Cooling down in hot weather

[petertan]

It is a sweltering 35C with 80% humidity here in Kuala Lumpur. I am having a hard time coping. I am home most of the time. Short of hiding in the air-conditioned bedroom the entire day, I am constantly splashing myself with water and have the fan blow at full-blast behind me. I am wondering how other quads cope in such heat at home.

[Millard]

Hi Peter,

You are doing about all that can be done. Make sure your windows are open if you are not air conditioned and try to get cross ventilation. Our temperature here today is forecast to be 37.2 Celsius or 99 Fahrenheit. Also, drink high volumes of iced water.

Good luck.

[SCI-Nurse]

Make sure that you wear cool, light colored clothing, drink plenty of fluids (no caffeine and/or no alcohol), stay in the air conditioning or at least have windows open with a fan going. Also try cool moist towels to keep your body temp down.

CKF

[6 Shooter]

Poor water down the back of your neck and in front to get your T-shirt wet. Once the T-shirt is wet, and with the fan, the body will cool down the same if it was quenched with sweat.

[petertan]

Originally Posted by Millard

Hi Peter,

You are doing about all that can be done. Make sure your windows are open if you are not air conditioned and try to get cross ventilation. Our temperature here today is forecast to be 37.2 Celsius or 99 Fahrenheit. Also, drink high volumes of iced water.

Good luck.

Hi Millard, 37C there and I am complaining about 35C! I drink a lot of water at times like this, too much in fact. Hope the weather is kinder to you today. Looks like it is going to rain here. I can hear distant thunder.

Originally Posted by SCI-Nurse

Make sure that you wear cool, light colored clothing, drink plenty of fluids (no caffeine and/or no alcohol), stay in the air conditioning or at least have windows open with a fan going. Also try cool moist towels to keep your body temp down.

CKF

Thanks for the tips, SCI-Nurse. I usually wear a thin white cotton t-shirt and a sarong. When it gets too hot, I take off the t-shirt. I have tried moist towels but I find splashing water on my body is more refreshing although I need to go to the bathroom every half hour to do that.

Originally Posted by 6 Shooter

Poor water down the back of your neck and in front to get your T-shirt wet. Once the T-shirt is wet, and with the fan, the body will cool down the same if it was quenched with sweat.

Hi 6 Shooter, When it gets too hot, the shirt comes off. The only other piece of clothing to get wet is the sarong. Now that you mention about getting water down the neck, I realised that splashing water on my upper body where I have thermosensation and then sitting in front of the fan is sufficient to make me comfortable. Doing the same on places I do not have sensation to temperature does not work. Hmm, food for thought.

[StarLord]

I vote for a wet shirt with or without a fan. Once, when I was outside on a hot and humid day, I had a wet t-shirt. It seemed to feel cooler when I kept it on. When I took it off I felt hotter (in the upper part of the body only).

Peter, you're right. When it is hot and humid I will sweat profusely in the upper part of my chest, head, and arms. The lower part will usually be cold and clammy, even when it very hot. It always struck me as weird. Of course, I can't distinguish temperature in the lower part of my body so I suppose this accounts for part of it.

I usually just stay in air-conditioning. I have central air at home and I work in an air-conditioned office.

[petertan]

StarLord, I don't sweat, even the parts where I have thermosensation. That must be the reason why I am only comfortable within a narrow temperature range.

I depend on the stand fan in the afternoons and can't sleep at night without the air conditioner. Luckily the hot spell was brief. It has been raining heavily for the past few days.

Thanks for sharing.

[goldnucs]

I am c5-6 and have lived in Tucson, AZ, where it has gotten up to 117 degrees, for 34 yrs. I have had so many cases of varying degrees of heat stroke that I can't count them. I try to stay well-hydrated and it's not unusual to find me ordering a glass of ice wager in the finest of restaurants only to pour it over my head. I love the looks I get! I have gotten to the point that I know the early warning signs so I try to find ice water and a powerful fan as quickly as possible. Learn the warning signs for yourself. They start well ahead of any critical events.

[dash]

Never drive anywhere w/out a gallon jug of water in your car. It can be a lifesaver if you break down.
I have way to many stories of things done when overheated including having police called when so overheated I asked a friend to dip me in a strangers abovee ground pool. I broke down in a very rual area pre cell phone. We trecked to the only visable dwelling and knocked hoping to use a phone. The resident didn't ans and then I saw it. It appeared like an oaisis in the desert, to good to be true. Luckily my friend was guy. I begged him to pick up all 100lbs and dunk me in the strangers pool. Relief...except they tried to have us arrested for trespassing. I didn't care and got triple A out plus a ride in an air conditioned police car.

[pcamore]

Man its sweltering here in New Zealand, i have been splashing cold water on me and sitting in front of fan.
My overheating can get really bad i start to kind of panic and find it hard to breathe not sure if thats humidity causing that.
it got really bad today no amount of water would work i started hyperventilating and black spots were appearing in front of my eyes i think i was pretty close to fainting.
Had to lie down to equalise blood pressure but it took half an hour for my breathing to come right. i also used ice cubes wrapped in a flannel and rubbed it all over my chest neck and arms and with the fan blowing cooled me down.
Very scary