In the depression, they would WET /soak bed sheets and hang them from their doors to help cool the house.( No electric back then)....also wetting rags and placing on top of head and or on back of neck.
My husband told me about growing up in Alabama. Wrapping up in wet sheets at night kept them cool while sleeping in the enclosed front porch. Doing so also made it difficult for the 'skeeters to get to them.
In the 1800s the women would keep their under slips and aprons and day caps wet. They would use those long aprons as fans. There were also hand dug vegetable cellars that could be used for sleeping and cooling off the children in the daytime. Playing in creeks and streams was common too. We can learn a lot of survival tactics from the old ways.
Parents and caregivers of small children - use frozen blue ice in the car seats with a blanket or heavy towel thrown over them in the car. When you come back to the hot car after running errands check the latches, buckles and all parts of the car seats and seat belts before buckling the infants and children in. You can also keep a smal frozen l blue ice pack in your bag with the package of wet diaper wipes - use for wiping down anything else in the car that is too hot to touch. If you lose power, and have a basement hang out down there during the day or even sleep down there if you can. This is how I managed the early and mid 1980s with small children and no AC
My little brother and i were latch key children, raised by a single mother. The little house we lived in would get so hot. I would fill the tub full of the cool water and we would play in that water throughout the day when we needed to cool down. It stayed full with the same water all day. My mother would brag how smart i was. lol
Until I was 2 years old, we lived in San Bernardino CA near Palm Springs. My mother would sit me in a washtub of water under the fig tree. I would spash and play and eat figs for hours.
Latck key. We had to stay inside while our mother worked. Couldn't answer the door. We were too young to be left alone by today's standards. (Earliest i remember, i was 5 , so my brother would have been 3)
Many years ago, I went on holiday to Turkey with my daughter (11 at the time), We toured Western Turkey and finally stayed in an 'apartment hotel' (individual, ground floor apartments) that had no air con. WE were so hot at night it was unbearable. My solution was to take the cotton sheets, soak them in cold water and wring the out. It was sheer bliss ... we slept and when we woke in the morning, the sheets were dry. Another one of my solutions is to put icy water in a 'hot water' bottle for my feet and a wet towel on my pillow - if head and feet are cool, the whole body is more able to keep cool.
I garden alot. I have a large brim hat, to cover my neck. Iwhere a loose fitting,long sleeve shirt over a short sleeve shirt. Long pants and shoes,makes me look very over dressed for as hot as it is. I wear a "handfan" that I recharge every time I use it. Most of all I have a 24 ounce bottle of water with me always. Good video information specially this week. I garden early, being in Arvada Colorado, it will cool off over night. Good luck everyone!!
I have found 2 other methods to cool down. The gel filled neck-ties that you soak in water then wear around necks are wonderful! I have several and they work wonderfully! Also if you have an air mattress get it out and use it to sleep on. The air inside does not get hot and you will find that you will most likely need a blanket before morning!
I had a couple years ago ,used to use it when I had a migraine As my head gets hot I’d use one round my neck & one round head Thanks for remaining me ,I’m off to look on Amazon x
When I was a kid, I used to soak a wet bath towel and wring it out, lay it on my bed. It was the only way we could fall asleep in the heat of the summer nights.
@@annagarza6225 Haha that reminds me when I was a kid! My parents were missionaries in the Philippines and it is HOT there. Air conditioning wasn't a thing we did except at night and it was so hot. I used to tickle the inside of my arm until it made me shiver which seemed to cool me off! Funny things we did as kids!!
@@danielledunavant3146at least u had it on at night What a relief to be able to sleep No fans make it impossible We were OffGrid 4 days in June. It was rly bad.
Use several plastic water bottles, remove 1/2 inch of the water of a full bottle of water, place plastic water bottles in freezer. attach frozen bottle with zip ties and tie on the outside of fan. Turn fan on. This should be helpful to cool down the home. If this works for you, I suggest you have more than 2 bottles always in freezer. Also, you can get a towel, wet it down and place on the back of your neck. This is helpful also when you are driving to keep awake. Wash your face and wet down your hair. I hope this helps.
When I lived in Germany we had a heat wave in the early 2000. I lived in an apartment with a flat roof top and no AC. The apartment heated up to almost 90 F during the day and didn’t go much down at night. It was miserable to say the least. School was out for summer and my aunt asked me and my kids to come with her to go camping in the woods to escape the heat in the city. It was a life saver and I will forever remember this. Many people on Europe died that summer.
Thanks for telling us about your experience with the heat in Germany, 2000. It seems like we may be revisiting that summer again in many parts of the world. Jim
Such good advice! Last year was the first time the heat really got to me. I'd go out for 5 minutes and be soaking wet from sweat. It's worse this year. I knew if the grid went down I'd be in big trouble so I got a small portable air conditioner. It can run by power station or an add on battery by solar. A full charge will give me up to 8 hour of run time so I bought a second add on battery. Yes, I'm spoiling myself but I find that for me it is a necessity.
And the Southern hemisphere is getting colder, yesr after year! STOP! Listen to Pam. No matter the reason, all of us need to be prepared either way. God bless you and yours from South Africa.
I live in the Phoenix Metropolitan area. One of the things I did a week ago was to get my A/C units a tuneup and worked on. The tech did a very detailed job and fixed things like getting the A/C insulation properly put back into place and fixing it so it couldn’t come down again, sealed many areas that had worn throughout, made sure drainage hoses were cleaned and replaced if needed. He took before and after pictures and it was a superb job when finished. This will help insure that I am ready for the hot summer season
Investing in bed linens that are designed for those who tend to get hot. They really work. Else, dampen a sheet to sleep under. The damp sheet will cool you. An outdoor mister that can be attached to a fan will lower the temps by 20 degrees or more.
Last August my poor cousin in law had her second child. We had a brutal heatwave just before she had her baby and she was miserable! In the end we chucked her in the children's paddling pool and had my children and her daughter douse her with watering cans of cold water. She said she felt like a beached whale but we have no air conditioning and it was getting dangerously hot. The kids thought watering their Aunty/Mother was great fun though so it kept them out of mischief for a while.
Pam, great and informative video. I have both extreme heat and extreme cold totes as part of my emergency preparedness plan. My house is air-conditioned and we have a basement and it does stay considerably cooler. Your video inspired me to check my extreme heat tote. Here are a few things I have. First, laying on top is a sheet that details the signs of heat exhaustion and what to do in the event you can't get medical attention. In addition to water, I have electrolyte powder. I also have disposable thermometers that you place on your forehead. Instant cooling patches, instant ice wrap, cooling towels, battery-operated misters, numerous battery-operated fans in various sizes, and vomit bags. Of course, like everyone else, we try and protect ourselves from the extreme heat by wearing sun hats and not staying outside when the temps are unbearable. There's a peace of mind knowing should the grid go down and medical help isn't possible, I have that tote readily available if needed.
Thanks for letting us know how well prepared you are for the heat. I especially like the sheet on top with the indicators of heat exhaustion and what to do if you cannot get medical help. Jim
I wear a hat and long sleeve shirt when I am outside in the heat. Long sleeves seems counterintuitive, but I have found it keeps me cooler. My skin is shaded by the shirt and I sweat, thus wetting the shirt. As the sweat evaporates from the shirt, it is like a swamp cooler. I learned this from the Mexican farm workers in my rural area. They always wear long sleeves. Of course, I am staying inside during the afternoon and evening when it is going to be over 100F every day for days on end right now, where I live. I need to get a camelback for when I am outside gardening. I try to always take water out with me, but it’s a pain to carry it around. Thanks for the warnings!
I suffered from heat stroke in Washington DC in the late 80s. I had drank over 2.5 gallons of water that day. I came home with a temp of 102 and I did not urinate for two days. Thank you for thinking of us in this heat!
When you hear heat wave is headed your direction...don't wait until it gets there to start drinking/hydrating...it takes a few days to get up to really full levels in your system...so start hydrating early so you have reserve to sweat with!
Boy was this timely! I started spritzing myself with the spray bottle while watching the video. Placed a wet towel in front of the fan -- that REALLY helped. Using your windows as evap coolers. Who knew? I'm going off to find a basin to soak my feet...
Hey! Not relate to the heat issue but I wanted to make sure you were aware of the change in acidity of vinegar being sold. It use to be 5% but now it’s 4%! This apparently will affect safety of food production. So what can ppl do to remedy this? Thanks so much!
Lots of good ideas for staying cool from Pam and the community. What works well is different when the humidity is high from when it is low, and people seldom mention that. PERSPECTIVE AND CONTEXT: While heat exhaustion and heat stroke are real risks to be taken seriously and countermeasures taken, they also need to be kept in perspective. Most people have the good sense not to overdo physical activity in heat, especially if they are already out of shape as most Americans are. Also, the scary death rates reported seldom mention that the victims are overwhelmingly the homeless, specifically the 80% of whom are mentally ill, alcohol or drug addicted, or youth runaways who wait too long to seek shade, stay hydrated, and so on. They account for 70% of the deaths from exposure (cold or heat) nationwide every year. We have cooling and hydration centers for them and for low income and seniors in Phoenix, so in 2022 the homeless accounted for only 40% of Maricopa County's 339 heat deaths that occurred among a population of 4.6 million. GETTING MUCH WORSE? Fortunately, we can learn from our grandparents and great grandparents who dealt with much worse heat waves in the 1930's all across North America, when heat waves were both much hotter, more frequent, and longer before the 1960's. They were harder to cope with because we didn't have central air conditioning and most of the countryside outside of cities didn't have electricity to run ice houses or evaporative coolers. Thanks to modern technology, deaths from extreme weather decreased dramatically over the last 100 years. For a factual 11 part series on our very hot history Tony Heller's study dives into government statistics and news reports of the era and is quite fascinating ruclips.net/video/H41OYme1vlA/видео.html The all-time highest recorded temperature in Arizona was in Parker at 127 °F on July 7, 1905. This was, at the time, the all-time record high temperature in Arizona history until Lake Havasu City reached 128 °F on June 29, 1994. Phoenix gets at least one week with every day over 112 every year since I moved here in 1983. In 2016 we hit 118 on June 19th, but we hit 122 degrees on June 26, 1990. That was 33 years ago. So it is not getting worse, it is normal, which means there is always slight variation due to cycles of El Nino and La Nina, etc. To put this into perspective, the hottest temperature recorded on the globe, is 134 degrees, which was recorded at Furnace Creek Ranch in Death Valley, California, on July 7, 1913. That was 110 years ago. WHO CONTROLS YOUR COOL? Be aware that power utilities all over the country, just like SRP and APS in Maricopa County Arizona have installed smart meters on most homes. These are controlled by microwave radio or cellular transmission and, when demand peaks for A/C and cooking (especially around dinner time) beyond what they can buy on the grid spot market and their own production, they have the capacity to ration electricity to specific areas and individual homes. Rolling brownouts for this reason are common in California by PG&E. Also be aware that the same can be done if you have a smart thermostat or smart home. The utility can override your temperature setting for however long it decides to do. Say you have yours set at 78 degrees. They can override it to 88 degrees. That may be unacceptable if you have a sick, elderly or infant member of your household. Utilities in Colorado, Nevada, California, and Arizona have done this in heat waves in the last 2 summers to tens of thousands of customers for multiple days. It was done last summer in Colorado by their utility. September, 2022 Xcel Energy, a utility company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, confirmed that 22,000 customers in the Denver, Colorado area who were signed up for the Colorado AC Rewards program were locked out of their thermostats for several hours on a Tuesday, KMGH-TV reported. Hot weather, heavy use of energy, one more shutdown of a large coal-fired power plant, and inability to buy more energy on the spot market during the heat wave contributed to shutting down customers in the program. The third unit of the Comanche coal plant in Pueblo lost power due to a leaking tube on Aug. 30th. Comanche 3 was repaired and began operating again Sept. 2. Built in 2010, Comanche 3 was out of commission for most of 2020 and for several months earlier this year. The serially troubled coal-powered unit averaged 91.5 days per year of outages over a decade, according to a 2021 report by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. TIPS FOR DOG PARENTS: In Phoenix and other desert hot climates from Spring through Fall the hot cement, asphalt, or brick pavement is a serious hazard for dogs’ feet. By 11:00 am on a 90 degree day they reach 120 degrees which is painful, by 2:00 pm 140 degrees which actually burns your hand or their pads, by 4:00 pm it is 165 and can boil water. Include booties your dog has already learned to wear. Realize they only protect from heat for about half an hour. Dogs who won’t wear boots you can protect for about 30 minutes with Mushers Secret paw wax. Sidewalks, parking lots, and your car, even grass in full direct sun for hours can easily top 100 degrees on an only 80 degree day. Bring your older dogs inside in the heat - remember they must pant to cool themselves, they cannot sweat. Keep play to a minimum during hot weather. To please you a dog will keep chasing that stick you keep throwing until it collapses.
