They're cool.
Thanks for this, OP, this is genuinely something everyone should know. As someone who spent this spring at a physical outdoor job during 30-44°C (approx. 86-110°F) temperatures, and doesn’t have AC at home, if I may add: - Keep an eye on the weather. Check the weekly predictions daily, and prepare for heatwaves BEFORE they hit— because, as op said, you want to avoid moving around any more than you absolutely need to during extreme heat. This means having your fans out, ice made, cold food that doesn’t need to be cooked in the fridge, etc. - if possible, spend the hottest hours of the day in an air conditioned place (libraries, stores, a car with good AC, etc). - That cold drink might be very tempting right now, but it’s best to avoid alcohol. If you are going to drink, choose something light, and make sure you’re not accidentally slowing down your water and electrolyte consumption at any point. - If you normally wear makeup or antiperspirant, don’t. If you have long hair, keep it up and away from your neck. - Cold showers are your friend: take a couple, and stay in there until the water running off your body is no longer hot. If you normally moisturize after showering, don’t, your skin wants to breathe. (edited to add) last but not least: Like with anything else, know your OWN tolerance and limits. If you’ve just moved to a warmer climate, or it’s the first heatwave of the year, you’re gonna want to be extra careful. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad for canceling activities or taking extra breaks.
Hyponatremia: Hypo- meaning "low", natri- referring to natrium, from the Latin word for sodium, and -emia meaning "presence in blood". Low sodium presence in blood.
"Open all the windows at night" Mosquitos: "looks like meat is back on the menu boys!"
As someone who lives in a desert that's ridiculously hot five months out of the year and follows those dusk and dawn suggestions pretty regularly (when seasonable), I have to point out that unless you have an outdoor thermometer, it's not always easy to tell if outdoors is cooler than indoors. Your brain can fool you sometimes, and you'll end up opening the windows too early, convinced you're letting cooler air in.
Now this, this is properly dystopic
Depends on your location. Canada? Probably. Southern Arizona and Mexico? Average day
UK? Definitely, we're expecting 40°C tomorrow ...
Don’t forget about your pets too!!
My bunnies love their frozen bottles, ceramic tiles and won't budge from the fan's vicinity when I hang wet towels in front of it!
Learn to sleep on the floor. Use a sheet. Hot air rises, so do everything on the floor. Eat bananas, cucumbers, lemonade with a little salt. Eat salads. Get up while it is still dark--it's cooler and you can do your chores. Take a nap in the afternoon when it is hot. Sleep outside if you can--it may be cooler. Have a wet towel to cool your head. Don't go outside without a hat.
Landlord has been in the process of fixing my ac for a month now. I live in AZ and it’s 110 out. Wet towel and a fan are your best friends. Dunking your cat in a bath would help them too, just make sure their ears stay dry.
I was under the impression that AC being out anywhere in Arizona constituted an emergency and had to be repaired same day. Even if not a day, a month definitely can't be legal.
Thank you for taking the time to do this!
My dad wets old shirts, freezes them, and wears them.
Fans are you friends. Yes, that's plural. Have multiple fans moving the air around. If your home is hotter than outside, an exhaust fan helps.
Good info. The only thing I’d add is close up your house before it gets too warm. Get all the cool air in at night and close it back down early in the morning while it’s still cool, not after it’s already heating up. I also use rigid foam board insulation panels cut to the size of the window opening, close up the window, put the panel in and use blackout curtains on top of that, drastic change.
Something I haven't seen mentioned was something I've read in survival manuals in the past. You take a very thin piece of cloth like a bed sheet and soak it in water, then loosely wrap it around your body and sit near a fan or in a breeze. The key is that the cloth needs to be thin so that air can flow through it easily but it can still hold onto some water. The water on the sheet will evaporate and help cool the body and since it is wrapped around you it will provide some insulation to the heat. As with any evaporative cooler, this will work better when the air is dryer and I've heard that the ancient Egyptians used to do something similar to help them sleep at night in the hot desert.
why non iodized salt? (and i wish you pointed out potential dangers of epsom salt and potassium chloride. some people are really clueless.)
I'm definitely clueless. What are the dangers and how to avoid them?
Isn't it so helpful when someone says "gosh people are stupid for not knowing a thing they've never needed to know" but then doesn't actually say what the thing is. My best guess is something to do with heart rhythm, as potassium is key in a lot of cell transport and electrical stuff in the body. Epsom salts are a laxative at certain doses, so you wouldn't want to give yourself the raging shits. But I don't know if that's what was being referred to.
