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Beat The Heat And Survive The Summer
By Paul Purcell
The "Dog Days" of summer are almost upon us and record
temperatures are sweeping the country. Unfortunately we have the
highest number of elderly and medically fragile people in
history, and an aging infrastructure that is feeling the strain
of heavy electrical use as our senior citizens struggle to stay
cool.
We're here to give you tips and tricks to help you beat the
heat should you be susceptible to extreme temperatures, or
should your power be out. Here's a short list of suggestions:
1. Drink plenty of cool water to keep yourself hydrated and
reduce your body's core temperature. (Warm water won't do this,
and cold water might be a shock to sensitive systems.) Drink
regularly, every hour, even if you don't feel thirsty. Avoid
soft drinks and alcoholic drinks that are actually diuretic and
rob your body of the water it desperately needs.
2. Eat small, light, non-spicy meals. Eating heavy meals cranks
your metabolism and can raise your body temperature. Also,
digestion robs you of energy. Since the heat is already robbing
you of some energy, you don't need to add to this drain by
taxing the digestive system. However, don't skip meals since
it's food that replenishes the electrolytes you lose through
sweating and increased water consumption.
3. Some sources suggest you wear "light colored, loose fitting
clothes." However, that's only if you're going outside. If you
go outside, go with that rule and also wear a loose fitting hat
or carry an umbrella for shade. Forget the fashion rules, follow
the heat rules. (By the way, royal blue and/or white are the
best colors to wear for their heat reflective qualities. Ever
wonder why most tarps and boat awnings are blue? This is why.)
For indoors though, forget all those rules and go with the "bare
as you dare" notion. The more exposed skin you have the more
efficient your cooling-by-sweating process can work. Also, be
sure to tie up long hair, and if you have a beard, consider
shaving in order to remove all that facial insulation.
4. Though "bare as you dare" is the way to go indoors in
limited AC, most of us would prefer to have good air
conditioning. If yours is out, or if power sources are
uncertain, go someplace that has AC like the mall or other
places that don't mind people coming in and hanging around a
while. Also, you can "AC pool" with friends just like you'd car
pool. Go to a friend's house who has a good AC system.
5. Failing to find another source of AC, and considering that
the power might be out, here are a couple more tips. First,
stand-alone floor unit air conditioners aren't that expensive
and can run off regular household current without the need for
the special 220 volt outlets. This means that they can be
operated using the smaller gas-powered electric generators.
Can't afford a generator? You can probably afford a power
inverter which can sometimes be found for under twenty dollars.
They plug into your car's cigarette lighter and, using an
extension cord, can power an appliance like your stand-alone AC,
or at least some fans. Speaking of your car, if nothing else, if
your car has AC you can ride around during the hottest hours of
the day, providing you can afford today's gas prices. If
absolutely nothing else, go to your nearest "dollar store" and
see if they have any of those little battery-powered fans.
6. Can't afford a stand-alone AC but you have a generator? Your
generator or power inverter can also power your fridge and/or
freezer where you should have two-liter plastic bottles full of
water filling up every empty space in both the fridge and
freezer parts. Having cold water is a great thing. You drink
cool water and use cold water to soak towels to wrap around your
neck, wrists, and ankles where the veins and arteries are
closest to the surface. This is one of the best ways to reduce
your body temperature. Also, setting up a few of the frozen
two-liter bottles in front of a fan can blow a nice cool breeze
your way. (Write us at info@disasterprep101.com and we'll email
you instructions for a homemade AC unit that uses these
two-liter plastic bottles.)
7. Now that we've talked about keeping you cool in the heat,
let's backtrack a bit and talk about reducing the heat you might
experience. Naturally, the first rule is "block the sun." Do
what you can to reduce the sunlight that hits your house or
comes in through the windows. Keep the shades drawn, and you
might even consider hanging a white sheet or blue tarp as an
outside awning on the side(s) of the house that catch the most
sun. These tarps are also effective if placed on the roof as
they'll reflect the sun's rays.
8. Next in cooling the house come ventilation and insulation.
If you have an attic, and the power is on, you should have a
vent fan that keeps air flowing through the attic. Along with
that, we suggest you have roof vent turbines, or a ridge vent
(your home supply store can tell you all about these). In
extremely hot weather, you might set a garden sprinkler on your
roof and let it run for the hottest couple of hours of the day
provided your area is not on water restriction. As for
"insulation" one way to insulate parts of the house is to close
off seldom-used rooms (especially those on the sunny side of the
house), and close off their AC vents if any. This blocks heat
and also reduces the area that your limited AC has to cool.
While we're here, we'd be remiss in our duties if we failed to
give you the symptoms of sunstroke and heat exhaustion, both of
which require medical attention:
Heat Exhaustion: Symptoms include heavy sweating, and skin may
be pale, cool, or flushed. The victim will also exhibit a weak
pulse, with fainting, dizziness, nausea, or vomiting.
Sun Stroke (sometimes called heat stroke): Symptoms are high
body temperature, hot, dry, red, skin (usually with no
sweating), rapid shallow breathing, and a weak pulse. Sun stroke
is the more dangerous of the two.
The most immediate first aid for either of these is to get the
victim into a cool spot, and reduce their body temperature with
ice-cold wet towels around the neck, wrist, and ankles. You can
also put them in a bathtub of cool water. Don't use cold water
in the tub as that will shock the system. Regardless of your
first aid measures, you should seek immediate medical
assistance.
Remember, hot weather is nothing to ignore, even if you're not
among the elderly or medically fragile. Heat can affect
everyone. Play it safe, stay cool, avoid exertion, and stay
healthy. Also, when considering heat safety, don't forget your
pets.
About the Author: Paul Purcell is an Atlanta-based security
analyst and preparedness consultant and is the author of
"Disaster Prep 101" (http://www.disasterprep101.com.) Copyright
2006 Paul Purcell. Permission is granted to reprint this article
provided all portions stay intact.
Source: http://www.isnare.com
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