What a great video Pam. I live in northern BC in Canada. We don’t experience the temperatures that Texas and Az get but, last summer it was hot for us. It went from summer to winter in late October and no fall rains. We have been in a drought since then. We live in a inland rainforest and so get rains….but not this year. It’s been months. Neighbours wells have dried up, the cedar trees are stressed and turning red, the leaves on some of the trees are falling already. It’s been a scary time . Forest fires are everywhere in BC and the smoke here has been nasty. Here where we live we don’t have AC normally it’s not needed. You had some very good points, some of which we use. It’s crazy times we are living in right now. With fires so close we have a small suitcase packed and our five gallon buckets full if we have to leave. I hope you and Jim and all your subscribers stay safe during this heat wave. Thank you so much….you guys are amazing 🇨🇦🌷
We’ve been under continual heat warning since mid-June. We’re taking many extra precautions for all our farm animals, and that means we’re spending extra time out there to check on them 🥵
Several years ago, I drove through the Mojave Desert into Arizona with my dog in an un-air-conditioned van. Knowing that it was going to be extremely hot (some places 116 degrees), I prepared for it. I drank water continuously and, because my dog was old, I put him in the front seat, with bags of ice wrapped in towels around them, put an ice collar on him, and used my windshield cover to reflect the sun away from him. We were very hot, but managed to get through the desert without problems. A few years earlier, in Oklahoma, where it was 115 degrees, I was not so sanguine and both my dog and I began to overheat. I drove to a nearby lake, and we both waded in. Once we were cooler, I drove immediately to a motel with air conditioning.
When I was a kid in 60s. My dad set up a swamp cooler setup in the back seat of our car when we drove thru the Desert. We added water to it. Driving to NY from CA. Cars didnt have AC back then. He was an engineer.
I'm a manager in a logistics warehouse. We have our handler take water breaks every 35 mins; they, of course, have their personal water bottles w them as well. It was 110 outside and 120 in the 53' trailers.
I live in Florida. After the hurricanes of 2004-2005 we were without power. I had friends come and stay with me because they were flooded out of their home. We made the mistake of leaving the windows open during the day. It was so hot and humid that the floor was slick and slippery. My mom and dad lived in the house behind me. They left their windows closed during the day. Their house was much cooler than mine. Lesson learned. One of the kids slept on the tile in the foyer. Fortunately, it rains a lot during hurricane season so the cloud cover would help. The humidity did not help! You just couldn't win! I just bought a new dual fuel generator with an electric start. I am better prepared than I was back then.
@@loupi4bama Now, I have two! LOL! I also have a "baby" Bluetti and another battery bank. When I lived in Miami we were at zero lot line. Too close, too dangerous and absolutely too loud! They have much more quiet ones now.
• Wet washcloths. • Wring them until they don't drip water. • Place them in individual ziplock bags. • Lay them flat in the freezer. When you are going to run errands, place a few of the frozen bags in a cooler. Grab one to quickly help you cool down when you need it.
Thanks for the info. I live in the high dessert of Nevada (near Carson City). I’m retired. When I go to town, even for the quickest errand, I take a sport bottle of refrigerated water and another sport bottle half full and frozen. I keep these bottles in a small refrigerator/freezer in my garage and they are easy to grab as I head to my car. BTW, you hair is always pretty, but especially so today.
When we travel in the heat, Pam always has her cold water jug filled with ice and water. In addition, we always have several bottle of cold liquid and ice in our cooler to help keep us hydrated. Jim
Thanks for sharing. I'm in Tucson and work part-time. I watch my customers to make sure they are ok. I offer water to those who are not carrying a drink.
My A/C went out during the 4th of July weekend when temps hit 109°. I joked that Doc Brown had taken my capacitor for the Delorean. It didn't get fixed until Weds a.m. I immediately put into place every measure I had practised during all the PSPS* over the past few years. I had already followed the practise of letting in the cool air of morning then closing up the house and keeping it closed up, having thermal curtains on the windows and keeping them closed. One of the blessings of living in a near desert area is that blessed cool in the morning almost all the time. Free A/C. So 1st day wasn't horrible. As days went by and temps rose and we hit that period of no overnight cooling I added extra baths and rinsed my hair, leaving it to dry naturally. That is a big help. All fans on, meals changed to all cold and when it got unbearable on the hottest day, I went for a ride in the beautifully air conditioned car. I made it through much better than I thought I would. *Public Safety Power Shutoff(s), great training if one used them for learning opportunities.
Great video! I have multiple sclerosis and I have to avoid heat, including a hot shower. I work in the kitchen of a local monastery that doesn’t have air conditioning. My doctor recommended a vest with ice packs in the front and back. It was $30 on Amazon. Between the vest and a fan, I stay relatively comfortable. For the price, the vest is well worth it. Keep up the great content. Thanks!
Great information. When my children were small we took a road trip to visit my family in Michigan. We were in a mini van with no AC. We ran into extreme heat wave. We got squirt guns, towels, and gallons of water. We stopped at every park and rest area. We draped ourselves in wet towels and played with the squirt guns. Drank lots of water and kept watermelon in the ice chest.
Thank you for these important tips. I do many of these every summer (I live in SW Georgia) where we experience "dog days" from late July sometimes through September. I turn off everything but my fridge and AC during this time, and now my air purifier though it doesn't generate heat. I also have a tankless water heater. Sometimes I use just the cold water to shower during this time. Rarely cook during this time, and if I do, I use my instant pot as it doesn't permeate heat like a pot on the stove would. I have a 5k btu window AC for back up should something happen and I need to cool a room to be safe. Windows covered or rooms not used are shut off. My cat detests closed doors. She scratches on the closed door like crazy. Nobody here goes out much during this kind of heat. The gnats and mosquitoes are unbearable. I keep my homemade quinine handy, which biting insects hate.... and it works too. I haven't had a single mosquito bite since I started using it years ago. There are plenty of recipes for that on YT, and only requires grapefruit peels, lemon peels, and distilled water, though sometimes I do use my well water and keep several jars frozen at a time. Stay safe everybody!!
I cared for my parents and grandmother until they passed. About 10 years. One place we lived, the AC went out, my parents were in their late 60's, but my grandmother was in her 80"s and had Alzheimers. My parents were wiping down with wet cloths but I put a large mixing bowl full of ice in front of a fan and had it blowing on my grandmother. Our landlord was very quick to get maintenance out to fix our AC. She knew that I had a house full of elders.
I really appreciate all you have said today. The one thing that many people forget wether it is hot or not is to sip your water. DON’T GULP. Sipping will help the water to cool your body at a better rate.
To help keep your furry friends cool, use bowls of water from which they can drink instead of water bottles with nozzles. These allow them to put their feet into the water and cool themselves . Dogs and rabbits love this. We also keep a kiddie pool with water we refreshen every few days for the dogs to get into and splash around. In addition, our rabbits get ceramic tiles in their hutches to stand on which stay cooler. Check ventilation in coops and that there is good air flow.
Here in Texas where I am it's 104 today, 07/17/2023, and is supposed to be 106 for the rest of the week. My A/C went out yesterday around 2 p.m. So this heat issue got real for me very quickly. I am staying in and have every fan going on high until the A/C guy shows up sometime today. Inside my house it's not to bad. Staying hydrated and taking it easy.
Great information and don’t forget to take care of your fur babies in the heat. I have an ice vest and cooling pad for my doggie as he has double fur.❤
I'm so glad you brought this up. Did you know that some double-coated breeds benefit from their coat in the heat? It would be dangerous to have their coats shaved or shortened.
We live in a mobile home. We had a storm that knocked out power for 72 hours. It didn't cool off in the house until about 7am. We could manage to sleep from then til about noon. We were staying in our cars, with the air running. We have a dog who would get out if we opened windows. No fans. No generators
A 20-30 min foot soak of cool water with Epsom salts works great to lower overall body temps, especially if out -to - here pregnant. Try a wet but not dripping paper towel lining in your straw hat or baseball cap when outdoors doing gardening. Wear very large, loose fitting, light colored clothing, long sleeve men’s shirts. Baggy pants. Start your chores early, like 6 AM ish and get indoors by 11:30 or so. A siesta helps in the afternoon. You can always head back out at 4:00 PMor so to complete tasks. A snack with a little salt and a little sweet. Like saltine crackers and ginger ale with ice or an iced tea or light fruit juice with mint helps to refresh and restore. Hang a small baggie of ice cubes on the front of the fan, running on low. Cools a small space real quick.
Lots of good comments on this topic. I would add, consider redundancy. If you have an air conditioner, get another one. Same with all other safety products. Store extra water.
Things I used as a cemetary grounds keeper when it got to be 90°- 113° in our midwest summers: thin bath towels to soak in the ice chest & drape around the neck, froze half full drink bottles the night before a job & topped of with fluid before heading out to work, kept cheap dollar store folding fans handy to create a breeze while resting, squirt bottles to mist down with, baby wipes to cool & clean the stickies off with, taking double the usual breaks & of course lots of water, lemonade & fruits in the ice chest. Edit to add: If you dont have AC, always use fans to blow hot air OUT of the house during the day, then reverse to bring IN cool air at night.
Oh, Pam, thanks for sharing your personal story! Now you're paying it forward to keep others safe! I hope you and Jim stay safe! Thanks again for inspiring information.
