Your tips on how to stay cool in this freaking heat!

Leezestarr313

I'm new to summers like this, and I have to admit that my poor European body is overwhelmed with the heat in this country. I'm already slowly dying here in MI and barely leave the house during the day (thank god for AC!), but then I looked up forecasts for Chicago... Well, the 90+ temperatures are intimitading me a bit.

So, experts, would you share your best tips on how to cope with the extreme heat?

SPEEDY MCCREADY

Eat plenty of Hot Peppers.
And drink plenty of coffee.

Horos

Leezestarr313

Keep 'em coming :thumbup:

Snakeduck

I don't know, just kind of push through it while alternating between dehydration and being sunburnt... That and find a nice mountain river or lake to swim in.

RKCNDY

is it cool during the nights?

We open the windows and put a fan in the window to bring in the cool air, then in the morning, we close the windows to hold in the cool air and shut out the warm air.

In general, I will take an old t-shirt, run it under hot water, and wring out the water, then put it on, the shirt will be warm at first, but then cool down and keep you cool for a bit.

This was the best purchase I have made: http://www.mistymate.com/ Unfortunately, most outdoor concert venues won't let me in with it. :evil:

I'm glad we don't have a lot of humidity.

Leezestarr313

Snakeduck wrote:

I don't know, just kind of push through it while alternating between dehydration and being sunburnt... That and find a nice mountain river or lake to swim in.

Swimming in cool waters is perfect, but I'm talking about the Friday in Chicago ...

I will absolutely make sure not to be dehydrated. I once had the pleasure and ended up hyperventilating and feeling paralyzed and with my arms cramping up from the neck down They gave me a good dose of water and I felt better soon, but I never want to experience that again.

RKCNDY wrote:

is it cool during the nights?

We open the windows and put a fan in the window to bring in the cool air, then in the morning, we close the windows to hold in the cool air and shut out the warm air.

In general, I will take an old t-shirt, run it under hot water, and wring out the water, then put it on, the shirt will be warm at first, but then cool down and keep you cool for a bit.

This was the best purchase I have made: http://www.mistymate.com/ Unfortunately, most outdoor concert venues won't let me in with it. :evil:

I'm glad we don't have a lot of humidity.

It doesn't really cool down here at night. Sometimes it feels like it even gets hotter after rain. It's like in the tropics. We have the ac running day and night right now, without it I would be lost. A wet tshirt sounds good to me!
And that misty mate thing looks pretty cool! I used a plant sprinkler bottle back in Germany when it was getting too hot in the office. I might bring that back :think:

Get_Right

Ice cubes down the pants!

Bronx Bombers

No pants

81

drink plenty of water/gatorade/juice etc. pretty much it. alcohol is bad...it dehyrdates you....

shade is good too

dankind

Contrary to what you might think, take hot showers.

When you take a cold shower to cool off, it lowers your body temperature, but then it has to work it's way back up, causing you to feel very warm very fast.

SatansFuton

We only get 90 degree heat in a Texas summer if there's a "cold" front. I pray for 90, we've already been up to 104 once a week or so ago. We just had a cool front come in that brought rain and lower temperatures, but the humidity is insane. You just have to tough it out and you'll get used to it. I find sunglasses very important, they don't do anything to cool you down but I find the heat is more bearable when the sun is not blinding me as well, and maybe there's something psychological going on. Also, try to avoid going in an out of air conditioning. If you actually need to cool down because you're overheating, by all means get in some A/C. And if you're done running around for the day, I'm not saying stay outside. But if you just want to alleviate your suffering for a few minutes before going back out, you'd probably be better sticking it out. I'm twice as miserable leaving the nice cool building and going back out into the heat, and I know people who actually get nauseous or feel bad in other ways when they go in and out like that. To me that first blast of heat is 10X worse than spending all day out in it. It's like jumping in a cold pool, once you're in there it's not as bad, it's just a matter of getting yourself adjusted (as well as you can) to it.

shortstack

good luck to everyone, it was miserable just waiting in line in london last night.

what about those cooling towels? has anyone ever used those?

they might have them in stock at dick's sporting goods

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/produ ... 4.13337299

Leezestarr313

SatansFuton wrote:

We only get 90 degree heat in a Texas summer if there's a "cold" front. I pray for 90, we've already been up to 104 once a week or so ago. We just had a cool front come in that brought rain and lower temperatures, but the humidity is insane. You just have to tough it out and you'll get used to it. I find sunglasses very important, they don't do anything to cool you down but I find the heat is more bearable when the sun is not blinding me as well, and maybe there's something psychological going on. Also, try to avoid going in an out of air conditioning. If you actually need to cool down because you're overheating, by all means get in some A/C. And if you're done running around for the day, I'm not saying stay outside. But if you just want to alleviate your suffering for a few minutes before going back out, you'd probably be better sticking it out. I'm twice as miserable leaving the nice cool building and going back out into the heat, and I know people who actually get nauseous or feel bad in other ways when they go in and out like that. To me that first blast of heat is 10X worse than spending all day out in it. It's like jumping in a cold pool, once you're in there it's not as bad, it's just a matter of getting yourself adjusted (as well as you can) to it.

