to uk peeps

so you guys are facing down yet another global warming summer and as an american i feel entitled to barge over and give you a lot of advice about how to live your life. also i’m used to surviving 90-110 degree summers (32—43 celsius) with no ac. so here we go.

you need to drink a lot of water. on average you should be drinking about two liters. on hot days, double that.
fill plastic water bottles halfway up and stick them in your freezer. take them out once they’ve frozen and fill the rest up with water, drink the water, fill it up again, and carry it around with you until it’s time to get the next ice bottle. also you can put the icy end against your throat or over your chest for maximum refreshment.
consider making a lot of sun tea. get big glass jars or a pitcher. put a bunch of your preferred teabags in it with some sugar. if you want to be an american southerner, your tea should be green or black and your sugar amount should be enough to kill a child. if you want to be sane, put in as little sugar as you can get away with so it’s not dehydrating, and stick with herbal teas because the last thing you want during the heat of the day is a caffeine boost. leave your tea on a windowsill. after a few hours it’s steeped and you can put it in the fridge. tadaaa.
fruit juice, soda pop, beer, and a lot of sports drinks like gatorade all dehydrate you, and in really hot weather they’re dangerous because people will drink them instead of water. drink an equal amount of water as anything with sugar. see prior point about sun tea.
when you sweat you lose salt. so don’t feel bad about eating some junk food.
freeze grapes. eat the grapes. repeat.
get a hat with a brim. baseball caps are ok but wide brimmed hats are better because they shadow the back of your neck and that’s one less thing to have to worry about.
don’t wear knit caps. just… no.
you don’t get more sunburned because it’s hot, you get more sunburned because when it’s hot you wear less clothes. so don’t freak out.
if you don’t have AC you can put a bowl of ice behind a fan. this creates a swamp cooler, by pulling the air over the ice. also, put on a wet t-shirt and sit in front of it, and you’ll cool further by evaporation.
speaking of evaporation, watch out if it’s humid. you don’t cool down from sweating as much when the air’s already saturated. drink more water, have more salt, and change your shirt a lot.
heatstroke is serious shit, and kids and the elderly are prone to it. but whatever your age, if you feel nauseous, headachy, or short of breath, the heat’s getting to you. pour your water bottle over your head and go sit in the shade. keep an eye on friends and family as well.
if someone stops sweating when they’re still out in the heat, that’s serious business and get them medical treatment as soon as possible. it’s a case of dehydration and/or heatstroke.

windcalling

Other things that freeze really well, a short list:

Orange juice! Other fruit juices too, but I tend to have best results with oj or cider. Pour some into an empty ice-cube tray, let them freeze, and the result is slightly-flaky frozen goodness. This is also an easy way to make homemade popsicles–put a sheet of aluminum foil over top of the tray and stick toothpick/popsicle sticks in so the juice freezes around them.
Grapes were mentioned. Grapes are TRUE.
NOT SODAS. Do not freeze sodas! They explode.
Strawberries! These can be hard to find cheap, especially outside of strawberry season, and I don’t know about their availability outside of my part of the US, but if you can get them they’re great frozen in your water. Freeze-dry strawberries by laying them out on a tray or sth in the freezer, and then when they’re frozen just put them in a bag to conserve space.

Other general tips:

Fruit in water is amazing when you’re someone like me who doesn’t like water’s lack of taste. Strawberries and mint leaves are fairly traditional, but basically anything you like will work. there are lots of combos online.
If you have a blender or a food processor, smoothies are a good way to eat something when you’re too hot to function. Fruit+ice+milk+yogurt is pretty traditional.
Have sunscreen. Make sure you don’t have any skin reactions to the sunscreen. If your sunscreen has fragrance, make sure you can deal with the fragrance when it’s constantly on your face in heat.
Speaking off: sunscreen is not just for arms/shoulders. Put sunscreen on your face, especially nose/cheekbones/forehead. Put sunscreen on the tops of your ears! If your hair has a tight part, try to put sunscreen there if you don’t wear a hat (scalp burns are PAINFUL). Put sunscreen on your legs, especially the backs of your calves. Put sunscreen on any visible parts of your feet.
Wear loose clothing if you can, especially if you’re wearing long sleeves. Any constrictions on your breathing feel much worse in the heat.

sootonthecarpet

If you need to cool down quick, run cold water over your wrists (or put ice cubes on them maybe?). This is a trick they taught us in gymnastics class but it works just as well on hot days.

When you start getting that feeling like you’ve adapted to the heat, like it’s not bad, like you could just stay where you are for hours and hours, even get a blanket, and maybe you feel like you’re zoning out a little, it’s time to reconsider, move around, have something cool to drink.

And it can be hard to remember to eat when it’s so hot, for some reason. Cold food in small portions is generally easiest to manage. But remember to eat food with a lot of salt, a lot of potassium, a lot of vitamins. I can’t believe bananas aren’t on this post. My god, get your potassium, you’ll feel SO much better. If you’re eating something salty and it tastes unusually, amazingly good, it’s because you’re running low on salt, so keep eating it.

and seriously yeah keep an eye on people like kids and the elderly and anyone who’s under your care. ask them how they’re feeling if they’re able to tell you, and if not, try to see if they’re looking unusually unfocused, breathing too hard, haven’t had anything to drink in a while, etc.