Medications, both prescription & over the counter, can also make you more susceptible to heat. Review ALL types of medicine you take on a daily or intermittent basis with your Pharmacist to determine whether they will cause you to have heat intolerance.
I heard on news it was suppose to get 130 degrees in Death Valley CA, not Phoenix. I live in Phoenix area. It is about 112-117 here and for next next 1.5 week. It is 114 now at 3:30 pm.......ugh., If it gets 130 degrees, I am out of here and heading North !! Great tips of keeping cool. I have used a soaked beach towel and a fan on me when my AC went out and it was 115 degrees. Got me thru the night...then headed for a hotel for me and my cat!! I bought another 3000W solar generator to keep my frigs running and to have ice!!
I found the two of you about a year ago as searching for preparing and preserving. I'm not an expert just search what would work for me. All my life I have struggled with the heat in MN. I finally moved to Duluth and live on the hillside. Do to Beautiful Lake Superior we are usually 10 - 15 degrees cooler than over the hill. Most nights and some days sweatshirts are required. It also depends on the direction of the wind and sometime the hill side can be as much as 20 degrees cooler. No tornados, long winters but staying cool all summer it is worth it for me. We are suppose to be in the 80's on Saturday but I guess my area will be in the 70's. Thank you for all I have learned from both of you! Keep it up. We are going to need all the help we can get. Oh.. the ship action I watch in a day on lake Superior is amazing!
In Australia we cover the outside of the window to prevent the sun from hitting the glass as this is what causes heat in the house. Where we had shade cloth along the verandah to shade the windows we doubled the layers on extreme days and it really made a difference.
You always look great but esp beautiful today. Smart + pretty wow what a lady lol. I am over 65 and just finished mowing in the SE 🔥 I put one of the cooling clothes around my neck with ice cubes at the spine. Then I wore a scarf with ice cubes under on my head. (My Rottweiler always walks beside me as I mow.. he gave up and went and laid in pond up to his chin lol) I had a severe heat stroke in a power plant about 12 yrs ago.. didn’t even know my name. I am excited to try the vest! Appreciate y’all ❤
One more. This should be common sense and my (our😊) generation grew up doing it. Close the drapes on the side of the house where the sun is shining and don't let the sun in. A nice cool soak in the bathtub works wonders at home. We used to go for late night swims in our backyard pool. I still remember how terrifed my sister's and I were of the bats that would swoop down at the water probably trying to catch mosquitoes but of course when you are a kid every bat is potentially dracula. Also all you gardeners - cover up any hay bales in your yard with plastic because even a few sprinkles of water or condensation on a hot hay bale can cause spontaneous combustion.
Thanks for the info on the hay bales! I did not know that! I have a partial straw bale covered in a tarp on the outside of my chicken coop! I water a mineral tub with tomatoes in it that's right in front of it & some volunteer flowers on the ground to the side of it! It would be so easy to splash water on it! Thanks again, & God Bless!
Remember your pulse points. Take wash clothes, bandanas ECT. Wet them and wring out most of the water, place in a Ziploc bag and keep in the freezer until needed. Sponges work too. You can duct tape a 2ltr bottle to the water hose after poking holes in it and as long as the water isn't turned on full blast, it should last. The kids love it and it's was pretty cool for the mom's too 😊
Like you two, I live in a dry climate. Most of these tactics do not work in humid conditions, which is why heat domes are so deadly. I have been working on this problem with a low-income friend in another state. So far, we've acquired for her: a 700W solar generator (no solar panels because there are too few days with clear sunshine), a 23 cu. ft. 12V fridge/freezer to rotate ice packs, a hand-held, insulated mister/sipper combo (opening allows adding ice cubes), ice packs, a small ice chest to use while driving around town, and two high-quality 12V rechargeable fans. Yet to consider, when we can afford more solar generator capacity, is a low-wattage 12V ice maker. These are good for keeping critical medications cool.
Wow what a story! You certainly were blessed that the professor and students knew what to do to help you and prevent heat stroke! I'm getting more susceptible to heat now that I'm getting older too. Thanks for a great video covering a very important subject!
Thanks for raising our awareness on this subject. I live in the Deep South, and our temperatures have been very high for a number of days…along with high humidity. When you walk outside it’s hard to breathe, as the air quality has been poor as well. A nice thunderstorm would help a lot! Seems to cleanse the air quite well, but it doesn’t last long. I appreciate you guys!!
One very hot summer a couple decades ago, (oh man it was longer ago than that, sheesh) anyway, no AC. Some friends dropped by and we were sitting on my deck, so hot. I gathered my white 5 gallon buckets half filed with water, we each had our own and sat and gabbed and laughed, with our feet in the buckets. When the water warmed up we scooped it on the plants and got more cool water. We stayed perfectly comfortable. I think I'm going to set up for that this week here in western Washington. Thank you Pam and Jim for your beyond awesome channel.
Microfiber cooling towels work GREAT. My husband works in an environment which can at times be as much as 140* F. A cooling towel on the back of the neck and one inside the hardhat works wonders. Drink cool water when overheated but not ice cold, as ice cold can be too much of a shock to the system. Electrolyte-infused water is better than plain water for rehydration.
Excellent video, Dr Pam! You are a treasure! This is such an important subject! We all need to learn to cope with the heat, because it is here and it so NOT going away! Hats, sunglasses and long sleeves are important clothing for heat. Woven cotton and linen fabrics are much cooler than synthetic and knit fabrics. Stay safe everybody - and don’t waste water!
Thank you so much Pam. This is super important and I suspect it’s going to be a factor for quite awhile. You may have literally have saved lives. I’ll continue to pass your wisdom along. Stay cool, thinking of you.
Replacing Electrolytes is highly important! Water toxicity is very real and one can die from it! Unfortunately all the info stresses drinking water with no mention of this. Please also do a segment on the importance of this and include making homemade Electrolyte drinks.
You can make electrolytes by mixing a 8 Oz glass of water with 1 tbl spoon of lemon juice and 1/8 tsp salt. I drink this after working my garden in the morning. It's so humid here, I am sopping wet when I come in. Straight to the shower and then the drink.
We’ve had 90s all night a few nights during the last couple weeks here in Ok. Usually it goes down to 70s or 80’s. Thank heavens we still have AC right now.
I'm in south Texas even the weather man said he has lived here for many years and had never seen heat index at 123 degrees it's has always been hot here but don't remember it being like this we live on a 5 acre lot have sheep had to do yard work so daughter rented a small tractor it was too hot in the day we were doing the work after 6pm and working though the night she was on the tractor and the rest of us had headlamps on work until 3am we took water breaks and talked it was hard work but it seems to bring us closer we mostly stay home if we run errands we frozen water bottles along with room temperature water if take long the frozen water is ready to drink and fresh thanks Pam and Jim from the bottom of our hearts 🙂🌻🌼
My husband almost died from a heatstroke, luckily we had a first responder that lived next door. He stuffed ice around his arm pits and chest to cool him down and propped his feet up until the ambulance arrived
I sleep w/o anything at all, but it’s just me. I use ice bags during the hottest part of the day. I also go out and water the trees and get wet. Always keep doors closed and check for leaks around windows and doors. When outside I wear a cap and under the cap I place a wet hand towel. Nice with a breeze.
Very good information! I grew up in the desert in SW New Mexico & I remember my mom giving us kids a wet washcloth at night & we'd swing them around to get them cold, then put them on our face. I have been staying outside as much as possible during the day this summer. The flies & mosquitoes are terrible, because we've had so much rain. The humidity is terrible. I can take it, but I don't let my dogs stay out that long. I let my chickens out of their coop because I think they can find cooler spots under the tree or plants I've watered. I have bowls of drinking water scattered around for them. I freeze gallons of water for my rabbits to nestle up against. For me, I saved my dogs' kiddie pool from last year. It has a hole in it, so it won't hold water for hours, but I fill it up a few inches with the ice-cold water from my well. I put my lawn chair next to it & dip my feet in it. One dog will stick his front paws in & once in a while he will even stand in it, but the others don't want anything to do with it. I also have old hand towels that I wet if it's really miserable, although to me that just makes me feel like it's more humid sometimes, & put around my neck. I think acclimating myself somewhat to this weather really helps. In "Blow-klahoma" we usually have a breeze, but there have been several days this summer with no breeze at all. I'm filling up my water jug & going back out to check on the chickens. It's over 100 degrees today, but we do have a breeze! Stay safe everyone, & God Bless!!!
I usually have a bandana (wet) around my neck , And Wrap both my wrists with wet bandanas . I also put a bowl of ice in front of a fan if I have some , I live in a Hurricane Zone.
Thank you for the valuable information that may just save someone's life! We have a tendency to be overconfident in our ability to handle heat and cold and a disaster can be just a few moments away. Wearing light-colored clothes helps as well as them being loose-fitting. It's good to have many extra bottles of water to drink and strips of cloth to moisten in vehicles in case you are stranded for a while or if you run across people who are needing hydration. I believe electrolyte drinks are helpful as well. Share warning signs and first aid knowledge with family and friends so they can help themselves or others too. So glad your professor knew the signs and what needed to be done urgently! Take care!
Another benefit of light-colored clothing is that dark colors are seen by wasps, bees, etc. as predators. I had a black outdoor light for awhile, and the wasps hovered over it, next to me front door. Changed it out for a white one, and problem solved. Also consider natural fabrics like cotton when possible, as they are cooler than polyester.
Using a pinch of Celtic salt or Pink Salt is safely use instead of chemically sports drinks. It allows your body to absorb the water and quinces your thirst. Hats that have neck flaps & are made for heat relief plus there are head ice packs you can purchase. Lastly, try & Acclamate to some tolerance to small amounts of heat at the beginning of the season if possible. Oh, and a kiddie pool couldn't hurt to keep your toes in.😅
A wet bandana around your neck will help you cool down, also a wet washcloth (wet not dripping) placed on your skin will help keep you cool if there is air movement. I use the bandana in the daytime and the washcloth can help make sleeping easier.
Avoid wearing dark colored clothing which will absorb heat, instead wear light colored clothing. Linen is a good fabric choice in the heat. Never wait until you are thirsty to drink because at that point you are already dehydrated. If you have a planned activity try hydrating the day before. The average daily fluid intake under optimal conditions is 1/2 your body weight in ounces (150÷2= 75 ounces.) For young children to get fluids in you can do Popsicles, watermelon, etc.
I also make a gallon at a time refrigerator tea with lemon balm from the garden, Kentucky Colonel mint from the garden and dried hibiscus. It is extremely refreshing and cooling poured over ice cubes.
We loved your video. Just 2 things to add: 1) We also drink 8 oz of sole water first thing in the morning to keep hydrated. 2) Working in the ICU, in Arizona, we had a fair amount of patients admitted to the ICU with life-threatening hyponatremia. It is usually hikers or runners (but not always) who hydrate with excessive water intake. To countetact the heat the individual is thinking that they are hydrating, but in actuality, they can slip into a life-threatening fluid and electrolyte imbalance. Raising the sodium has to be done slowly, often over days, and the patient may be unresponsive. In extreme heat, we have to drink water but also take in electrolytes, especially if sweating profusely or being physically taxed.
