For all of the northerners that stood up for Texas during our freeze and said, “Don’t make fun of them, they’ve never dealt with this before. Their infrastructure isn’t made for snow and freezing.”
This one is for you.
Where I live 108°F with 80% humidity with no wind is normal.
Pacific North West is dealing historic best waves 35-40°C or 95-105°F.
First of all. Don’t make fun of them for bitching about the heat. Just like Texas isn’t built for a freeze and our pipes burst, Pacific North West isn’t built for heat and a lot of their homes don’t have AC.
- If you live somewhere with a high humidity like 80+ HUMIDITY IS NOT YOUR FRIEND. The “humidity makes it feel cooler” is a lie once it gets beyond a point.
- If you live somewhere with a lower humidity, misters are nice to cool off outside.
- Once you get over 90°F (32°C) a fan will not help you. It’s just pushing around hot air. (I mean if you can’t afford a small AC unit because they’re expensive as hell, by all means a fan is better than nothing).
- If you have pets, those portable AC units aren’t safe. If your pets destroy the outtake thing, it’ll leak CO2. Window units are safer.
- Window AC units will let mosquitoes or other small bugs in. Sucks, but that’s life.
- Now is not the time to me modest. If you have to cover for religious reasons, by all means. If you don’t, I’ve seen people wear short shorts and a swim top. It’s not trashy if it keeps you from getting heat stroke.
- If you do have to cover up for religious reasons, look for elephant pants or something similar. They’re made with a breathable material.
- Shade is better than no shade, but that shit it just diet sun after some point. Don’t think shade will save you from heat stroke.
- I know the “drink your water” is a fun meme now, but if you’re sweating excessively you need electrolytes. Drink Gatorade, Powerade, or Pedialite PLEASE. I don’t care if you’re fucking sitting in one spot all day. That shit WILL save you from heat stroke.
- Most importantly. RESEARCH THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HEAT STROKE AND HEAT EXHAUSTION PLEASE!
Heat exhaustion is more, “drink water and get you cooled off.” Heat stroke is more “Oh my god call 911.”
Be safe.
-fae
Wear a hat and regularly soak it in water. As it dries it will cool your head. Its in the mid 90s here today and my hat is drying out in an hour or so, plan accordingly.
Take your time with tasks Physical activity generates body heat and you do not need more of that.
Good curtains on your windows help keep the sun out and the ac in.
Yes.
If you can afford it, blackout curtains or really thick curtains that keeps the sun out will insulate the windows.
I needed this when I lived in an apartment where my room faced west because the setting sun was too hot and the AC couldn’t keep up.
-fae
Also drink water BEFORE you feel dehydrated. Drink water BEFORE you get hot. Even if you don’t feel like you need water, drink it. There isn’t much to prevent heat stroke, but going into the heat with water in your system will be far better than going into it without water. Avoid soda, coffee, iced/sweet tea, and other caffeinated drinks cuz they’ll dehydrate you.
Another good option is cold watermelon or high water fruits. When I find I’m so hot that the idea of drinking water is gross, melon is what I usually turn to. It’s more interesting texturally and is extremely high water content.
If you are experiencing heat exhaustion, drink cool but not cold water. Too cold will shock your system.
Seconding black out curtains. They’re saving my electric bill rn.
Do not be afraid to pour water on yourself or your clothing. Water evaporating will cool you off. Legit the only reason why I was able to sleep in 95 degree heat this weekend was my soaked shirt.
Also make sure to check your car batteries or tires. Nothing will leave you stranded in the heat easier than a car malfunction, especially a battery. If there is any resistance starting your car, get a new battery asap.
As someone who used to work in the sun:
Freeze a towel or several. Then put them on your forehead, neck, arms, etc..
I’m not trying to make anyone spend unnecessary money but there are cheap handheld fans with water misters.
If you can’t be in a place with a fan or if your car AC is bust, these come in handy. I own two of the first one pictured and they’re really refreshing.
If you HATE the taste of water or Gatorade find flavor packets or drops to add to water.
Freeze treats and toys for your pets if they’re freezer safe. Test the pavement if you have a pet that you walk. If it hurts your hands it hurts their paws!
“Avoid soda, coffee, iced/sweet tea, and other caffeinated drinks cuz they’ll dehydrate you.” <- No, they don’t, they’ve done studies to disprove this
There’s a myth that caffeine will dehydrate you because it has a mild diuretic action (aka means it can increase urination). But any increase you might have in urination will not outstrip the liquid/hydration your body will receive from your drink. If you don’t like the taste of water or electrolyte drinks like Gatorade, drink the fucking soda/tea/coffee/whatever. It will hydrate you. The only liquid that won’t hydrate you is alcohol, so only avoid those
Also, if you are dehydrated, get liquid in your system fast (water is best, but the important thing is to get any hydrating liquid into your system asap), but drink slowly. You’ll want to guzzle it because you’ll be really thirsty, but find somewhere cool and drink as slowly/in little sips as you can manage. When you start to feel a little better, then you can start taking bigger swallows, but you don’t want to shock your system by going from no liquid -> LOTS OF LIQUID too quickly
Stay safe and hydrated ❤️
If you’re just sitting at your computer or on your phone or with a book, and it is safe for you to do so:
Get a bucket, fill it with water, dump in some ice packs, and soak your feet. Keep a towel or rug nearby to dry them off before you have to walk anywhere, and of course if they start getting numb or tingling take them out.
Wear clothing with natural fibers. Cotton, linen, silk if that’s something you have, lightweight wool (yes, really, even when it’s hot, and please note that I said LIGHTWEIGHT, I’m not talking about wearing your winter woolies). Polyester, rayon, acrylic, anything like that, is going to stick to you like glue and make you feel a million times hotter.
Also, make sure it’s loose-fitting. Especially if you’re wearing long sleeves/pants, be it for religious reasons or other reasons (I skin-pick, so I wear long sleeves all the time because otherwise I’ll tear up my forearms). Personally, I’ve actually found that I stay cooler wearing long-sleeved shirts (and subsequently not having my skin directly exposed to the sun) than short-sleeved, but I recognize that may not necessarily be true for everyone. At any rate, make sure you can get a bit of airflow in your clothes.
Fat people, large-breasted people, people who bind: Pay attention to your body. If you start finding yourself short of breath, take off your binder/bra/girdle/whatever. I straight-up won’t wear one if I’m going to have to be outside for any length of time - even if it’s just walking between buildings at work - if the high is supposed to be above 90°F/32°C. As long as your shirt is loose, nobody is going to notice or care, really.
If you’re going to be somewhere that doesn’t have access to ice, and you don’t have an insulated water bottle, take the water bottle you do have, fill it halfway, and lay it on its side in the freezer the night before, then add water before you leave the house. Hot water, like hot air, rises to the top (remember those experiments with colored water when you were in elementary school?), so if you’re not filling your bottle with ice and then adding water, having one side of the bottle be ice will keep the water cooler longer. Plus, as it melts, you’ll have cold water for a bit.
Also: If you have anxiety, hot weather can trigger or even mimic symptoms of anxiety. Take care of yourself and make sure you have whatever you need on hand to help. My go-to is to try and have some of those Starlite mints on hand; the peppermint settles my stomach, the repetitive sucking motion gives me something to focus on to settle my symptoms, and it helps keep my mouth from drying out. (Plus, in a pinch, it’s something to bite down on that isn’t my tongue or my teeth.)
