With temperatures set to soar up way beyond 100 degrees in the next couple of days we need to be aware of some ways to keep both ourselves, and any babies or small children cool during these hottest times of the year.
Here are some tips that we have found...
1. Wet 'pulse points' with cold water. Use a piece of ice wrapped in a flannel, to continue after the coolness wears off. Constantly cooling off the wrists will cool off the body. Never let ice come into contact with the skin though; make sure it is wrapped. This will reduce your temperature by as much as 3 °F, and will last for up to one hour.
2. Drink cold drinks. Water is best, but liquids of any type will help. The electrolytes make sure you don’t lose minerals through sweating. Adding ice will also help. Avoid sugary drinks.
3. Keep still and quiet. This is not a time for exercising, sports or running around. Keep these activities for the evening when the air becomes cooler.
4. Place wet towel on the back of the neck and the top of the head. Athletic team doctors regularly employ this method.
5. Use perspiration to cool the body down. Water vapour produced by sweating actually takes heat away from your body if it is exposed to air and allowed to evaporate. The best thing to do is to put your sweaty self in the path of a cool breeze or fan.
6. Stay in the shade. Read a good book, sit still or take a nap.
7. Have a cold shower or bath. Even a small amount of water sprayed or splashed on you can help. Wet towels if you need to cool all of your body and wrap your legs, torso and arms with them.
8. Wet your hair with cold water every half an hour.
9. Ball up and soak a t-shirt in the sink, wring it out & put it on , then sit in front of a fan. Re-wet as it dries.
10. Use fans. Fans keep the air circulating and produce a small cooling effect. Place a wet face cloth on the fan to produce a mini air-conditioning effect.
11. Take a glass and fill it almost to the brim with ice cubes. Then hold it up to your mouth and blow down into the glass. The ice causes the air you are blowing into the glass to cool down, and since the air only has one way out of the cup it is forced out over your skin. This is a great alternative to air conditioning and is very simple.
12. Turn off the stove or other sources of heat. Incandescent light bulbs also create heat. Turn off your lamps, as well as your computer and TV set when not needed.
13. Prepare your home against the heat. In the evening, open windows and use fans to create a cross-breeze, circulating cooler evening/night air through rooms. As soon as the sun hits the building the next morning, close all window shutters, and keep doors and windows closed throughout the day until it is cooler outside than it is inside.
14. Eat less. Smaller meals with less protein will reduce metabolic heat. Whatever you do eat should be cool and not require heat to be prepared (e.g. salads, sandwiches, etc.).
15. Freeze bottles of water, then place them in a bowl. Position a fan to blow on them. As the ice in the bottles melt, the air cools around them. The fan will blow that air at you. The water in the bottles can then be frozen overnight and used again, repeatedly.
Looking forward to hearing your tried and tested tips too.