When I still lived at home, my parents lived in an old house that didn't have air conditioning. My room was upstairs. I had an old clawfoot tub in the upstairs bathroom. All summer long, I would draw a cold bath and sit in it until I was cooled off enough to go to sleep with just a fan. After hurricanes, when the power goes out, we take cold showers. Sometimes two or three times a day. Thankfully, we don't have them that often, but so far it hasn't affected our ability to use our water in the shower. One of the last ones we had, I was home alone. During the day, I would take my dog for a ride in the car with the AC blowing on us. We didn't go far because trees were down, etc., but it was so nice to be able to cool off even for brief periods.
On our vacations when I was little, we would leave at 10 pm and mom had a small cooler with ice water. She would dip a towel in the ice water and give us each on to put on our laps to cool down. This is how we went to Disneyland every summer. No freeway. Great memories!
I used to work in aged care and one thing I know to be true: the older one gets, the less able one is to accurately gauge thirst... Never, EVER, wait until you're thirsty to take a drink... 10 cups of water daily, MINIMUM, during a heat wave... Set a timer if you can do you automatically drink the water when the alarm goes off! And from my childhood where 130F was normal during summer... Sit in a bath of cold water... Constantly cycle through clothes... Wet and wring a shirt, then put it on and sit in front of a fan... As it's evaporating, have the other shirt sitting in the bucket of water... When the first one is dry, swap them... We currently have a 2 storey home, the bottom floor being tiled... Our air-conditioned exploded a few years ago during the hottest summer in a decade. We slept downstairs (the bedrooms are all upstairs) in the hallway so we could funnel a fan through... During the day, I would put wet towels on the tiles and blow the high speed fan over them to evaporate and cool them AND the air...
Thank you for covering this topic , it’s miserably hot in Southern California right now. We don’t have a fridge that makes ice. We bought an ice machine that works wonderfully! It ways bit under $100 dollars. Sooo worth it 🎉
The gel-filled neck-ties that you soak in water then wear around your necks my husband used these when he was a crane operator. Soak them and keep them in the refrigerator and swap them out as needed. We always keep the windows and curtains closed till after sunset. At night so we open all the windows to let the night air in to cool off the house. We have fans in every room for circulation. No cooking it's all salads, cold fruits, sandwiches, crackers, cold beverages, and plenty of water. Shopping is early morning or late evening. We have replaced all our light bulbs with LEDs so they don't put off any heat. We put large bowls of water in the freezer for the dogs. Wading pool and water dishes in the shade.
The last 18 years from Memorial Day to Labor Day our oven/stove is off limits. We only cook in the microwave, on the gas grill, charcoal grill, use the Instant Pot, crock pot, or Sun Oven.
Hi Pam very good information. I must say your reference of Arizona being as hot as "130 degrees" was quite a stretch. I live in Phoenix and yes it's been hot but only 118... at its hottest. Phoenix has always been hot and our current weather is, regretfully, normal. You may wonder why we live here...if it were up to me, we wouldn't, but my husband has a health issue and cooler temps make his condition worse. The "benefit"we do get here....extremely low humidity, thank goodness.
I have a mix of 50 drops Peppermint, 30 drops lavender, and 20 drops Ylang Ylang EOs in a 2oz cobalt glass spray bottle of distilled water. Shake and spray at will! Peppermint helps with cooling skin and mosquito repellent too!
Thank you for your video and helpful tips. We all love and sometimes take for granted our air conditioning so if the power goes out we need to know know what to do. I love to work in my vegetable garden but I have learned when certain areas are shady and that is the time of day I work out there.
Thanks for mentioning Phoenix. We have been here more than 25 years and this is the worst I have seen. Your resources are great and I am sharing them with the safety coordinator at work for our field deployed staff. I pray that more people we better prepared for emergencies. We pray for rain as we have 25-40% humidity to go with the 115+ degree temperatures
My mother was telling us stories of how her mother had to be in the loft to put in hay in this heat.. we were talking about how nobody can stand the heat because of A/C .. me included.. gramma had 8 kids to care for too.. no washing machine or electric anything.. they were amazing humans.
For anyone that doesn’t know, the critical difference is losing too many electrolytes from sweat, and water alone does not carry electrolytes. One healthy option for replenishing your electrolytes in hot weather is Coconut Water, naturally rich in electrolytes. Here is what I do both to stretch out the product, and to minimize blood sugar impact: I don’t measure, but pour between 1/4-1/3 of my glass with the Coconut water, and fill the rest with ice water. Diluting it but sipping this throughout the day keeps a small, steady stream of electrolytes and hydration going without too much sugar intake. My favorite brand has been O.N.E., but I have not seen it lately.
the heat rising is not a new thing back in the 1970's it was hotttt and in winters were Freezing cold. I grew up in the high desert and still live there . my advice is dont coddle yourself go outside several times a day this allows your body to adjust for the heat and when you go back in drink HOT tea or tap temprature water . Ice water and other cold drinks are not your friend when you are hot or over heated it will put your body in shock and give you a headache . and as she said cover up hat loose white or tan lightweight over shirt
It can get quite warm where we live and we do not have air conditioning. In summer we open all the windows and doors early before it gets hot, then when the sun starts to bake the earth we close etherything on the hot side of the house but leave those on the shaded sides of the house open, otherwise the air from the hot concrete slab blows into the house. I often sleep or work on the floor where it is cooler. In the day I would often dampen my hair every hour or so during the warmest part of the day. ICED WATER! For meals, eat lots of salads or cut fruits. Chew on ice cubes. At night I leave windows open until I go to sleep and I have to close them for security reasons. Truth be told, I'd rather take summer heat over winter cold any day. I love summer.
I have 7 children. When they were children we had to watch our 6th child very carefully. She overheated easily. Her older brother would have to piggyback her during long outings. I had to be mindful to keep her hydrated. I also took breaks in air-conditioned buildings. I know friends and some relatives didn't understand the seriousness. We came close to heat exhaustion one time. I felt awful that I had missed the signs.
My air conditioner died during a heat wave last year. It hovered around 96 in my house. It was not long before I was desperate for relief. You are right, a fan doesn't help on its own. I found ice packs for feet. All they are really are socks with pockets that hold freezer ice packs. Can not walk on them but great when sitting or lying down. That made all the difference. I even hung ice packs meant for the back around my neck. All that with a fan made it bearable. Did I look absolutely ridiculous.... YES....but who cares! Would love some tips on helping animals. I set my cat up in the basement.
We live in the mountains of NM and don't have air conditioning. We use the system of opening windows at night, closing up around 8 AM. and turning on the fans. The idea of hanging wet towels or sheets is one I hadn't thought of. Thank you. P.S.- we eat a lot of ice cream.😊
❤Thank you very much for this informative video. Usually with the heat, the power tends to go out making it dangerous for many. The issue I feel is worse where the heat is accompanied with high humidity. The humidity is like drowning on land. Both my husband and I experienced heat exhaustion, pretty bad experiences and at different years. That was over 25 years ago and we are still not able to tolerate the heat like we used to. We are in South Carolina, which is very humid in the summer. Stay safe everyone. PS: I like that water backpack. What a great idea! I will need to look for one. Thanks!
No one ever mentions what to do for our pets and what to do for them too. It's just as hard on them as it is for us. I wet old towels and lay them on the floor. I don't care if it gets the floor wet. It's just water and I'm more concerned for the relief of my 14 cats and Labrador retriever than the floor. Plenty of fresh water every day and often more than once a day. Put ice in their water. Spray bottles with cool water. The cats have gotten used to the coolness so it doesn't bother them when they are sprayed with it. I make ice cubes with their canned food mixed with a little water in designated cube trays specifically for the pets so they can lick on them. These furbabies love them. For the outside community cats I wet the ground down every morning on the shady side of the house. The water bowls are refreshed often because the water gets so hot even on the shade side of the house. The outside community cats all lay on the wet ground. They also get the food ice cubes. It's rough out there for them too. I've had heat stroke so I am more susceptible to getting heat stroke and heat exhaustion. I know what it feels like before I'm about to that point. I had to be doused in water as well. I have to be extremely careful too. Once you've had heat stroke you're never the same with heat again
If you are without AC then it's vital to follow the sun with your windows. You must cover & close all the windows on what's currently the sunny side of your home. Opening only those on the shaded side as the sun moves during the day. Hanging a wet sheet over part of the open windows can help cool the air that's entering the house. Our generation has forgotten, if they ever knew, that the reason the upper half of windows on most houses can be lowered is to let hot air out of the room. Cross ventilation isn't complicated but it's something most people have never had to think about. The gel filled neck wraps are good, but any wet hand towel can work about as well if you simply turn or refold it occasionally as the side against your skin warms up. In a dire situation the same thing can be done on your wrists & ankles, really anywhere that the blood vessels are close to the surface. Getting cool water on those areas will cool you off pretty quickly. You can improvise a swamp cooler for just about any kind of fan. All that's required is an open container of water for the fan to blow across. Even baking sheets, filled with water, & placed on the floor in front of a box fan can work but deeper water will stay cool longer. We keep some of the old strap style lawn chairs & rope hammocks to use during summer power outages because sitting or sleeping on something that allows air flow is much cooler than using traditional furniture. I had to laugh at the lawn chair in a stream you talked about because sitting in a lawn chair with our feet in a tub of water is exactly how we survived a prolonged August power outage just a couple of years ago. A simple hand fan, the Scarlet O'Hara type, can be a life saver. There really is a reason all our grandmothers carried them before AC existed.
In the depression, they would WET /soak bed sheets and hang them from their doors to help cool the house.( No electric back then)....also wetting rags and placing on top of head and or on back of neck.
Wouldn’t work down South
It would just add to the humidity
My husband told me about growing up in Alabama. Wrapping up in wet sheets at night kept them cool while sleeping in the enclosed front porch. Doing so also made it difficult for the 'skeeters to get to them.
I dip my shirt in cool water and wear when I’m out fishing
I put wet sheets on my fabric furniture and the sheets dry really quick and cold water in the tub readily available better than a shower
In the 1800s the women would keep their under slips and aprons and day caps wet. They would use those long aprons as fans. There were also hand dug vegetable cellars that could be used for sleeping and cooling off the children in the daytime. Playing in creeks and streams was common too. We can learn a lot of survival tactics from the old ways.
I absolutely agree. If you know of any more please share them.
Parents and caregivers of small children - use frozen blue ice in the car seats with a blanket or heavy towel thrown over them in the car. When you come back to the hot car after running errands check the latches, buckles and all parts of the car seats and seat belts before buckling the infants and children in. You can also keep a smal frozen l blue ice pack in your bag with the package of wet diaper wipes - use for wiping down anything else in the car that is too hot to touch.
If you lose power, and have a basement hang out down there during the day or even sleep down there if you can. This is how I managed the early and mid 1980s with small children and no AC
My little brother and i were latch key children, raised by a single mother. The little house we lived in would get so hot. I would fill the tub full of the cool water and we would play in that water throughout the day when we needed to cool down. It stayed full with the same water all day. My mother would brag how smart i was. lol
What does latch key mean?
