Beat the heat! Our 6 tips to staying safe this summer.

Beat the heat

We may not have had the most traditional of summers so far, but the forecast shows that heat is on the way! It is important to look after yourself, but also the people you care for. 

We have some tips that should help you to beat the heat:

Be aware of the risks

A heatwave can affect anyone, but the most vulnerable people are (Via NHS):

  • older people – especially those over 75 and female
  • those who live on their own or in a care home
  • people who have a serious or long-term illness including heart or lung conditions, diabetes, kidney disease, Parkinson’s disease or some mental health conditions
  • people who are on multiple medicines that may make them more likely to be badly affected by hot weather
  • those who may find it hard to keep cool – babies and the very young, the bed bound, those with drug or alcohol addictions or with Alzheimer’s disease
  • people who spend a lot of time outside or in hot places – those who live in a top-floor flat, the homeless or those whose jobs are outside

The heat can have devastating effects on your body, especially during a heatwave. It is vital you know the signs of when your body is under stress to avoid heat exhaustion, dehydration, and heat stroke.

Heat exhaustion
Heat exhaustion is the precursor to heat stroke but does not usually need medical attention, provided you can cool down within 30 minutes. It is caused when your body is losing excess water, salt, and sugars due to sweating. It can be treated quite easily by drinking water, staying out of the sun, cooling down, and replenishing salts and sugars by eating light meals.

Heatstroke
Heat exhaustion becomes a serious medical problem when it develops to heatstroke. This is when your body’s temperature becomes dangerously high and is no longer cable to cool itself down. Knowing the symptoms of heatstroke is vital and can save a life.

The signs of heat exhaustion include (via NHS):

  • tiredness
  • dizziness
  • headache
  • feeling sick or being sick
  • excessive sweating and skin becoming pale and clammy or getting a heat rash, but a change in skin
  • colour can be harder to see on brown and black skin
  • cramps in the arms, legs and stomach
  • fast breathing or heartbeat
  • a high temperature
  • being very thirsty
  • weakness

Call 999 if you or someone else:

  • is still unwell after 30 minutes of resting in a cool place, being cooled and drinking fluids
  • has a very high temperature
  • hot skin that’s not sweating and might look red (this can be harder to see on brown and black skin)
  • a fast heartbeat
  • fast breathing or shortness of breath
  • confusion and lack of coordination
  • a seizure or fit
  • loss of consciousness

Put the person in the recovery position if they lose consciousness while you’re waiting for help.

Sun smart

The first thing you should be doing to avoid the heat, is to avoid the Sun and stay indoors and regulate your home’s temperature. If you must go outside, then do all you can to avoid and protect yourself from the Sun.

Sunscreen
Always make sure you apply sunscreen lotion to your exposed skin. A minimum of SPF30 is required and don’t think the more expensive the sunscreen, the better. A recent article from Which.co.uk shows that supermarket own-brands are just as, and sometimes more effective than, the bigger brands.

Hats and shade
If you do need to go out, then a hat will be a big help. Not only does it protect you from the sun, but it will also offer you some shade. For a bigger cover of shade, you can take an umbrella with you, so when you need to take a break (which you should be doing) you will always have some with you.

Light and loose-fitting clothes
Wearing clothes that are loose and light materials, such as cotton, Wil allow you to expel your body heat more freely. However, light colours will also help here as darker colours absorb the Sun’s heat more, and light colours reflect them. 

 

Water is your friend

We all know that staying hydrated will help keep your body functioning correctly. However, some people believe that any fluid intake is a positive, but unfortunately this is not the case. It used to be believed that coffee and tea, being diuretics, would dehydrate you, however this has been debunked. The caffeine from both will increase the production of urine, thus reducing the water content in your body, however they only play a small and negligible effect in terms of reducing your hydration. Also, the idea that drinking hot drinks to cool you down is also a myth. Your body temperature will remain the same regardless of hot or cold beverage consumption. 

Water is the ideal drink to keep your body hydrated. 

You could even add a dash of squash (cordial) to give it a burst of fruity flavour too. The amount you drink isn’t an exact science, but 2 litres is a standard recommendation. Take care not to over-hydrate, as this could lead to water intoxication, also referred to as water poisoning, hyperhydration, overhydration, or water toxaemia, is a potentially deadly disruption in brain functions that can occur when excessive water consumption disrupts the normal balance of electrolytes in the body beyond safe levels. Regulate yourself based on how much you sweat, the humidity of the environment you’re in, and even how often you urinate. 

