Cooling yourself down - tried and tested

[Saracen]

Zak33 we should totally like quit and move somewhere nice in northern Europe or whatever with funky northern lights and thing.

You should look into legislation regarding office temperature norms. I would hope we're going to get someone in a fair heaps of trouble over what happening to you

Re: legislayion on office temps, last time I checked there were minimums but no maximum specified. Then again, that was about 20 years ago so it msy be different now.

[Saracen]

I do think people are overthinking things slightly - I lived in a hot country for a few years. Just drink your normal tea,water,etc when you feel thirsty but don't overdo it too,have a shower in the afternoon/evening to cool down a bit after a long day and you will be fine. Invest in a fan if you don't have one. The same with food,unless your entire diet is just bacon and eggs and a bottle of salt,for the most part stick to what you feel you can eat and move on from there - there is no real need to have specialised diets. Put sun screen on if you have sensitive skin,have a cap,hat or something like that to shade yourself,and stick to the shade where you can,but also engage some commonsense too if you need to walk or work in the sun.

That may be true for you, but not for everybody.

If you're young, fit and healthy, it's broadly true but not all of us are all three. And some are zero out of three.

I did say mine was a "long story", but the short version is that a medical condition leads to reduced potassium levels, and some medication to trest that condition inhibits potassium absorbtion. So, medication changed to something that should have less effect. Blood tests will tell.

Meantime, I csn feel from myscle aches and loss of muscle strength when there is a problem. Ignore that, and you could find yourself (-myself) in hospital for intravenous potassium boosts, part of the problem of which is a ossibility of that intravenous feed itself collapsing veins due to the potassium. If you still can't correct it, you die.

The bananas are not a random idea. They are direct medical advice from my GP. There are quite a variety of sources of potassium, but bananas are one of the highest AND one of the easiest to adopt.

The direct issue is that, because of the weather, I'm sweating far, FAR more than normal and that seems to be restricting my ability to keep potassium levels where they need to be. Short of blood test results it's impossible to know what my levrls actually are, but I know the symptoms, hsving come extremely close to hospitalisation over or a year or do back. Then, muscle 'weaknsss' was followed by regular snd severe calf cramps which, as anybody that's ever had one knows, can be very painful and generally not fun.

That's one specific way in which this heat adversely affects someone, and where a dietary adjustment absolutely is a good idea, and there are countless other ways for others that aren't fit, young and healthy. but even for those that are, this prolonged weather can cause metabolic imbalances and deficiencies which can be having an adverse effect, and csusing damage. The difference is the young fit and healthy are less likely to hit the margins of safety, and MUCH less likely to recognise the symptoms if they do than someone owning a "been there, done that" t-shirt.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

That may be true for you, but not for everybody.

If you're young, fit and healthy, it's broadly true but not all of us are all three. And some are zero out of three.

I did say mine was a "long story", but the short version is that a medical condition leads to reduced potassium levels, and some medication to trest that condition inhibits potassium absorbtion. So, medication changed to something that should have less effect. Blood tests will tell.

Meantime, I csn feel from myscle aches and loss of muscle strength when there is a problem. Ignore that, and you could find yourself (-myself) in hospital for intravenous potassium boosts, part of the problem of which is a ossibility of that intravenous feed itself collapsing veins due to the potassium. If you still can't correct it, you die.

The bananas are not a random idea. They are direct medical advice from my GP. There are quite a variety of sources of potassium, but bananas are one of the highest AND one of the easiest to adopt.

The direct issue is that, because of the weather, I'm sweating far, FAR more than normal and that seems to be restricting my ability to keep potassium levels where they need to be. Short of blood test results it's impossible to know what my levrls actually are, but I know the symptoms, hsving come extremely close to hospitalisation over or a year or do back. Then, muscle 'weaknsss' was followed by regular snd severe calf cramps which, as anybody that's ever had one knows, can be very painful and generally not fun.

That's one specific way in which this heat adversely affects someone, and where a dietary adjustment absolutely is a good idea, and there are countless other ways for others that aren't fit, young and healthy. but even for those that are, this prolonged weather can cause metabolic imbalances and deficiencies which can be having an adverse effect, and csusing damage. The difference is the young fit and healthy are less likely to hit the margins of safety, and MUCH less likely to recognise the symptoms if they do than someone owning a "been there, done that" t-shirt.

Sorry to hear about your condition!

I read a comment that someone was considering taking oral rehydration pouches from a shop just because the weather is hot,and not hinting at a medical condition. If you have a specific medical condition the doctor would have already given specific advice.

For most people not have a specific medical condition just taking oral rehydration tablet/pouches during hot weather is overthinking it - people only take that if they are suffering from something which caused diarrhea where you are vomiting,or situations where you have literally gone outside and drunk nothing.

So if you are not sick and don't have a condition,you will get enough salt and sugars through just drinking normal stuff,and taking precautions. If you need oral rehydration therapy despite this then it means something is not right!

I certainly know the symptoms of overheating or sun stroke,I went from a UK which used to have cold winters,and tolerable summers to somewhere hot and with high humidity so high staples in books just rusted!!

I am talking from experience and I certainly don't consider myself a fit person - see what I said in post 23. Mates were lifting stuff easier than me,although not sure whether the previous day didn't help either!