Until I was 2 years old, we lived in San Bernardino CA near Palm Springs. My mother would sit me in a washtub of water under the fig tree. I would spash and play and eat figs for hours.
Latck key. We had to stay inside while our mother worked. Couldn't answer the door. We were too young to be left alone by today's standards. (Earliest i remember, i was 5 , so my brother would have been 3)
Many years ago, I went on holiday to Turkey with my daughter (11 at the time), We toured Western Turkey and finally stayed in an 'apartment hotel' (individual, ground floor apartments) that had no air con. WE were so hot at night it was unbearable. My solution was to take the cotton sheets, soak them in cold water and wring the out. It was sheer bliss ... we slept and when we woke in the morning, the sheets were dry. Another one of my solutions is to put icy water in a 'hot water' bottle for my feet and a wet towel on my pillow - if head and feet are cool, the whole body is more able to keep cool.
I garden alot. I have a large brim hat, to cover my neck. Iwhere a loose fitting,long sleeve shirt over a short sleeve shirt. Long pants and shoes,makes me look very over dressed for as hot as it is. I wear a "handfan" that I recharge every time I use it. Most of all I have a 24 ounce bottle of water with me always. Good video information specially this week. I garden early, being in Arvada Colorado, it will cool off over night. Good luck everyone!!
I have found 2 other methods to cool down. The gel filled neck-ties that you soak in water then wear around necks are wonderful! I have several and they work wonderfully! Also if you have an air mattress get it out and use it to sleep on. The air inside does not get hot and you will find that you will most likely need a blanket before morning!
I had a couple years ago ,used to use it when I had a migraine As my head gets hot I’d use one round my neck & one round head
Thanks for remaining me ,I’m off to look on Amazon x
When I was a kid, I used to soak a wet bath towel and wring it out, lay it on my bed. It was the only way we could fall asleep in the heat of the summer nights.
@@annagarza6225 Haha that reminds me when I was a kid! My parents were missionaries in the Philippines and it is HOT there. Air conditioning wasn't a thing we did except at night and it was so hot. I used to tickle the inside of my arm until it made me shiver which seemed to cool me off! Funny things we did as kids!!
@@danielledunavant3146at least u had it on at night
What a relief to be able to sleep
No fans make it impossible
We were OffGrid 4 days in June. It was rly bad.
Use several plastic water bottles, remove 1/2 inch of the water of a full bottle of water, place plastic water bottles in freezer. attach frozen bottle with zip ties and tie on the outside of fan. Turn fan on. This should be helpful to cool down the home. If this works for you, I suggest you have more than 2 bottles always in freezer. Also, you can get a towel, wet it down and place on the back of your neck. This is helpful also when you are driving to keep awake. Wash your face and wet down your hair. I hope this helps.
When I lived in Germany we had a heat wave in the early 2000. I lived in an apartment with a flat roof top and no AC. The apartment heated up to almost 90 F during the day and didn’t go much down at night. It was miserable to say the least. School was out for summer and my aunt asked me and my kids to come with her to go camping in the woods to escape the heat in the city. It was a life saver and I will forever remember this. Many people on Europe died that summer.
Thanks for telling us about your experience with the heat in Germany, 2000. It seems like we may be revisiting that summer again in many parts of the world. Jim
It was 2003 and about 70000 people died in Europe from the heat wave. Just wanted to clear the exact year.
Such good advice! Last year was the first time the heat really got to me. I'd go out for 5 minutes and be soaking wet from sweat. It's worse this year. I knew if the grid went down I'd be in big trouble so I got a small portable air conditioner. It can run by power station or an add on battery by solar. A full charge will give me up to 8 hour of run time so I bought a second add on battery. Yes, I'm spoiling myself but I find that for me it is a necessity.
And the Southern hemisphere is getting colder, yesr after year! STOP! Listen to Pam. No matter the reason, all of us need to be prepared either way. God bless you and yours from South Africa.
I live in the Phoenix Metropolitan area. One of the things I did a week ago was to get my A/C units a tuneup and worked on. The tech did a very detailed job and fixed things like getting the A/C insulation properly put back into place and fixing it so it couldn’t come down again, sealed many areas that had worn throughout, made sure drainage hoses were cleaned and replaced if needed. He took before and after pictures and it was a superb job when finished. This will help insure that I am ready for the hot summer season
Investing in bed linens that are designed for those who tend to get hot. They really work. Else, dampen a sheet to sleep under. The damp sheet will cool you. An outdoor mister that can be attached to a fan will lower the temps by 20 degrees or more.
Last August my poor cousin in law had her second child. We had a brutal heatwave just before she had her baby and she was miserable! In the end we chucked her in the children's paddling pool and had my children and her daughter douse her with watering cans of cold water. She said she felt like a beached whale but we have no air conditioning and it was getting dangerously hot. The kids thought watering their Aunty/Mother was great fun though so it kept them out of mischief for a while.
Pam, great and informative video. I have both extreme heat and extreme cold totes as part of my emergency preparedness plan. My house is air-conditioned and we have a basement and it does stay considerably cooler. Your video inspired me to check my extreme heat tote. Here are a few things I have. First, laying on top is a sheet that details the signs of heat exhaustion and what to do in the event you can't get medical attention. In addition to water, I have electrolyte powder. I also have disposable thermometers that you place on your forehead. Instant cooling patches, instant ice wrap, cooling towels, battery-operated misters, numerous battery-operated fans in various sizes, and vomit bags. Of course, like everyone else, we try and protect ourselves from the extreme heat by wearing sun hats and not staying outside when the temps are unbearable. There's a peace of mind knowing should the grid go down and medical help isn't possible, I have that tote readily available if needed.
Great idea for the totes! Thank you!
Thanks for letting us know how well prepared you are for the heat. I especially like the sheet on top with the indicators of heat exhaustion and what to do if you cannot get medical help. Jim
I wear a hat and long sleeve shirt when I am outside in the heat. Long sleeves seems counterintuitive, but I have found it keeps me cooler. My skin is shaded by the shirt and I sweat, thus wetting the shirt. As the sweat evaporates from the shirt, it is like a swamp cooler. I learned this from the Mexican farm workers in my rural area. They always wear long sleeves. Of course, I am staying inside during the afternoon and evening when it is going to be over 100F every day for days on end right now, where I live. I need to get a camelback for when I am outside gardening. I try to always take water out with me, but it’s a pain to carry it around. Thanks for the warnings!
Yes to long sleeves! Cotton and linen are much cooler than synthetic fabrics and knits. And hat with a brim!
I suffered from heat stroke in Washington DC in the late 80s. I had drank over 2.5 gallons of water that day. I came home with a temp of 102 and I did not urinate for two days.
Thank you for thinking of us in this heat!
102! That is getting a little too, close for comfort. We are happy you made it through. Jim
When you hear heat wave is headed your direction...don't wait until it gets there to start drinking/hydrating...it takes a few days to get up to really full levels in your system...so start hydrating early so you have reserve to sweat with!
Boy was this timely! I started spritzing myself with the spray bottle while watching the video. Placed a wet towel in front of the fan -- that REALLY helped. Using your windows as evap coolers. Who knew? I'm going off to find a basin to soak my feet...
Hey! Not relate to the heat issue but I wanted to make sure you were aware of the change in acidity of vinegar being sold. It use to be 5% but now it’s 4%! This apparently will affect safety of food production. So what can ppl do to remedy this? Thanks so much!
Great advice Pam. I had heat stroke once. I was so sick. Nothing to play around with.
I understand. Jim
Lots of good ideas for staying cool from Pam and the community. What works well is different when the humidity is high from when it is low, and people seldom mention that.
PERSPECTIVE AND CONTEXT: While heat exhaustion and heat stroke are real risks to be taken seriously and countermeasures taken, they also need to be kept in perspective. Most people have the good sense not to overdo physical activity in heat, especially if they are already out of shape as most Americans are.
Also, the scary death rates reported seldom mention that the victims are overwhelmingly the homeless, specifically the 80% of whom are mentally ill, alcohol or drug addicted, or youth runaways who wait too long to seek shade, stay hydrated, and so on. They account for 70% of the deaths from exposure (cold or heat) nationwide every year. We have cooling and hydration centers for them and for low income and seniors in Phoenix, so in 2022 the homeless accounted for only 40% of Maricopa County's 339 heat deaths that occurred among a population of 4.6 million.
GETTING MUCH WORSE? Fortunately, we can learn from our grandparents and great grandparents who dealt with much worse heat waves in the 1930's all across North America, when heat waves were both much hotter, more frequent, and longer before the 1960's. They were harder to cope with because we didn't have central air conditioning and most of the countryside outside of cities didn't have electricity to run ice houses or evaporative coolers. Thanks to modern technology, deaths from extreme weather decreased dramatically over the last 100 years. For a factual 11 part series on our very hot history Tony Heller's study dives into government statistics and news reports of the era and is quite fascinating ruclips.net/video/H41OYme1vlA/видео.html The all-time highest recorded temperature in Arizona was in Parker at 127 °F on July 7, 1905. This was, at the time, the all-time record high temperature in Arizona history until Lake Havasu City reached 128 °F on June 29, 1994. Phoenix gets at least one week with every day over 112 every year since I moved here in 1983. In 2016 we hit 118 on June 19th, but we hit 122 degrees on June 26, 1990. That was 33 years ago. So it is not getting worse, it is normal, which means there is always slight variation due to cycles of El Nino and La Nina, etc. To put this into perspective, the hottest temperature recorded on the globe, is 134 degrees, which was recorded at Furnace Creek Ranch in Death Valley, California, on July 7, 1913. That was 110 years ago.
WHO CONTROLS YOUR COOL? Be aware that power utilities all over the country, just like SRP and APS in Maricopa County Arizona have installed smart meters on most homes. These are controlled by microwave radio or cellular transmission and, when demand peaks for A/C and cooking (especially around dinner time) beyond what they can buy on the grid spot market and their own production, they have the capacity to ration electricity to specific areas and individual homes. Rolling brownouts for this reason are common in California by PG&E.
Also be aware that the same can be done if you have a smart thermostat or smart home. The utility can override your temperature setting for however long it decides to do. Say you have yours set at 78 degrees. They can override it to 88 degrees. That may be unacceptable if you have a sick, elderly or infant member of your household. Utilities in Colorado, Nevada, California, and Arizona have done this in heat waves in the last 2 summers to tens of thousands of customers for multiple days. It was done last summer in Colorado by their utility. September, 2022 Xcel Energy, a utility company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, confirmed that 22,000 customers in the Denver, Colorado area who were signed up for the Colorado AC Rewards program were locked out of their thermostats for several hours on a Tuesday, KMGH-TV reported. Hot weather, heavy use of energy, one more shutdown of a large coal-fired power plant, and inability to buy more energy on the spot market during the heat wave contributed to shutting down customers in the program. The third unit of the Comanche coal plant in Pueblo lost power due to a leaking tube on Aug. 30th. Comanche 3 was repaired and began operating again Sept. 2. Built in 2010, Comanche 3 was out of commission for most of 2020 and for several months earlier this year. The serially troubled coal-powered unit averaged 91.5 days per year of outages over a decade, according to a 2021 report by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission.
