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(for those of you who do not know, I grew up in a high plains desert that has always gotten over 100 in the summer)
Everyone knows to stay hydrated, but here are some tips about hydration you may not know:
- you need to have salt in your system or your body can't absorb the water and it just washes your insides.
- you must have electrolytes as well. The best way to achieve this is a little fruit juice in your water, citrus fruits are the best for this. or like a slice of lemon or lime or pineapple or something. Cucumber. It just needs to be open into the water. a whole cherry isnt going to help you unless you cut into it.
- dill pickles have both salt and electrolytes, plus they have potassium. have some today!
- room temperature water is easier for your body to absorb than cold water is. No really.
- SIP your water, NEVER GULP OR GUZZLE. Your body can only absorb water a little at a time. No really. Chugging water is BAD and is a good way to get water poisoning (yup, its a thing).
- when the temperature around you is very high, keep an eye on your own body temperature. If it goes more than 2 degrees above your 'normal' STOP DOING THINGS and hydrate using these key important things. I monitor my temp all the time because a high temp can be indicative of dehydration.
And the most important one:
- going to the ER because you are massively dehydrated and unable to absorb enough fluids suuuuuucks. You end up stuck in a hospital bed getting fluids poured into you via IV while doctors and nurses look at you like you are too stupid to know how to drink a glass of water. Seriously. And if you happen to end up in the ER from dehydration and run into the same staff... they EXPLAIN TO YOU VERY SLOWLY HOW TO DRINK A GLASS OF WATER.
My body loses salt for some reason. always has. SO I am on a stupid high salt diet and follow all of these rules religiously. I still sometimes end up in the ER for dehydration, although it has been a few years. DO NOT END UP IN THE ER FOR DEHYDRATION.
THESE THINGS WILL DEHYDRATE YOU:
- Hanging out in the sun without drinking a lot of water.
- caffeine.
- alcohol. SERIOUSLY DO NOT DRINK ALCOHOL IN A HEATWAVE
Other ways you can bring your body temperature down:
- a damp cloth on your neck
- hosing yourself down with water using a spray mister of some variety
- fans. Hand fans, electric fans, people waving palm fronds...
- soaking in a tepid bath (seriously, I spent most of my childhood summers in the bathtub, towels can be okay pillows you they have to be. )
- laying on a damp towel or wrap yourself up in one.
- keep your hair up off your neck.
- stay hidden from the evil death orb that is after your soul.
- set up a fan to suck up hot air and blow it outside your home. Any sort of vent fans will do. Just pull the hot air out of your house like exhaust. it will lower the temp by several degrees.
- open your windows at night but close them in the morning. You want the cool night breeze and air, but you want to block out the heat of day.
- run cold water over your wrists.
FOR YOUR PETS:
- lay damp towels on the floor for them to lay on.
- rub your pets down with cool damp washcloths.
- drop an icecube or two into their water dish.
- speaking of water dishes, make sure that their water is fresh and full many times a day. Water evaporates.
- if they will eat mushy foods, feed them extra to keep them hydrated.
- fans for everyone. Seriously. If you dont have AC, fans fans fans.
DO NOT PUT YOUR BODY IN ICY WATER IF YOU ARE OVERHEATING AS IT CAN CAUSE SHOCK AND KILL YOU. No really, don't do that. Start with a tepid/body temperature bath, then slowly add more cold water into it. Go a little at a time, like dropping it 5 degrees at a time while giving your body a chance to acclimate. Trust me, this *will* bring your body temp DOWN. They put people into ice on tv all the time to bring down fevers or whatever and its dangerous so don't.
try to avoid cooking foods if you can. Eat cold foods like salads and sandwiches. Eat fruit. While you are avoiding the outside world, make sure you are keeping up your vitamin D intake with full spectrum lights, salmon or tuna (or any of the pink fatty fish), dairy (in the PNW at least it is all infused with extra D), grow lights, actual D3 supplements. You can put mushrooms upside down so the gills get hit by sunlight or growlights to infuse them with D2 that your body will turn into D3 when you eat them (no really, it works - there's a white paper on the study if you want to read it). Being hot at miserable and having your D levels drop is a shortcut to depression, so stay vigilant against it. <3
Everyone knows to stay hydrated, but here are some tips about hydration you may not know:
- you need to have salt in your system or your body can't absorb the water and it just washes your insides.
