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DoodlebearsI don't know what it's like where everyone else lives but it's too darn hot here in my part of the UK.
I really don't like this heat wave that has hit us right now, still here in Aylesbury it's better than it was yesterday on the underground in London yesterday...it reached 51 / 123 which in my opinion is far too hot for any man or beast.
SO keep yourselves cool and drink lots of fluid...non alchoholic of course.........boy it doesn't seem long since we were sharing snowy pictures.
Here's a guide for all you sun lovers.
During Hot Weather
To protect your health when temperatures are extremely high, remember to keep cool and use common sense. The following tips are important:
Drink Plenty of Fluids
During hot weather you will need to increase your fluid intake, regardless of your activity level. Don't wait until you're thirsty to drink. During heavy exercise in a hot environment, drink two to four glasses (16-32 ounces) of cool fluids each hour.
Don't drink liquids that contain alcohol, or large amounts of sugar—these actually cause you to lose more body fluid. Also avoid very cold drinks, because they can cause stomach cramps.
Replace Salt and Minerals
Heavy sweating removes salt and minerals from the body. These are necessary for your body and must be replaced. If you must exercise, drink two to four glasses of cool, non-alcoholic fluids each hour. A sports beverage can replace the salt and minerals you lose in sweat. However, if you are on a low-salt diet, talk with your doctor before drinking a sports beverage or taking salt tablets.
Wear Appropriate Clothing and Sunscreen
Wear as little clothing as possible when you are at home. Choose lightweight, light-colored, loose-fitting clothing. Sunburn affects your body's ability to cool itself and causes a loss of body fluids. It also causes pain and damages the skin. If you must go outdoors, protect yourself from the sun by wearing a wide-brimmed hat (also keeps you cooler) along with sunglasses, and by putting on sunscreen of SPF 15 or higher (the most effective products say "broad spectrum" or "UVA/UVB protection" on their labels) 30 minutes prior to going out. Continue to reapply it according to the package directions.
Schedule Outdoor Activities Carefully
If you must be outdoors, try to limit your outdoor activity to morning and evening hours. Try to rest often in shady areas so that your body's thermostat will have a chance to recover.
Pace Yourself
If you are not accustomed to working or exercising in a hot environment, start slowly and pick up the pace gradually. If exertion in the heat makes your heart pound and leaves you gasping for breath, STOP all activity. Get into a cool area or at least into the shade, and rest, especially if you become lightheaded, confused, weak, or faint.
Stay Cool Indoors
Stay indoors and, if at all possible, stay in an air-conditioned place. If your home does not have air conditioning, go to the shopping mall or public library—even a few hours spent in air conditioning can help your body stay cooler when you go back into the heat. Call your local health department to see if there are any heat-relief shelters in your area. Electric fans may provide comfort, but when the temperature is in the high 90s, fans will not prevent heat-related illness. Taking a cool shower or bath or moving to an air-conditioned place is a much better way to cool off. Use your stove and oven less to maintain a cooler temperature in your home.
Infants and children up to four years of age are sensitive to the effects of high temperatures and rely on others to regulate their environments and provide adequate liquids.
People who are overweight may be prone to heat sickness because of their tendency to retain more body heat.
Avoid hot foods and heavy meals—they add heat to your body.
Drink plenty of fluids and replace salts and minerals in your body.
Dress infants and children in cool, loose clothing and shade their heads and faces with hats or an umbrella.
Limit sun exposure during mid-day hours and in places of potential severe exposure such as beaches.
Do not leave infants, children, or pets in a parked car.
Provide plenty of fresh water for your pets, and leave the water in a shady area.
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Hot Weather Health Emergencies
Even short periods of high temperatures can cause serious health problems. Doing too much on a hot day, spending too much time in the sun or staying too long in an overheated place can cause heat-related illnesses. Know the symptoms of heat disorders and overexposure to the sun, and be ready to give first aid treatment.
Heat Stroke
Heat stroke occurs when the body is unable to regulate its temperature. The body's temperature rises rapidly, the sweating mechanism fails, and the body is unable to cool down. Body temperature may rise to 106°F or higher within 10 to 15 minutes. Heat stroke can cause death or permanent disability if emergency treatment is not provided.