TIPS FOR DOG PARENTS: In Phoenix and other desert hot climates from Spring through Fall the hot cement, asphalt, or brick pavement is a serious hazard for dogs’ feet. By 11:00 am on a 90 degree day they reach 120 degrees which is painful, by 2:00 pm 140 degrees which actually burns your hand or their pads, by 4:00 pm it is 165 and can boil water. Include booties your dog has already learned to wear. Realize they only protect from heat for about half an hour. Dogs who won’t wear boots you can protect for about 30 minutes with Mushers Secret paw wax. Sidewalks, parking lots, and your car, even grass in full direct sun for hours can easily top 100 degrees on an only 80 degree day. Bring your older dogs inside in the heat - remember they must pant to cool themselves, they cannot sweat. Keep play to a minimum during hot weather. To please you a dog will keep chasing that stick you keep throwing until it collapses.
What a great video Pam. I live in northern BC in Canada. We don’t experience the temperatures that Texas and Az get but, last summer it was hot for us. It went from summer to winter in late October and no fall rains. We have been in a drought since then. We live in a inland rainforest and so get rains….but not this year. It’s been months. Neighbours wells have dried up, the cedar trees are stressed and turning red, the leaves on some of the trees are falling already. It’s been a scary time . Forest fires are everywhere in BC and the smoke here has been nasty. Here where we live we don’t have AC normally it’s not needed. You had some very good points, some of which we use. It’s crazy times we are living in right now. With fires so close we have a small suitcase packed and our five gallon buckets full if we have to leave. I hope you and Jim and all your subscribers stay safe during this heat wave. Thank you so much….you guys are amazing 🇨🇦🌷
Retired iron worker said they would dip there arms in a big bucket of water, cools down the veins in your arms. He said it worked well..
We’ve been under continual heat warning since mid-June. We’re taking many extra precautions for all our farm animals, and that means we’re spending extra time out there to check on them 🥵
Several years ago, I drove through the Mojave Desert into Arizona with my dog in an un-air-conditioned van. Knowing that it was going to be extremely hot (some places 116 degrees), I prepared for it. I drank water continuously and, because my dog was old, I put him in the front seat, with bags of ice wrapped in towels around them, put an ice collar on him, and used my windshield cover to reflect the sun away from him. We were very hot, but managed to get through the desert without problems. A few years earlier, in Oklahoma, where it was 115 degrees, I was not so sanguine and both my dog and I began to overheat. I drove to a nearby lake, and we both waded in. Once we were cooler, I drove immediately to a motel with air conditioning.
When I was a kid in 60s. My dad set up a swamp cooler setup in the back seat of our car when we drove thru the Desert. We added water to it. Driving to NY from CA. Cars didnt have AC back then. He was an engineer.
I'm a manager in a logistics warehouse. We have our handler take water breaks every 35 mins; they, of course, have their personal water bottles w them as well. It was 110 outside and 120 in the 53' trailers.
I live in Florida. After the hurricanes of 2004-2005 we were without power. I had friends come and stay with me because they were flooded out of their home. We made the mistake of leaving the windows open during the day. It was so hot and humid that the floor was slick and slippery. My mom and dad lived in the house behind me. They left their windows closed during the day. Their house was much cooler than mine. Lesson learned. One of the kids slept on the tile in the foyer. Fortunately, it rains a lot during hurricane season so the cloud cover would help. The humidity did not help! You just couldn't win! I just bought a new dual fuel generator with an electric start. I am better prepared than I was back then.
Consider purchasing a dehumidifier. I bought one early last spring and it's an absolute game changer.
@@loupi4bama if she had electric she could have run the air.
JS
@@anandasmom I can't imagine anyone in Florida not having a generator. Even I have one and I'm on SS.
@@loupi4bama Now, I have two! LOL! I also have a "baby" Bluetti and another battery bank. When I lived in Miami we were at zero lot line. Too close, too dangerous and absolutely too loud! They have much more quiet ones now.
@@rhondacalderone862 Nice!
• Wet washcloths.
• Wring them until they don't drip water.
• Place them in individual ziplock bags.
• Lay them flat in the freezer.
When you are going to run errands, place a few of the frozen bags in a cooler. Grab one to quickly help you cool down when you need it.
Thanks for the info. I live in the high dessert of Nevada (near Carson City). I’m retired. When I go to town, even for the quickest errand, I take a sport bottle of refrigerated water and another sport bottle half full and frozen. I keep these bottles in a small refrigerator/freezer in my garage and they are easy to grab as I head to my car. BTW, you hair is always pretty, but especially so today.
When we travel in the heat, Pam always has her cold water jug filled with ice and water. In addition, we always have several bottle of cold liquid and ice in our cooler to help keep us hydrated. Jim
Thanks for sharing. I'm in Tucson and work part-time. I watch my customers to make sure they are ok. I offer water to those who are not carrying a drink.
Thanks for sharing, Jim
My A/C went out during the 4th of July weekend when temps hit 109°. I joked that Doc Brown had taken my capacitor for the Delorean. It didn't get fixed until Weds a.m.
I immediately put into place every measure I had practised during all the PSPS* over the past few years. I had already followed the practise of letting in the cool air of morning then closing up the house and keeping it closed up, having thermal curtains on the windows and keeping them closed. One of the blessings of living in a near desert area is that blessed cool in the morning almost all the time. Free A/C. So 1st day wasn't horrible. As days went by and temps rose and we hit that period of no overnight cooling I added extra baths and rinsed my hair, leaving it to dry naturally. That is a big help. All fans on, meals changed to all cold and when it got unbearable on the hottest day, I went for a ride in the beautifully air conditioned car. I made it through much better than I thought I would.
*Public Safety Power Shutoff(s), great training if one used them for learning opportunities.
Great video! I have multiple sclerosis and I have to avoid heat, including a hot shower. I work in the kitchen of a local monastery that doesn’t have air conditioning. My doctor recommended a vest with ice packs in the front and back. It was $30 on Amazon. Between the vest and a fan, I stay relatively comfortable. For the price, the vest is well worth it. Keep up the great content. Thanks!
Great information. When my children were small we took a road trip to visit my family in Michigan. We were in a mini van with no AC. We ran into extreme heat wave. We got squirt guns, towels, and gallons of water. We stopped at every park and rest area. We draped ourselves in wet towels and played with the squirt guns. Drank lots of water and kept watermelon in the ice chest.
I have an ice vest for my dog as he has the double fur.
Thank you so much...I'd never thought about cooling vests.
Thank you for these important tips. I do many of these every summer (I live in SW Georgia) where we experience "dog days" from late July sometimes through September. I turn off everything but my fridge and AC during this time, and now my air purifier though it doesn't generate heat. I also have a tankless water heater. Sometimes I use just the cold water to shower during this time. Rarely cook during this time, and if I do, I use my instant pot as it doesn't permeate heat like a pot on the stove would. I have a 5k btu window AC for back up should something happen and I need to cool a room to be safe. Windows covered or rooms not used are shut off. My cat detests closed doors. She scratches on the closed door like crazy. Nobody here goes out much during this kind of heat. The gnats and mosquitoes are unbearable. I keep my homemade quinine handy, which biting insects hate.... and it works too. I haven't had a single mosquito bite since I started using it years ago. There are plenty of recipes for that on YT, and only requires grapefruit peels, lemon peels, and distilled water, though sometimes I do use my well water and keep several jars frozen at a time. Stay safe everybody!!
I like your system, bravo!
I cared for my parents and grandmother until they passed. About 10 years. One place we lived, the AC went out, my parents were in their late 60's, but my grandmother was in her 80"s and had Alzheimers. My parents were wiping down with wet cloths but I put a large mixing bowl full of ice in front of a fan and had it blowing on my grandmother. Our landlord was very quick to get maintenance out to fix our AC. She knew that I had a house full of elders.
I really appreciate all you have said today. The one thing that many people forget wether it is hot or not is to sip your water. DON’T GULP. Sipping will help the water to cool your body at a better rate.
To help keep your furry friends cool, use bowls of water from which they can drink instead of water bottles with nozzles. These allow them to put their feet into the water and cool themselves . Dogs and rabbits love this. We also keep a kiddie pool with water we refreshen every few days for the dogs to get into and splash around. In addition, our rabbits get ceramic tiles in their hutches to stand on which stay cooler. Check ventilation in coops and that there is good air flow.
Thanks, it sounds like you have applied what you have on our channel to good use. Thanks for watching. Jim
Here in Texas where I am it's 104 today, 07/17/2023, and is supposed to be 106 for the rest of the week. My A/C went out yesterday around 2 p.m. So this heat issue got real for me very quickly. I am staying in and have every fan going on high until the A/C guy shows up sometime today. Inside my house it's not to bad. Staying hydrated and taking it easy.
Great information and don’t forget to take care of your fur babies in the heat. I have an ice vest and cooling pad for my doggie as he has double fur.❤
I'm so glad you brought this up. Did you know that some double-coated breeds benefit from their coat in the heat? It would be dangerous to have their coats shaved or shortened.
We live in a mobile home. We had a storm that knocked out power for 72 hours. It didn't cool off in the house until about 7am. We could manage to sleep from then til about noon. We were staying in our cars, with the air running.
We have a dog who would get out if we opened windows. No fans. No generators
Hello Crystal, how are you doing?
A 20-30 min foot soak of cool water with Epsom salts works great to lower overall body temps, especially if out -to - here pregnant. Try a wet but not dripping paper towel lining in your straw hat or baseball cap when outdoors doing gardening. Wear very large, loose fitting, light colored clothing, long sleeve men’s shirts. Baggy pants. Start your chores early, like 6 AM ish and get indoors by 11:30 or so. A siesta helps in the afternoon. You can always head back out at 4:00 PMor so to complete tasks. A snack with a little salt and a little sweet. Like saltine crackers and ginger ale with ice or an iced tea or light fruit juice with mint helps to refresh and restore. Hang a small baggie of ice cubes on the front of the fan, running on low. Cools a small space real quick.
I do the Epsom salt foot soak with hot water in the winter and cool water in the summer. It always helps.
Wow. These are good ideas. Thanks for sharing.
Lots of good comments on this topic. I would add, consider redundancy. If you have an air conditioner, get another one. Same with all other safety products. Store extra water.
Things I used as a cemetary grounds keeper when it got to be 90°- 113° in our midwest summers: thin bath towels to soak in the ice chest & drape around the neck, froze half full drink bottles the night before a job & topped of with fluid before heading out to work, kept cheap dollar store folding fans handy to create a breeze while resting, squirt bottles to mist down with, baby wipes to cool & clean the stickies off with, taking double the usual breaks & of course lots of water, lemonade & fruits in the ice chest.
Edit to add: If you dont have AC, always use fans to blow hot air OUT of the house during the day, then reverse to bring IN cool air at night.
Great ideas! Thanks for sharing.
Oh, Pam, thanks for sharing your personal story! Now you're paying it forward to keep others safe! I hope you and Jim stay safe! Thanks again for inspiring information.