If you bind, be even more careful about how long you bind and pay even more attention to your binder’s effects on your body.

sometimes there’s nothing else for it but to just fill a bathtub with cool water and get in. Seriously, it can be so helpful. Also, showers. Showers are good.

also take care of your dogs I don’t know anything about dogs but be careful for them! maybe look up some tips.

terrasigillata

also could anyone who even thinks about reblogging this from me to make fun of brits, pls stop?? when it gets hot here it’s kind of awful bc A/C is rare and they’re really not used to this kind of heat. if you add any sort of teasing if u reblog this for me i will find u and push you

gingerautie

Seriously, air conditioning is basically not a think here. And most of our houses are designed to trap heat. Our old people’s homes are not air conditioned. Our hospitals are not air conditioned. When we have unusual heat waves people die.

thesneakyfox

If you find yourself shaking, feeling dizzy, or feeling cold in the middle of a heat wave, sit yourself down in the shade and sip water (don’t chug, you’ll make yourself throw up) until you feel normal again. These are some of the first warning signs of heat exhaustion and ignoring them is dumb. If you’re at a sports practice or being otherwise active in the heat and you recognize these or other symptoms of heat exhaustion/heat stroke, don’t let yourself be pressured into playing through it. Listen to your body and take care of it.

I have so many British buddies, you guys, pay serious attention to the tips up above. For those who don’t know, I live in Australia, one of the driest and hottest places on earth, and we get those same temperatures that the first poster quoted, hotter in the centre of Australia. I didn’t know half of those tips, and I’ll likely utilise them next summer myself.

Please, take care in the heat, I’ll make sure to reblog this later on when it gets closer to you guys’ summer, but please, take this seriously. Even with us being used to the heat the way we are, we still have fatalities because people do not properly look after themselves.

also, since everyone always forgets – if you’re wearing sandals or flipflops, PUT SUNSCREEN ON YOUR TOES. Those little piggies are not used to being grilled, and sunburnt feet isn’t fun. Actually, suncreen everywhere (nape of neck, all over your ears, right down to your figures. Put your sunscreen on before getting dressed, and let it soak in, so you don’t get burn lines along the hems, and re-apply FREQUENTLY. In fact, if you don’t regularly use sunscreen, read this helpful FAQ As someone with skin cancer, let me tell you, DON’T LET YOURSELF GET BURNED! /psa

infjconfessions

another point to cool off is behind the ears, press an ice cube there when your head feels hot

lie down on the floor to refresh, if your house is all wooden floors and carpets, the floors won’t be fresh but where there are tiles (like the bathroom) would work

and yo, if u have towels, u should soak ‘em in cold water or a tub of ice if one is accessible, and just wear it around your neck

also, the sunscreen thing is rly important even if you don’t think you need it, you can still get sunburnt and have ur skin peeling, and that’s no fun.

pleiadic

If you have access to multiple floors, it can be a good idea to set up an air mattress or even just pile up some blankets on the floor and to sleep on the lowest floor you can. Heat rises, and even with a/c we used to sleep on the ground floor when we were in an old farmhouse. It’s also not a bad idea to wear loose, light colored clothing that’s a little more covering, since this helps keep the sun off of you and makes it easier for sweat to evaporate, which both help keep you cool. Idk if anyone’s mentioned this, but you can tie up loose hair in a bun or braid to keep it from sticking to your neck. It’s a small but quick thing that can make you feel a bit better, just make sure to keep the back of your neck in the shade and sunscreen.

theappleismightierthanthesarah

If you plan on lying on your stomach in the sun SUNSCREEN THE BOTTOMS OF YOUR FEET. Really sunscreen every 1-2 hours and make sure you apply at least 15 min before going outside.

I like sticking my top sheet and pillowcase in the freezer about 30 min or more before going to bed. And cold wet hair is a blessing for a while if you have longer hair

chibi-koun

About clothing: If you can wear loose clothes made of 100% cotton or linen, wear them! A lot of synthetic fibers (I’m looking at you, polyester) will stick to your skin like plastic wrap.

Also, FROZEN BANANAS. Frozen bananas are excellent. And having something salty to snack on, because it will make you thirsty and remind you to drink water, as well as replacing any salt you lose by sweating. Just keep a bag of chips (er, American-style chips, I mean) or pretzels handy and munch on them.

I get super dizzy in the heat- not related to dehydration or heat stroke or dangerous things, it’s just a thing with my body. If you’ve figured out that you do the same (and aren’t suffering heat stroke) it can be a pain. Best thing I’ve found to counter that is rest my head between my knees or on a table or whatever, face down, and put something frozen on the back of my neck. A frozen towel or ice pack or whatever. Like all the other cool down points people mention are good but I’ve found that to be the best one to counteract dizziness is the back of the neck at the base of the skull.