Recognizing Heat Stroke
Warning signs of heat stroke vary but may include the following:
An extremely high body temperature (above 103°F, orally)
Red, hot, and dry skin (no sweating)
Rapid, strong pulse
Throbbing headache
Dizziness
Nausea
Confusion
Unconsciousness
What to Do
If you see any of these signs, you may be dealing with a life-threatening emergency. Have someone call for immediate medical assistance while you begin cooling the victim. Do the following:
Get the victim to a shady area.
Cool the victim rapidly using whatever methods you can. For example, immerse the victim in a tub of cool water; place the person in a cool shower; spray the victim with cool water from a garden hose; sponge the person with cool water; or if the humidity is low, wrap the victim in a cool, wet sheet and fan him or her vigorously.
Monitor body temperature, and continue cooling efforts until the body temperature drops to 101-102°F.
If emergency medical personnel are delayed, call the hospital emergency room for further instructions.
Do not give the victim fluids to drink.
Get medical assistance as soon as possible.
Sometimes a victim's muscles will begin to twitch uncontrollably as a result of heat stroke. If this happens, keep the victim from injuring himself, but do not place any object in the mouth and do not give fluids. If there is vomiting, make sure the airway remains open by turning the victim on his or her side.
Heat Exhaustion
Heat exhaustion is a milder form of heat-related illness that can develop after several days of exposure to high temperatures and inadequate or unbalanced replacement of fluids. It is the body's response to an excessive loss of the water and salt contained in sweat. Those most prone to heat exhaustion are elderly people, people with high blood pressure, and people working or exercising in a hot environment.
Recognizing Heat Exhaustion
Warning signs of heat exhaustion include the following:
Heavy sweating
Paleness
Muscle cramps
Tiredness
Weakness
Dizziness
Headache
Nausea or vomiting
Fainting
The skin may be cool and moist. The victim's pulse rate will be fast and weak, and breathing will be fast and shallow. If heat exhaustion is untreated, it may progress to heat stroke. Seek medical attention immediately if any of the following occurs:
Because I was a victim of the heat myself this morning.......I passed out....not for the first time either. 
I'm now drinking plenty and have taken all the appropriate measures to stay safe.
Take care.....................Hugs Jane. 
Pumpkin & Pickle BearsOh Jane, I hope you're ok. Thanks for all the tips! I must admit, I'm not a real lover of the heat and neither is my 13 month old son. My other half (who's and Aussie) and my 4 year son LOVE it though. I find it SO difficult to do any housework or cooking in this weather....what an excuse!!!! :crackup:
Upstate New YorkPlease take care Jane and thanks for the great post.
Sophie Z'OursThe weather is too hot hee too...
Beary hugs,
Sophie.
Baird'sBears
Yikes, Jane--heat is very nasty stuff!! The worst is that heat stress really sneaks up on you. Take care of yourself, please. That goes for everyone :hug:
Toronto is not quite so hot and humid today as it has been, but this weather is doing nothing for local tempers.
I must say I'm getting tired of walking snarky 
dogs who keep losing their balls, trying to figure out what crabby cats are howling for every few minutes, and tutoring soggy braindead students. At least the rats and rabbits are taking it all in stride.
The dogs snap at one another at the least provocation, and the poor students are travelling long distances in the heat so we can sit and wonder whether I'm just not making any sense, or they're just not getting it! 
Let it snow . . .
Posts: 8,574Jane, Help me, I don't understand 51/123......what scale do you all use in England, This can't be Farenheit.....but then it is too high for Centegrade......what's going on over there???? Are you sure you're still in England darling and not Iraq?
Tell us again what your temperature is. It really might be time to baste you and get the drinks out.....
I will go in the pool just long enough to get good and wet and chilled and then put on a Tshirt and very little else and stay comfy for quite a while. Its always the hubby who decides to turn on the air conditioner....i just sit quietly and expend no energy.....hard to loose weight when not expending energy.....sigh 
Posts: 8,574They just showed a piccy of Her Royalness in a one piece bathingsuit, sitting on a lounge chair, under a tree, drinking a beer, out of a can, and hosing herself off. Ya gotta love a Royal who can stay comfortable.