Medications, both prescription & over the counter, can also make you more susceptible to heat. Review ALL types of medicine you take on a daily or intermittent basis with your Pharmacist to determine whether they will cause you to have heat intolerance.
I heard on news it was suppose to get 130 degrees in Death Valley CA, not Phoenix. I live in Phoenix area. It is about 112-117 here and for next next 1.5 week. It is 114 now at 3:30 pm.......ugh., If it gets 130 degrees, I am out of here and heading North !! Great tips of keeping cool. I have used a soaked beach towel and a fan on me when my AC went out and it was 115 degrees. Got me thru the night...then headed for a hotel for me and my cat!! I bought another 3000W solar generator to keep my frigs running and to have ice!!
I found the two of you about a year ago as searching for preparing and preserving. I'm not an expert just search what would work for me. All my life I have struggled with the heat in MN. I finally moved to Duluth and live on the hillside. Do to Beautiful Lake Superior we are usually 10 - 15 degrees cooler than over the hill. Most nights and some days sweatshirts are required. It also depends on the direction of the wind and sometime the hill side can be as much as 20 degrees cooler. No tornados, long winters but staying cool all summer it is worth it for me. We are suppose to be in the 80's on Saturday but I guess my area will be in the 70's. Thank you for all I have learned from both of you! Keep it up. We are going to need all the help we can get. Oh.. the ship action I watch in a day on lake Superior is amazing!
In Australia we cover the outside of the window to prevent the sun from hitting the glass as this is what causes heat in the house. Where we had shade cloth along the verandah to shade the windows we doubled the layers on extreme days and it really made a difference.
Great idea! Thanks for sharing.
You always look great but esp beautiful today. Smart + pretty wow what a lady lol.
I am over 65 and just finished mowing in the SE 🔥
I put one of the cooling clothes around my neck with ice cubes at the spine. Then I wore a scarf with ice cubes under on my head.
(My Rottweiler always walks beside me as I mow.. he gave up and went and laid in pond up to his chin lol)
I had a severe heat stroke in a power plant about 12 yrs ago.. didn’t even know my name.
I am excited to try the vest!
Appreciate y’all ❤
One more. This should be common sense and my (our😊) generation grew up doing it. Close the drapes on the side of the house where the sun is shining and don't let the sun in. A nice cool soak in the bathtub works wonders at home. We used to go for late night swims in our backyard pool. I still remember how terrifed my sister's and I were of the bats that would swoop down at the water probably trying to catch mosquitoes but of course when you are a kid every bat is potentially dracula. Also all you gardeners - cover up any hay bales in your yard with plastic because even a few sprinkles of water or condensation on a hot hay bale can cause spontaneous combustion.
Thanks for the info on the hay bales! I did not know that! I have a partial straw bale covered in a tarp on the outside of my chicken coop! I water a mineral tub with tomatoes in it that's right in front of it & some volunteer flowers on the ground to the side of it! It would be so easy to splash water on it! Thanks again, & God Bless!
Remember your pulse points. Take wash clothes, bandanas ECT. Wet them and wring out most of the water, place in a Ziploc bag and keep in the freezer until needed. Sponges work too.
You can duct tape a 2ltr bottle to the water hose after poking holes in it and as long as the water isn't turned on full blast, it should last. The kids love it and it's was pretty cool for the mom's too 😊
Very good points! Jim
Like you two, I live in a dry climate. Most of these tactics do not work in humid conditions, which is why heat domes are so deadly. I have been working on this problem with a low-income friend in another state. So far, we've acquired for her: a 700W solar generator (no solar panels because there are too few days with clear sunshine), a 23 cu. ft. 12V fridge/freezer to rotate ice packs, a hand-held, insulated mister/sipper combo (opening allows adding ice cubes), ice packs, a small ice chest to use while driving around town, and two high-quality 12V rechargeable fans. Yet to consider, when we can afford more solar generator capacity, is a low-wattage 12V ice maker. These are good for keeping critical medications cool.
Where I am no one has basements
Let alone larders, root cellars
It’s AWFUL
Deep South yay 😭
Wow what a story! You certainly were blessed that the professor and students knew what to do to help you and prevent heat stroke! I'm getting more susceptible to heat now that I'm getting older too. Thanks for a great video covering a very important subject!
Thanks for raising our awareness on this subject. I live in the Deep South, and our temperatures have been very high for a number of days…along with high humidity. When you walk outside it’s hard to breathe, as the air quality has been poor as well. A nice thunderstorm would help a lot! Seems to cleanse the air quite well, but it doesn’t last long. I appreciate you guys!!
I live in Georgia near Fort Stewart
We re out of Jax in MS
It was horrific for two weeks in June
It was Aug weather
I work out in it 😱
One very hot summer a couple decades ago, (oh man it was longer ago than that, sheesh) anyway, no AC. Some friends dropped by and we were sitting on my deck, so hot. I gathered my white 5 gallon buckets half filed with water, we each had our own and sat and gabbed and laughed, with our feet in the buckets. When the water warmed up we scooped it on the plants and got more cool water. We stayed perfectly comfortable. I think I'm going to set up for that this week here in western Washington.
Thank you Pam and Jim for your beyond awesome channel.
Microfiber cooling towels work GREAT. My husband works in an environment which can at times be as much as 140* F. A cooling towel on the back of the neck and one inside the hardhat works wonders. Drink cool water when overheated but not ice cold, as ice cold can be too much of a shock to the system. Electrolyte-infused water is better than plain water for rehydration.
Excellent video, Dr Pam! You are a treasure! This is such an important subject! We all need to learn to cope with the heat, because it is here and it so NOT going away! Hats, sunglasses and long sleeves are important clothing for heat. Woven cotton and linen fabrics are much cooler than synthetic and knit fabrics. Stay safe everybody - and don’t waste water!
Thank you for keeping us informed
Thank you so much Pam. This is super important and I suspect it’s going to be a factor for quite awhile. You may have literally have saved lives. I’ll continue to pass your wisdom along. Stay cool, thinking of you.
Replacing Electrolytes is highly important! Water toxicity is very real and one can die from it! Unfortunately all the info stresses drinking water with no mention of this. Please also do a segment on the importance of this and include making homemade Electrolyte drinks.
You can make electrolytes by mixing a 8 Oz glass of water with 1 tbl spoon of lemon juice and 1/8 tsp salt. I drink this after working my garden in the morning. It's so humid here, I am sopping wet when I come in. Straight to the shower and then the drink.
@@deeT02 We make and love Haytime Switchel. Made with molasses, apple cider vinegar, ginger, sugar etc.
Thanks for mentioning this. We keep Liquid IV on hand at all times. It works so fast!
We’ve had 90s all night a few nights during the last couple weeks here in Ok. Usually it goes down to 70s or 80’s. Thank heavens we still have AC right now.
I'm in south Texas even the weather man said he has lived here for many years and had never seen heat index at 123 degrees it's has always been hot here but don't remember it being like this we live on a 5 acre lot have sheep had to do yard work so daughter rented a small tractor it was too hot in the day we were doing the work after 6pm and working though the night she was on the tractor and the rest of us had headlamps on work until 3am we took water breaks and talked it was hard work but it seems to bring us closer we mostly stay home if we run errands we frozen water bottles along with room temperature water if take long the frozen water is ready to drink and fresh thanks Pam and Jim from the bottom of our hearts 🙂🌻🌼
My husband almost died from a heatstroke, luckily we had a first responder that lived next door. He stuffed ice around his arm pits and chest to cool him down and propped his feet up until the ambulance arrived
I sleep w/o anything at all, but it’s just me. I use ice bags during the hottest part of the day. I also go out and water the trees and get wet. Always keep doors closed and check for leaks around windows and doors. When outside I wear a cap and under the cap I place a wet hand towel. Nice with a breeze.
Very good information! I grew up in the desert in SW New Mexico & I remember my mom giving us kids a wet washcloth at night & we'd swing them around to get them cold, then put them on our face. I have been staying outside as much as possible during the day this summer. The flies & mosquitoes are terrible, because we've had so much rain. The humidity is terrible. I can take it, but I don't let my dogs stay out that long. I let my chickens out of their coop because I think they can find cooler spots under the tree or plants I've watered. I have bowls of drinking water scattered around for them. I freeze gallons of water for my rabbits to nestle up against. For me, I saved my dogs' kiddie pool from last year. It has a hole in it, so it won't hold water for hours, but I fill it up a few inches with the ice-cold water from my well. I put my lawn chair next to it & dip my feet in it. One dog will stick his front paws in & once in a while he will even stand in it, but the others don't want anything to do with it. I also have old hand towels that I wet if it's really miserable, although to me that just makes me feel like it's more humid sometimes, & put around my neck. I think acclimating myself somewhat to this weather really helps. In "Blow-klahoma" we usually have a breeze, but there have been several days this summer with no breeze at all. I'm filling up my water jug & going back out to check on the chickens. It's over 100 degrees today, but we do have a breeze! Stay safe everyone, & God Bless!!!
I usually have a bandana (wet) around my neck , And Wrap both my wrists with wet bandanas . I also put a bowl of ice in front of a fan if I have some , I live in a Hurricane Zone.
Thank you for the valuable information that may just save someone's life! We have a tendency to be overconfident in our ability to handle heat and cold and a disaster can be just a few moments away. Wearing light-colored clothes helps as well as them being loose-fitting. It's good to have many extra bottles of water to drink and strips of cloth to moisten in vehicles in case you are stranded for a while or if you run across people who are needing hydration. I believe electrolyte drinks are helpful as well. Share warning signs and first aid knowledge with family and friends so they can help themselves or others too. So glad your professor knew the signs and what needed to be done urgently! Take care!
Another benefit of light-colored clothing is that dark colors are seen by wasps, bees, etc. as predators. I had a black outdoor light for awhile, and the wasps hovered over it, next to me front door. Changed it out for a white one, and problem solved. Also consider natural fabrics like cotton when possible, as they are cooler than polyester.
Using a pinch of Celtic salt or Pink Salt is safely use instead of chemically sports drinks. It allows your body to absorb the water and quinces your thirst. Hats that have neck flaps & are made for heat relief plus there are head ice packs you can purchase. Lastly, try & Acclamate to some tolerance to small amounts of heat at the beginning of the season if possible. Oh, and a kiddie pool couldn't hurt to keep your toes in.😅
A wet bandana around your neck will help you cool down, also a wet washcloth (wet not dripping) placed on your skin will help keep you cool if there is air movement. I use the bandana in the daytime and the washcloth can help make sleeping easier.
Thank u for this information it's very much appreciated. Now we need to learn how to keep safe with the terrible issues.
Avoid wearing dark colored clothing which will absorb heat, instead wear light colored clothing. Linen is a good fabric choice in the heat.
Never wait until you are thirsty to drink because at that point you are already dehydrated. If you have a planned activity try hydrating the day before. The average daily fluid intake under optimal conditions is 1/2 your body weight in ounces (150÷2= 75 ounces.)
For young children to get fluids in you can do Popsicles, watermelon, etc.