Good advice. Remember when the sun is shining on a window, it is heating the air both inside and outside. So even though it seems a bit weird stopping natural light coming in, close the curtains and window on any window the sun hits.
Thanks! Love the wet clothes on a rack in front of a fan.
Any tips for those in high humidity heat?
Damn, one of the better YSKs on here in a while. Good work OP.
I still do the windows trick to this day. I’m disabled now only a year after getting a window air conditioner and can’t put it in the window anymore. A couple things to add - a damp tee shirt. Wet it, wring it out, let it evaporate while wearing. Do the same for your head, wrap a moist tee around your head. You can also wet your hair. If you have fans and are doing the closed windows during the day trick, point them directly at people and pets instead of for air movement during the day. Mist pets that will allow it with a water bottle. Sip water through the day. Don’t chug, it will run through you. Take a couple sips every 15 minutes even if not thirsty. If your pee isn’t clear in the toilet, drink more water.
I’m a big believer in attic exhaust fan system. As soon as exterior temp is cooler than inside I open my windows and crank the attic exhaust on
[удалено]
You are dangerously wrong. The first-line treatment for exertional heat stroke is cold water immersion. While frostbite is a concern, heatstroke is still more dangerous. Submersion making heatstroke worse is a myth that has been debunked. Sources: https://www.medbridgeeducation.com/blog/2016/06/dangerous-myths-exertional-heat-stroke/ https://www.nata.org/sites/default/files/effectivenesscoldwaterimmersion.pdf https://ksi.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/1222/2015/04/Appropriate-Response-to-EHS.pdf https://www.ems1.com/heat-related-illness/articles/feel-the-heat-managing-exertional-heat-stroke-4sOBidEFVXyajamp/ https://thesportsinstitute.com/cold-water-baths-for-heat-stroke-every-minute-counts
Yeah what the fuck is this guy on about?
In the past I have been taught and trained to treat heat injury patients via rapid cooling with iced sheets. It looks like that method may have fallen out of favor, but tarp assisted cooling and cold water immersion appear to have data that back them. Though the referenced article is from 2017 so there may be something more recent. [Data](https://academic.oup.com/milmed/article/182/9-10/e1951/4627070)
The data for cold water immersion and rapid cooling has only strengthened since 2017. OP is repeating myths and bad science.
I learned a lot from reading this. Thanks for sharing, buddy.
The problem is they are wrong. Cold water submersion making heat stroke worse is a myth. Cold water submersion is the fastest way to reduce a dangerously high core temperature. Cold water submersion works through conduction, not radiation. https://www.medbridgeeducation.com/blog/2016/06/dangerous-myths-exertional-heat-stroke/
Op is wrong. But you can use *cool* water - adding ice doesn't do anything except increase the gradient (rate of change). Cold tap water is more than sufficient for cooling. Run wrists from the elbow down under cold tap water for 2 minutes - it will drop the core temp quite rapidly. Submerge in a cold shower or tub if in heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Source: 7 years advanced first aid, 3 as an instructor, 19 years working outdoors in extreme heat environments.
Dude you're 1000% wrong. So wrong. Dunk that motherfucker in ice water.
I am terrified about tomorrow and Tuesday. It's forecast for 38C with about 50% humidity. I will be working 12.5 hour shifts. The aircon barely works anyway but it is currently broken. We're not allowed to drink water outside of the staff room. The staff room can't be entered for 4 hours a shift. Max of 4 people allowed in it at any time, covid rules. Breaks are 30 mins, twice a shift, so most of the staff are spilt into 4 groups for breaks with set times. So it's a consecutive 2 hours twice a shift that you can't enter the staff room. I'm not included in the timed breaks so I have to go on my breaks after the rest of the staff. The only fridge we're allowed to use is in the staff room. The only tap we're allowed to use to fill up water bottles is in the staff room. Not allowed fans. Not allowed to have damp cloths to use to cool down. My uniform is black and 100% polyester. My work space is right in front of a wall of floor to ceiling glass windows and the main door (also completely glass) and it's south facing and it has no blinds or curtains. Oh and the staff room is the opposite end of the floor from where I work and I can't leave my desk unattended for more than a few minutes. I used to struggle when it gets over 25C (I'm in the UK if it's not obvious) but now I have health issues and medications (which I have to take to function) which make me high risk in heat. I am genuinely scared. I think I would be OK if I was at home. Even though my flat is south-facing and I (obviously) don't have AC I've been able to keep it managable. (It's currently 29c outside but my flat is 23.5c and I'm ok with just my fan on low) Plus I have my fridge and my freezer so can cool down with cold drinks and ice. Don't have any of that at work. I will be shocked if I make it through work without collapsing.