If her Royalness made the Jay Leno late night comedy hour then it must be pretty d....hot over there. (It wasn't really HRH the Queen....they did a Jane and put her head on another body.....I thought they could have picked a nicer looking body....but what do I know. I have always thought she held herself together quite respectably, not going pudgy or anything. 
I am sorrry its so hot. hard to deal with if you aren't used to it..........try a wet TT t-shirt..... You all don't routinely have air conditioning do you? They did say on the news that this is the hottest day you all have every had in your history, which is considerable when one considers how far back your history goes.
so here's some smilies to help you remember when it wasn't so hot......
Our poor girls overseas, well overseas for us in Australia. Heat is terrible if you are not used to it, and just as terrible when you are - I hate our Summers. If it is any consolation to you, and it probably isn't at the moment, we here in Adelaide have just had our coldest June on record. Australia is such a young country, that our records here were only started 150 years ago, but still, we struck it for the coldest June in 150 years. Something very strange is going on in this world of ours. I think Mother Nature is telling us all off in her own way for not looking after things good enough.
Past Time BearsJane, please take care, my friend. Thanks for posting the weather guide.
Jellybelly BearsJane you poor thing! Take care of yourself!!
I suppose we are reminded constantly over here of precautions to take in the heat...it wouldn't be as drummed in over there would it...
huge hugs :hug: :hug: :hug:
sarah
Posts: 3,540:hug: Oh Jane darlin, be VERY gentle on yourself over the next few days! Not only is the immediate care important, but lots of people think "Well that was awful, but I'll get back to my same ole routine" ~ NOT! It takes the body time to recover from the shock.
Having lived in Missouri for most of my life where our summers typically include high 90*Fs to over 100*F for much of July and August, I can duly say WEAR A HAT!!! The sun can sap your strength so incredibly fast in this heat. And by the time it takes for you to lock your front door and get to the car, you begin to feel wonky. Ugh! And drinking is definitely out for the heat of the day....
Other things to try to save til evening or even better, early morning is any form of washing/drying clothes, or running the dishwasher. If you can dodge any heat throwing, so much the better. In the mornings, close your shades on your windows. This will keep the cool air in and insulate against the heat. If you don't have air conditioning, place on the fans, and as soon as the house begins to be noticeably warmer/hot, place the face in a shaded window to draw the air in. Again, try to keep the house closed against the heat for as long as you can. I found growing up sans air conditioning, that we often underestimated how truly hot it was outside compared to what we'd trapped inside 
Stay safe everyone...and heat exhaustion is far more common than heat stroke...but both awful and can be life threatening
Hi Jane,
that must be so horrible with the extreme heat - I have heard about it on the news.
It is very cold over here so you can't win sometimes!
Please take care Jane and drink a lot of water and look after yourself.
Hugs
Carolyn
Kiprie BearsOh Jane, I hope you're ok. please take care. :hug:
Thanks for the tip.
Hugs
Marie
Claudia's KnuffelbaerenOh Jane, I can feel with you! Here it's the same, where I live in germany. Hot, hot, hot..... too hot!
I could be happy to have this week off, but on monday I have to go back to work and I really hope, it will cool down a bit!
Take care! :hug:
It is too hot where I am too. It is cooler outside than it is in my office at work. We have just got a mobile air con unit, but if you stand more than 6 inches away from it, it makes no difference.
I want a thunderstorm. :pray: That might cool it down a bit.
Real Deal BearsJane I have a nice cool thought for you to stay cool. ...
Just think of us aussies in the south tonight it's going to get down to 0c
We will have ice on the ground and our butts will be freezing.
And we will all be wishing for alittle warmth.
wouldn't it be nice if we could trade part of our temperatures 
DoodlebearsThanks for caring all of you. I'm feeling a little better today. I was just out at the shops for five minutes when my daughter said that my face was bright red. We started our journey home and it was in our vehicle that I passed out. The vehicle has air conditioning but it did'nt stop me being ill. I got sick so quickly so please take care everyone.