I also make a gallon at a time refrigerator tea with lemon balm from the garden, Kentucky Colonel mint from the garden and dried hibiscus. It is extremely refreshing and cooling poured over ice cubes.
We loved your video. Just 2 things to add:
1) We also drink 8 oz of sole water first thing in the morning to keep hydrated.
2) Working in the ICU, in Arizona, we had a fair amount of patients admitted to the ICU with life-threatening hyponatremia. It is usually hikers or runners (but not always) who hydrate with excessive water intake. To countetact the heat the individual is thinking that they are hydrating, but in actuality, they can slip into a life-threatening fluid and electrolyte imbalance. Raising the sodium has to be done slowly, often over days, and the patient may be unresponsive. In extreme heat, we have to drink water but also take in electrolytes, especially if sweating profusely or being physically taxed.
When I still lived at home, my parents lived in an old house that didn't have air conditioning. My room was upstairs. I had an old clawfoot tub in the upstairs bathroom. All summer long, I would draw a cold bath and sit in it until I was cooled off enough to go to sleep with just a fan.
After hurricanes, when the power goes out, we take cold showers. Sometimes two or three times a day. Thankfully, we don't have them that often, but so far it hasn't affected our ability to use our water in the shower. One of the last ones we had, I was home alone. During the day, I would take my dog for a ride in the car with the AC blowing on us. We didn't go far because trees were down, etc., but it was so nice to be able to cool off even for brief periods.
GREAT video and tips! I live in Austin, TX and it is HOT here!!! Thanks, Pam and Jim!!! 🙂
On our vacations when I was little, we would leave at 10 pm and mom had a small cooler with ice water. She would dip a towel in the ice water and give us each on to put on our laps to cool down. This is how we went to Disneyland every summer. No freeway. Great memories!
I used to work in aged care and one thing I know to be true: the older one gets, the less able one is to accurately gauge thirst... Never, EVER, wait until you're thirsty to take a drink... 10 cups of water daily, MINIMUM, during a heat wave... Set a timer if you can do you automatically drink the water when the alarm goes off!
And from my childhood where 130F was normal during summer... Sit in a bath of cold water... Constantly cycle through clothes... Wet and wring a shirt, then put it on and sit in front of a fan... As it's evaporating, have the other shirt sitting in the bucket of water... When the first one is dry, swap them...
We currently have a 2 storey home, the bottom floor being tiled... Our air-conditioned exploded a few years ago during the hottest summer in a decade.
We slept downstairs (the bedrooms are all upstairs) in the hallway so we could funnel a fan through... During the day, I would put wet towels on the tiles and blow the high speed fan over them to evaporate and cool them AND the air...
Thank you for covering this topic , it’s miserably hot in Southern California right now. We don’t have a fridge that makes ice. We bought an ice machine that works wonderfully! It ways bit under $100 dollars. Sooo worth it 🎉
The gel-filled neck-ties that you soak in water then wear around your necks my husband used these when he was a crane operator. Soak them and keep them in the refrigerator and swap them out as needed. We always keep the windows and curtains closed till after sunset. At night so we open all the windows to let the night air in to cool off the house. We have fans in every room for circulation. No cooking it's all salads, cold fruits, sandwiches, crackers, cold beverages, and plenty of water. Shopping is early morning or late evening. We have replaced all our light bulbs with LEDs so they don't put off any heat. We put large bowls of water in the freezer for the dogs. Wading pool and water dishes in the shade.
The last 18 years from Memorial Day to Labor Day our oven/stove is off limits. We only cook in the microwave, on the gas grill, charcoal grill, use the Instant Pot, crock pot, or Sun Oven.
Hi Pam very good information. I must say your reference of Arizona being as hot as "130 degrees" was quite a stretch. I live in Phoenix and yes it's been hot but only 118... at its hottest. Phoenix has always been hot and our current weather is, regretfully, normal. You may wonder why we live here...if it were up to me, we wouldn't, but my husband has a health issue and cooler temps make his condition worse. The
"benefit"we do get here....extremely low humidity, thank goodness.
I have a mix of 50 drops Peppermint, 30 drops lavender, and 20 drops Ylang Ylang EOs in a 2oz cobalt glass spray bottle of distilled water. Shake and spray at will! Peppermint helps with cooling skin and mosquito repellent too!
Hello Patty,how are you doing?
Thank you for your video and helpful tips. We all love and sometimes take for granted our air conditioning so if the power goes out we need to know know what to do. I love to work in my vegetable garden but I have learned when certain areas are shady and that is the time of day I work out there.
Thanks for mentioning Phoenix. We have been here more than 25 years and this is the worst I have seen. Your resources are great and I am sharing them with the safety coordinator at work for our field deployed staff. I pray that more people we better prepared for emergencies. We pray for rain as we have 25-40% humidity to go with the 115+ degree temperatures
We had to leave. The summers are getting worse.
My mother was telling us stories of how her mother had to be in the loft to put in hay in this heat.. we were talking about how nobody can stand the heat because of A/C .. me included.. gramma had 8 kids to care for too.. no washing machine or electric anything.. they were amazing humans.
My freezer does not keep things frozen in the summer. I bought an ice maker off Amazon two summers ago. Love that thing. It was about 100$.
For anyone that doesn’t know, the critical difference is losing too many electrolytes from sweat, and water alone does not carry electrolytes.
One healthy option for replenishing your electrolytes in hot weather is Coconut Water, naturally rich in electrolytes. Here is what I do both to stretch out the product, and to minimize blood sugar impact:
I don’t measure, but pour between 1/4-1/3 of my glass with the Coconut water, and fill the rest with ice water. Diluting it but sipping this throughout the day keeps a small, steady stream of electrolytes and hydration going without too much sugar intake.
My favorite brand has been O.N.E., but I have not seen it lately.
the heat rising is not a new thing back in the 1970's it was hotttt and in winters were Freezing cold. I grew up in the high desert and still live there . my advice is dont coddle yourself go outside several times a day this allows your body to adjust for the heat and when you go back in drink HOT tea or tap temprature water . Ice water and other cold drinks are not your friend when you are hot or over heated it will put your body in shock and give you a headache . and as she said cover up hat loose white or tan lightweight over shirt
It can get quite warm where we live and we do not have air conditioning. In summer we open all the windows and doors early before it gets hot, then when the sun starts to bake the earth we close etherything on the hot side of the house but leave those on the shaded sides of the house open, otherwise the air from the hot concrete slab blows into the house. I often sleep or work on the floor where it is cooler. In the day I would often dampen my hair every hour or so during the warmest part of the day. ICED WATER! For meals, eat lots of salads or cut fruits. Chew on ice cubes. At night I leave windows open until I go to sleep and I have to close them for security reasons. Truth be told, I'd rather take summer heat over winter cold any day. I love summer.
I have 7 children. When they were children we had to watch our 6th child very carefully. She overheated easily. Her older brother would have to piggyback her during long outings. I had to be mindful to keep her hydrated. I also took breaks in air-conditioned buildings. I know friends and some relatives didn't understand the seriousness. We came close to heat exhaustion one time. I felt awful that I had missed the signs.
My air conditioner died during a heat wave last year. It hovered around 96 in my house. It was not long before I was desperate for relief. You are right, a fan doesn't help on its own. I found ice packs for feet. All they are really are socks with pockets that hold freezer ice packs. Can not walk on them but great when sitting or lying down. That made all the difference. I even hung ice packs meant for the back around my neck. All that with a fan made it bearable. Did I look absolutely ridiculous.... YES....but who cares!
Would love some tips on helping animals. I set my cat up in the basement.
We live in the mountains of NM and don't have air conditioning. We use the system of opening windows at night, closing up around 8 AM. and turning on the fans. The idea of hanging wet towels or sheets is one I hadn't thought of. Thank you. P.S.- we eat a lot of ice cream.😊
We are happy we could help you stay cool. Jim
Also when you are not suffering from heat exhaustion or stroke cold water is fine. When you have become too hot Ice is bad!
Great information for all of us for this crazy heat.
❤Thank you very much for this informative video. Usually with the heat, the power tends to go out making it dangerous for many. The issue I feel is worse where the heat is accompanied with high humidity. The humidity is like drowning on land. Both my husband and I experienced heat exhaustion, pretty bad experiences and at different years. That was over 25 years ago and we are still not able to tolerate the heat like we used to. We are in South Carolina, which is very humid in the summer. Stay safe everyone.
PS: I like that water backpack. What a great idea! I will need to look for one. Thanks!
you two stay safe...
Thank you for your video.❤
No one ever mentions what to do for our pets and what to do for them too. It's just as hard on them as it is for us. I wet old towels and lay them on the floor. I don't care if it gets the floor wet. It's just water and I'm more concerned for the relief of my 14 cats and Labrador retriever than the floor. Plenty of fresh water every day and often more than once a day. Put ice in their water. Spray bottles with cool water. The cats have gotten used to the coolness so it doesn't bother them when they are sprayed with it. I make ice cubes with their canned food mixed with a little water in designated cube trays specifically for the pets so they can lick on them. These furbabies love them. For the outside community cats I wet the ground down every morning on the shady side of the house. The water bowls are refreshed often because the water gets so hot even on the shade side of the house. The outside community cats all lay on the wet ground. They also get the food ice cubes. It's rough out there for them too.
I've had heat stroke so I am more susceptible to getting heat stroke and heat exhaustion. I know what it feels like before I'm about to that point. I had to be doused in water as well. I have to be extremely careful too. Once you've had heat stroke you're never the same with heat again
Thanks for taking care of these animals, you're a good person, most people wouldn't even bother.
@@deenanick3772 I know and that makes me so sad
@@audreylopez3851 me too. I like animals more than I like most people, lol.
@@deenanick3772 Exactly!
Thanks for the iced food idea! I will try it!
If you are without AC then it's vital to follow the sun with your windows. You must cover & close all the windows on what's currently the sunny side of your home. Opening only those on the shaded side as the sun moves during the day. Hanging a wet sheet over part of the open windows can help cool the air that's entering the house. Our generation has forgotten, if they ever knew, that the reason the upper half of windows on most houses can be lowered is to let hot air out of the room. Cross ventilation isn't complicated but it's something most people have never had to think about. The gel filled neck wraps are good, but any wet hand towel can work about as well if you simply turn or refold it occasionally as the side against your skin warms up. In a dire situation the same thing can be done on your wrists & ankles, really anywhere that the blood vessels are close to the surface. Getting cool water on those areas will cool you off pretty quickly. You can improvise a swamp cooler for just about any kind of fan. All that's required is an open container of water for the fan to blow across. Even baking sheets, filled with water, & placed on the floor in front of a box fan can work but deeper water will stay cool longer. We keep some of the old strap style lawn chairs & rope hammocks to use during summer power outages because sitting or sleeping on something that allows air flow is much cooler than using traditional furniture. I had to laugh at the lawn chair in a stream you talked about because sitting in a lawn chair with our feet in a tub of water is exactly how we survived a prolonged August power outage just a couple of years ago. A simple hand fan, the Scarlet O'Hara type, can be a life saver. There really is a reason all our grandmothers carried them before AC existed.
As I’m watching you my temperature is 106 in Northern California.