Thanks, and hang in there! I think a summer in Texas would be the end of me You guys are troopers! I think what I have the hardest time with is the humidity. We don't get that stuff in Germany ...

I'm trying to spend time outside and am drinking plenty of mineral sparkly water. Medium hot showers are good too. Last Sunday at an open air show I saw a woman having a little cloth in her neck. She went to the bathroom to wet it every now and then. I might take something like that with me. I will also protect my head with a bandana or a hat or something. And yeah, sunglasses!

Shortstack, thanks for the link, I'm checking that out :thumbup:

Bronx Bombers

shortstack wrote:

good luck to everyone, it was miserable just waiting in line in london last night.

what about those cooling towels? has anyone ever used those?

they might have them in stock at dick's sporting goods

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/produ ... 4.13337299

I've used the frogger cool towel before on the golf course, works pretty good.

JonnyPistachio

dankind wrote:

Contrary to what you might think, take hot showers.

When you take a cold shower to cool off, it lowers your body temperature, but then it has to work it's way back up, causing you to feel very warm very fast.

hmm, I never thought of that. After my morning jog, I sometimes cant stop sweating for an hour! then I take a cold shower, and I dry off and start sweating again! :fp:

I will try a warm/hot shower.

Leezestar, I bought one of these little tiny fans that blows like a hurricane. I think I got it at walmart or target a few years ago. But they are nice because they are small and you can move them around the house and put it in your face if you have to.

Who Princess

Leezestarr313 wrote:

SatansFuton wrote:

We only get 90 degree heat in a Texas summer if there's a "cold" front. I pray for 90, we've already been up to 104 once a week or so ago. We just had a cool front come in that brought rain and lower temperatures, but the humidity is insane. You just have to tough it out and you'll get used to it. I find sunglasses very important, they don't do anything to cool you down but I find the heat is more bearable when the sun is not blinding me as well, and maybe there's something psychological going on. Also, try to avoid going in an out of air conditioning. If you actually need to cool down because you're overheating, by all means get in some A/C. And if you're done running around for the day, I'm not saying stay outside. But if you just want to alleviate your suffering for a few minutes before going back out, you'd probably be better sticking it out. I'm twice as miserable leaving the nice cool building and going back out into the heat, and I know people who actually get nauseous or feel bad in other ways when they go in and out like that. To me that first blast of heat is 10X worse than spending all day out in it. It's like jumping in a cold pool, once you're in there it's not as bad, it's just a matter of getting yourself adjusted (as well as you can) to it.

Thanks, and hang in there! I think a summer in Texas would be the end of me You guys are troopers! I think what I have the hardest time with is the humidity. We don't get that stuff in Germany ...

I'm trying to spend time outside and am drinking plenty of mineral sparkly water. Medium hot showers are good too. Last Sunday at an open air show I saw a woman having a little cloth in her neck. She went to the bathroom to wet it every now and then. I might take something like that with me. I will also protect my head with a bandana or a hat or something. And yeah, sunglasses!

Shortstack, thanks for the link, I'm checking that out :thumbup:

I'm a Texan as well and SF makes a lot of good points. I have to have shades and if I'm going to be out for a while, the right hat to protect my face. They may look cool but baseball type caps just won't do it. And he's right about just staying outside. It's much better to just stick with it. If I'm going to do some work outside, I start early and stay outside. As it gets hotter I'm less aware of the heat than if I'd gone out for the first time in the heat of the day.

And I can't say it enough--stay hydrated! Keep drinking water. And don't forget your sunblock. Besides preventing skin cancer, it's very uncomfortable to be outside in the heat when you're sunburned.

Leezestarr313

Thanks!

In countries like Turkey or Morocco people drink sweet hot Black tea in the heat and this seems to work somehow too.

I will defo try to get one of those Frogg Togg thingies. And maybe a little hand ventilator Or an oldschool hand-held fan

81

damn it...where is that picture of a woman on a couch eating grapes and getting fanned....

and where is cav when you need him.

Leezestarr313

Thank you all! All of this helps me immensely easing my mind :thumbup:

shortstack

Leezestarr313 wrote:

I'm trying to spend time outside and am drinking plenty of mineral sparkly water. Medium hot showers are good too. Last Sunday at an open air show I saw a woman having a little cloth in her neck. She went to the bathroom to wet it every now and then. I might take something like that with me. I will also protect my head with a bandana or a hat or something. And yeah, sunglasses!

Shortstack, thanks for the link, I'm checking that out :thumbup:

you're welcome

i'm able to tolerate the heat much longer when i wear my straw hat out in the garden. not sure if that's the look you're going for, but they have some really pretty ones out in the stores now.