You girls down there in Australia I'm sending the heat your way....well trying any way.
Hugs Jane.
Posts: 8,574 
Now I know its time for the wet T-shirt....Don't laugh until you try it, it really helps keep you together when it is so hot....sorry you passed out darling lady friend.
I hope the weather chills out for you soon..... 
Newcastle, OntarioRenae,
I agree with the Mother nature bit as well. The old theory about Gaia's revenge (Gaia being Mother Earth). It says Gaia will only tolerate so much and when it gets to the point where she feels threatened or feels danger, she will lash out to reclaim the balance and if we get in the way, so be it. I really wish the powers that be would really think about what's going on. I think the weather changes are only going to get worse, until we smarten up and do something. The money that was spent cleaning up after storms could be better spent making changes that matter.
Jane,
I'm glad you're feeling better!
hugs,
Brenda
Posts: 3,540Jane's all ready listed the Heat exhaustion symptoms, but here we go again, because its REALLY IMPORTANT:
Warning signs of heat exhaustion include the following:
Heavy sweating
Paleness << this will be the biggest sign with the person being white, or a strange grey colour
Muscle cramps
Tiredness
Weakness
Dizziness
Headache
Nausea or vomiting
Fainting
The skin may be cool and moist. The victim's pulse rate will be fast and weak, and breathing will be fast and shallow. If heat exhaustion is untreated, it may progress to heat stroke. Seek medical attention immediately if any of the following occurs:
The biggest differences between heat exhaustion and stroke is the skin colour in exhaustion will be pale, and the person sweating profusely. In stroke, the skin colour is red, and most dangerous of all ~ the sweating has stopped! This is a sincere full out red alert at this point!!!
....as for turkeys drowning in the rain, yes, actually, I've seen it 
along with goats eating cans when people said they were just eating the labels... Uhhhh...no, the goat ate the can!!!! 
That was back when I was a kid and too dumb to know I should have been trying to take the can away from the goat....but come to think of it, since the goat towered over me at the time, I sincerely doubt I could have gotten the can away anyway :D
:hug: Jane, you keep taking it very easy on yourself! Dilu's got a great idea with the wet t shirt
Posts: 8,574
when i was a wee one....about 50 years ago mom would get the sheets wet in the washer, just the top sheets and then we were put under those at night....it helped to be a little cooler to go to sleep, and of course we were asleep it didn't matter.
She also took wet rolled up towels in the cars, and when we came out of a store she would oull them out of her funny big beach bag and around everyones shoulders they went.
Boy did it help! Southern California was supposed to be hot, and no one had air conditioning back then...so mom devloped coping mechanisms. She may have been bi polar but she didn't like getting too hot either.
Maybe these ideas will help our poor broiled friends in England, where it simply isn't supposed to do this. Sophie, you too....take care and try the damp towels.....you'll be surprised how much it helps.
Posts: 3,540Thanks for the run-down again, Deb. I was a little confused between heat stroke and heat exhaustion. Heat stroke I have unfortunately seen. I don't know I would have recognized exhaustion.
Ah believe me, once you've seen the pale grey colour a person goes from heat exhuastion, you'd recognize it too. Its a seriously sick looking colour Actuallly if its hot and the person's sweating heavily and suddenly complains of feeling light headed/dizzy or has a sudden headache, its heat exhaustion as well. Oftentimes they'll feel a wierd 'cold wash' sensation just as it hits too. Get them on their butts and in the shade and cool as quickly as you can! And you need to take the heat exhaustion seriously as well. You recover faster than you would from the stroke, but you do need to immediately cool the victim down. Ahhh, leftovers from lifeguarding's firstaide.... I'm with Dilu's mom, though, prevention is FAR better than having to cure
The turkeys, I was only 9 at the time, and they were my aunt and uncles....it was all a bit of a blur in the rain and the adults suddenly rushing to save the turkeys, but I remember them dark coloured. I know they weren't wild, but they weren't the white ones either. That would have been back in the late 70s that I saw that happen...about the same time as the goat eating the can! 
That's pretty intimidating! I've often wondered about their dental equipment but never wanted to look 
:hug: Jane, how are you feeling today??