- you must have electrolytes as well. The best way to achieve this is a little fruit juice in your water, citrus fruits are the best for this. or like a slice of lemon or lime or pineapple or something. Cucumber. It just needs to be open into the water. a whole cherry isnt going to help you unless you cut into it.
- dill pickles have both salt and electrolytes, plus they have potassium. have some today!
- room temperature water is easier for your body to absorb than cold water is. No really.
- SIP your water, NEVER GULP OR GUZZLE. Your body can only absorb water a little at a time. No really. Chugging water is BAD and is a good way to get water poisoning (yup, its a thing).
- when the temperature around you is very high, keep an eye on your own body temperature. If it goes more than 2 degrees above your 'normal' STOP DOING THINGS and hydrate using these key important things. I monitor my temp all the time because a high temp can be indicative of dehydration.
And the most important one:
- going to the ER because you are massively dehydrated and unable to absorb enough fluids suuuuuucks. You end up stuck in a hospital bed getting fluids poured into you via IV while doctors and nurses look at you like you are too stupid to know how to drink a glass of water. Seriously. And if you happen to end up in the ER from dehydration and run into the same staff... they EXPLAIN TO YOU VERY SLOWLY HOW TO DRINK A GLASS OF WATER.
My body loses salt for some reason. always has. SO I am on a stupid high salt diet and follow all of these rules religiously. I still sometimes end up in the ER for dehydration, although it has been a few years. DO NOT END UP IN THE ER FOR DEHYDRATION.
THESE THINGS WILL DEHYDRATE YOU:
- Hanging out in the sun without drinking a lot of water.
- caffeine.
- alcohol. SERIOUSLY DO NOT DRINK ALCOHOL IN A HEATWAVE
Other ways you can bring your body temperature down:
- a damp cloth on your neck
- hosing yourself down with water using a spray mister of some variety
- fans. Hand fans, electric fans, people waving palm fronds...
- soaking in a tepid bath (seriously, I spent most of my childhood summers in the bathtub, towels can be okay pillows you they have to be. )
- laying on a damp towel or wrap yourself up in one.
- keep your hair up off your neck.
- stay hidden from the evil death orb that is after your soul.
- set up a fan to suck up hot air and blow it outside your home. Any sort of vent fans will do. Just pull the hot air out of your house like exhaust. it will lower the temp by several degrees.
- open your windows at night but close them in the morning. You want the cool night breeze and air, but you want to block out the heat of day.
- run cold water over your wrists.
FOR YOUR PETS:
- lay damp towels on the floor for them to lay on.
- rub your pets down with cool damp washcloths.
- drop an icecube or two into their water dish.
- speaking of water dishes, make sure that their water is fresh and full many times a day. Water evaporates.
- if they will eat mushy foods, feed them extra to keep them hydrated.
- fans for everyone. Seriously. If you dont have AC, fans fans fans.
DO NOT PUT YOUR BODY IN ICY WATER IF YOU ARE OVERHEATING AS IT CAN CAUSE SHOCK AND KILL YOU. No really, don't do that. Start with a tepid/body temperature bath, then slowly add more cold water into it. Go a little at a time, like dropping it 5 degrees at a time while giving your body a chance to acclimate. Trust me, this *will* bring your body temp DOWN. They put people into ice on tv all the time to bring down fevers or whatever and its dangerous so don't.
try to avoid cooking foods if you can. Eat cold foods like salads and sandwiches. Eat fruit. While you are avoiding the outside world, make sure you are keeping up your vitamin D intake with full spectrum lights, salmon or tuna (or any of the pink fatty fish), dairy (in the PNW at least it is all infused with extra D), grow lights, actual D3 supplements. You can put mushrooms upside down so the gills get hit by sunlight or growlights to infuse them with D2 that your body will turn into D3 when you eat them (no really, it works - there's a white paper on the study if you want to read it). Being hot at miserable and having your D levels drop is a shortcut to depression, so stay vigilant against it. <3