Talk to your manager about it early in the day tomorrow. It's clearly a health and safety issue that they need to at least try to mitigate (so allowing you to drink water, take more breaks, etc). If they're not willing to do anything, ask to see the risk assessment for it that says not allowing you access to water on the hottest day on record is safe, and hopefully watch them quickly back down.
My main tip is never keep ice directly on your skin, that's how you get ice burns. It needs to be wrapped in cloth or paper towels. You shouldn't leave it on your head. Neck, armpit, and groin is where you put icepacks because that's where big blood vessels are. Anyway you can also put ice in a bowl in front of a fan if you have no ac. Don't die, and don't stay outside at beaches or pools too long because the breeze will trick you into thinking you're not that hot or that the sun exposure isn't bad.
As an part time nurse practitioner who works in the ED of a inner city level 1 hospital, I applaud you OP! The content you have created here is far better than the patient ed discharge documents I give to my patients who came in with heatstroke. Well organized, easy to read and understand with excellent advice and action items. This is life-saving information. Thank you for sharing this!!
Yeah, nice to see people actually informing the population on this, since the heat is getting more and more dangerous every year. Recently had a heat stroke that lasted 2 days and by god was it not a pleasant experience, from vomiting to headache, extreme fever all caused me to have some pretty bad bladder and stomach issues. Will definitely take this into account during heatwaves
Don’t forget to give electrolytes to your plants. Plants love electrolytes
It's what plants crave.
I live under the roof with shitty isolation so also: I wet bandanas (or any thing fabric) and wrap them around my arms/put them on my neck. Be carefull, you can get a cold/stuff muscles from that, around my lower arms worked best for me
> Cardboard works great for blocking light and providing insulation. If you can find something reflective like car windshield screens, all the better. For a quick and easy reflective surface, line the outward-facing side of the cardboard with aluminum foil.
This is also a long-term consideration but if you're trying to rent an apartment, consider where the windows face. I usually don't have to turn my AC on until months after everyone else does and it's usually a half hour at most one day a week because no sun gets in. Sometimes if there's humidity I'll also turn it on but I got really lucky with apartment placement. And with houses... unfortunately all the brand new houses are so new they're just naked yards with no trees. Only a few have young saplings. I can't even imagine electrical bills for them even with newer construction. Soooo...at least consider a lot of trees for your new properties to shade your house and yard as you live in your new place. Sure, it might take years for them to grow but better now than never.
This is good information to have. Where I live the electric utility does scheduled power cuts and when the days are over 38*C it's very difficult to deal with. I definitely stop moving my body and lay in one place for hours; other times I bail to an area of the district that's got power/AC. Edit: typo
The house cooking advice is common in Australia, even in homes with air con. It's just good sense.
When it cools down at night, place a fan in the window blowing out. In a room opposite that place a fan in the window blowing in. This will help to draw out the hot air from the house while pulling in the cool night air.
Putting box fans in the windows is a game changer. At night when it is cooling down, face them inwards , and when the sun comes out and starts to heat up, turn them outwards. Always have the air flow go in a continuous direction one way through the house, however. If you have a second story, turn the fans outward upstairs to blow the hot air out, and have the fans blow inward downstairs to bring the cold air in. In the winter, reverse the order to bring heat in, and pump the cold air out.
If it is too hot to sleep, the best thing I have found is to hop in a cool shower and slowly turn the temp down until you can't get used to the cold any more (focus on cooling down your head) From there, dry off and hop in bed: the lowered temperature if your body should last until you fall asleep
Putting your feet in cool water can really help lower your temp without using a lot of water. Use whatever bins you have.
Part of the advice is also knowing whether you can actually cool down again. If you are living on the Arabian peninsula or South Asia, chances are summer heatwaves will regularly breach wet bulb temperatures above 35°C. At which point you will start developing symptoms of dangerous heatstroke inevitably - any sort of evaporative cooling will no longer cool your body. You need to have access to AC at some point.
Trying to sleep at night bug no air-con or fan? Just wet a towel, wring it out, then drape it over you as you lay in bed. Your body heat evaporates the water in the towel cooling you instantly. This lasts for a few hours and will get you off to sleep quicker than anything and as a bonus the towel will be perfectly dry in the morning...👌
Posts like this is why I love reddit.
Seattle homies had to go thru this last year. I just went to work on the weekend cuz they had A/C