Reblogging because this information is helpful for everyone around the world. I’m heat-sensitive so I’ll be trying some of these this summer myself.

when-it-rains-it-snows

Please also take extra care of pets and children - small bodies overheat much faster!

Hard, dark surfaces (asphalt, paving, etc) absorb heat and radiate it back - if the air up where your adult head is, is hot, then down at knee level where small children and pets walk may be 20-30 degrees F (10+ deg C) HOTTER. Black road surface can be hot enough to actually burn paws.

Heat exhaustion in pets looks like it does in people - dizziness, disorientation, unfocused eyes. Dogs may pant so hard their mouth is foamy. Especially be careful of long haired dogs and any breed with a short nose or flat face. If you can clip the coat, the dog will probably be grateful, but will also be susceptible to sunburn, so use your judgment. Sometimes it’s better to leave the hair, or clip only the belly.

Cats are pretty heat tolerant, but definitely make sure that outdoor cats have reliable shade and water. Indoor cats appreciate a fan to lay near.

If you have an overheated dog or cat: Immediately move the animal to shade, and cool them by putting cool (NOT COLD OR ICY) water on JUST THEIR PAWS. Do not douse the animal in water - thermal shock is just as bad as overheating. Keep soaking the paws in cool water until the animal recovers. Offer cool (NOT COLD OR ICY) water to drink. If you offer very cold water to an overheated dog, they will drink it, but it may make them vomit, only worsening dehydration. If the animal doesn’t want water pretty much immediately, they’re dangerously overheated - soak their paws and call the vet.

Dogs which are merely hot, not overheated, will enjoy the same things you do. Cool water at all times. Soak a rope toy in water and freeze it. Frozen peanut butter for a treat. Give the dog a frozen water bottle - they might ignore it, or they might happily lick it or lay on it.

uglymelon

These are good tips. My current apartment has no a/c and used to be the sunroom of an old victorian house, so I can vouch for how important all this is. Lay on the floor in your undies and put frozen water bottles in your armpits. Trust me.

In addition…. • If you can afford it, go to the movies or other places (like shopping malls) where the AC will be on HIGH. I realize this won’t get you through the whole day, but it can help. • Keep a jug of water in your fridge. Sometimes the pipes get so hot in the sun that your tap water won’t get cooler than lukewarm. • So you’re inside and you’re bored… try not to leave your big desktop computer running all day. Use a tablet, read a book, or play games on your Gameboy/smartphone. Computers with fans put out a lot of heat. • A park with grass and trees will be cooler than a park with just concrete/pavement/whatever. Not just because of the shade, but because the plants won’t bounce all the sun’s heat back at you. • Light bulbs put out heat too (more or less depending on the type) so leave them off when possible. • Hopefully it cools off at night. Open all the doors and windows (easier if you have screens; I hear some people don’t??) once it’s cooler outside than in, and overnight if it’s safe. Make sure to close up in the morning before it gets hot out again.

uglymelon

Another sleeping tip: put an ice pack (preferably a soft one but use whatever you have) in a pillowcase and take it to bed with you. Just lay an arm or whatever over it; in my experience, you’ll scoot closer to or farther from it during the night to adjust your temperature without waking up TOO much. Like an anti-hot water bottle for your bed.

Seconding the shower suggestion above, too. Absolute lifesaver and it can just be a quick rinse.

Current place doesn’t have screens on most of the windows (lol), so I dropped <$20 on a mosquito net canopy, which is also a literal lifesaver depending on where you live.

ollieofthebeholder

Additional tips from a fat person primarily geared towards other fat people:

Long sleeves and long pants, counterintuitive as this is about to sound, are your friends. Go for thinner fabric, and as someone up there said, you’re going to want to go for a natural fabric (cotton, linen, silk, very fine wool - yes, really) rather than a synthetic (polyester, rayon). But keeping the sun from directly hitting your skin goes a long way towards keeping you cool.
Someone else mentioned binders and paying attention to those. This also applies to regular old bras. Basically you want to be careful about tight-fitting garments in general in hot weather. Frankly, if I’m going to be somewhere with no A/C and it’s going to consistently be above 80F/27C, I don’t wear a bra at all.
Take the recommendations for how much water to drink everyone is giving you, and then add half again as much water. Trust me. You are going to sweat in places you weren’t aware had sweat glands, and if you’re not sufficiently hydrated, there will be extremely unpleasant consequences.
Invest in baby wipes. Keep them with you. Any time you stop to use the restroom, use a wipe or two to remove the sweat from any creases you might have (under the stomach, under the breasts, etc.) while you’re in there. Toilet paper and paper towels are too dry and will rub you raw. I try to do this every couple of hours; dirt gets trapped easily and can quickly turn into something unpleasant.

to uk peeps

this is very important: DO NOT USE A FAN IN DRY HEAT. This increases the risk of heat stroke. blowing dry air that is warmer than your body temperature will raise it, not cool it down.

Here is a list of heat related illnesses, their symptoms and what to do if you or someone you know is experiencing them (from the CDC):