Speaking of urine, its colour can be a great tool to determine if you are drinking enough water. You can read more about it by clicking here to go to Healthline. Use the image guide for a quick reference. 

Limit your alcohol

A lot of us like to have a drink in the sunshine, but be careful as alcohol will dehydrate you. It can also make it more difficult to sleep at night, something that can already be a challenge during the warmer nights. 

Eat well, eat light

Keep eating as normally as you can. It can be difficult to get down a full roast dinner on a hot Sunday, so if you can’t eat typical foods, then try eating lighter and cooler foods. Try foods that contain a high water content, such as fruits and vegetables like strawberries, cucumber, and celery. In conjunction with staying hydrated, cucumber water is a fantastic hydration drink, containing lots of electrolytes and other beneficial qualities. Read more about cucumber water here. 

Colder foods will not only keep you cooler during the heat, but eating will also help your body to retain salts, sugars and other minerals that escape through your sweat. If you prefer to keep it simple, then salads and soups are a great way to keep your body fuelled, (soups and stews also had water to your body) without breaking the bank. The BBC have some great simple recipes for summer lunch and dinner time. Check them out here.

Wetter is better

The goal here is to assist the heat leaving your body through your skin. It’s not just a shell that protects what’s on the inside, your skin is the largest organ and it too needs protecting. So, the more of your skin you can cool down, then the better. Here are a few tips on how to do that.

Cooling spray
You may have seen those cooling sprays you can buy, which work fine but in my experience, when you’re hot, they don’t last too long. Instead, you could use a spray bottle you have lying around. It’s best not to use one that has contained any bleaches or chemicals, even if it has been cleaned out multiple times. Instead, you can get a cheap plant mister or hand pump pressure sprayer. That way, you can add ice to the water tank to keep it cooler for long. As well as being able to see how much water you have left, so you can refill it – something you can’t do with misting sprays.

Have a cool shower
Make sure it’s not a freezing shower, as you want to cool down at a gradual pace. But a cold shower is a quick, cheap and effective way of cooling yourself down, as well as making your skin hydrated. This can be useful in making sure your skin is cared for and clean, as bacteria and fungi can prefer dry, cracked skin. So not only does it keep you cool, it also keeps your skin safe and hygienic.

Wet t-shirt
You should be wearing loose fitting and lightweight clothes (so no leather trousers or skinny jeans) but if you dampen a t-shirt and wear it, then you have a cool skin shield, that is very effective for keeping you cool! Maybe put a towel down on your furniture before you sit down.

Quick dips
In the human body, we have something called ‘pulse points’. These are the parts of your body where your veins and arteries are close to the skin and a pulse can be checked with them. By cooling these areas with a quick dip or spray of water, it can then allow your veins to carry cooled blood around your body.

The most easily accessible pulse points for a dip are the wrists and ankles, so sitting with your feet in a bowl of cold water is a great way of giving you quick relief. A damp rag around your neck can also provide this cooling pulse point effect, just make sure it’s not too tight.

You can choose which pulse points are best for you and which you have the easiest access too. Just don’t over do it and remember to…

pulse points
Here are the pulse points of the human body

Limit yourself

We all have things to do during the day, especially carers, and depending on who you’re caring for, you may have to take part in strenuous activities or manual work. However, keep the temperature in mind when you do your tasks. This goes for exercise too, you don’t want to push your body to extremes when it’s already being pushed by the weather. So, if you do have to do any physical activities or work, then pick the right time of the day. The heat will be at it’s peak from early morning to late afternoon, so best to avoid those times for strenuous work. The early morning and evening are the best times as this is when the temperature will have dropped off. Now, even if you are staying inside, it can still be a problem to regulate the temperature within your home.

Regulate home temperature
As we said, the early morning and later evening are the cooler times of the day, with the peak heat coming from the afternoon Sun. We all know that UK homes are designed to keep heat trapped inside, so regulating it through the day can be an issue. Luckily, the Red Cross have some fantastic tips for keeping your home cool during the day and at night. We HIGHLY suggest you check them out as from our own experiences, they really can work.

Keeping your home cool during the day
Keeping your home cool during the night

We can help

If you or the person you care for are still struggling in the heat, the first thing to do is make sure it is not a medical emergency. The NHS has advice for heat related medical emergencies right here: NHS

If you are struggling with the heat and are unable to provide a safe level of care, then please get in touch with us. 

You can contact us via phone at 0121 778 1143 or email by clicking here.

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