[Millennium]

yeah fair enough CAT-THE-FIFTH(-entity) I do think that I was overdoing things earlier. I guess it's just a question of balance, fact is we're lucky to have clean water and sanitation and honestly food that's brought to a somewhat workable standard (and that's a work in progress, don't let's get ahead of ourselves).

So yeah, water and hmm food should do it. Erm, organically home grown food in soil of normal mineral content.
I mean, you'd think?
Gaaaaah.

PS Saracen sorry about your K woes.

[Smudger]

I think every available fan in the UK has now been sold.

[outwar6010]

Shame its showing as "No longer stocked"

It was posted on hukd a few weeks ago and people might have gone a bit crazy with the heatwave.

[Saracen]

Oh, and Cat .... re "invest in a fan" .... great advice - in theory. One of mine packed up and fans seem currently to be less common in shops than rocking horse poop.

Just sayin.

Unless you fancy one of those fsncy £300 to £500 Dyson bladeless things. I don't need one that badly.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

yeah fair enough CAT-THE-FIFTH(-entity) I do think that I was overdoing things earlier. I guess it's just a question of balance, fact is we're lucky to have clean water and sanitation and honestly food that's brought to a somewhat workable standard (and that's a work in progress, don't let's get ahead of ourselves).

So yeah, water and hmm food should do it. Erm, organically home grown food in soil of normal mineral content.
I mean, you'd think?
Gaaaaah.

PS Saracen sorry about your K woes.

LOL.

Oh, and Cat .... re "invest in a fan" .... great advice - in theory. One of mine packed up and fans seem currently to be less common in shops than rocking horse poop.

Just sayin.

Unless you fancy one of those fsncy £300 to £500 Dyson bladeless things. I don't need one that badly.

Apparently we have a few at home,and I think the newest is 16 years old!!

The Dyson products look nice,but for that kind of money for a fan I expect it to be made in the UK,not in Malaysia.

[Saracen]

For that kind of money for a fan, I don't care where it's made. It could be made in Valhalla by Odin's ghost, I'm still not paying that.

[watercooled]

For the outrageous price you pay for a Dyson fan, you could get something which actually chills the air rather than just annoying you with warm air.

[peterb]

Ceiling fans work well in getting the air moving and creating a breeze. Although they don't cool, they do help you keep cool (through evaporation etc)

http://www.fantasiaceilingfans.com/classic/

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Ceiling fans work well in getting the air moving and creating a breeze. Although they don't cool, they do help you keep cool (through evaporation etc)

http://www.fantasiaceilingfans.com/classic/

I miss ceiling fans!

[Saracen]

I miss ceiling fans!

So do I.

I spent about a decade where I was in Florida for between about 6 and 20 weeks of the year, and they're geared-up for not just heat, but humidity .... and it's the humidity that really gets me.

And sure, in FL that means just about everything except open-air spaces are air-conned, but it's not just that. It's everything from ceiling fans to house design with, for instance, large glass areas often protected from direct sun by overhangs that limit sun-on-glass, and houses designed to let air fliw through. Even the crudest mud hut dwelling in hot climates understand 'design' for shade and airflow.


Oh, and Peter, you took the words right out of my mouth about the cooling effect of moving air, even if it's warm air you're moving.

For me, being a tightwad, actively cooling or chilling air requires significant power consumption in the cooling, via heat-exchsnge, etc, whereas a basic fan just shifts air and yet gets the job done and is far cheaper both to buy and run.

That said, my favourite "Bionaire" twin-fan fan wasn't that cheap to buy. (*Note)

Thing is, you seem go be able go get cheap and noisy, or relatively quiet but at a price.


* Note - being a tightwad, I waited until summer was over and the shop (John Lewis) were clsating summer lines to replace with winter) so a £130 fan cost me about £55.

Still a lot for a fan, but ....it's twin-fan, a small 3-blade fan and much larget 5-blade, multi-speed, and variable speed too ( that is, a setting where the fan changes speed apparently randomly, like a breeze getting sttonger or weaker) ... and all that is remote-controlled.

Biggest benefit though = low noise. It's not just volume (but certainly not silent), but a relatively unobtrusive pitch.

[philehidiot]

Just as an example, on a normal day you're looking at drinking 2 litres of water / fluid to stay hydrated. It has been up to late 30s in some parts this week. In Afghanistan the troops are working in around 42 degrees C and they're looking at 4-6 litres a day. On that basis, whilst most people aren't wearing body armour and carrying a gun, neither are most of the troops and you should probably double your fluid intake in this weather.

For people like me who wear full motorcycle gear to commute in, despite the sun reflecting coating, etc it gets silly hot and my clothes and helmet are totally soaked when I'm done (try sitting on an overheating 1200CC bike in traffic, unable to move, in direct sun and stuck next to the radiator of a bus...).When I get to my destination it's a matter of rehydrating as quickly as possible (especially with my dodgy kidneys which were a little battered by... dehydration and my last visit to the emergency department).

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

So do I.

I spent about a decade where I was in Florida for between about 6 and 20 weeks of the year, and they're geared-up for not just heat, but humidity .... and it's the humidity that really gets me.

And sure, in FL that means just about everything except open-air spaces are air-conned, but it's not just that. It's everything from ceiling fans to house design with, for instance, large glass areas often protected from direct sun by overhangs that limit sun-on-glass, and houses designed to let air fliw through. Even the crudest mud hut dwelling in hot climates understand 'design' for shade and airflow.

I lived near the equator,so tons of humidity,but the problem with houses here are they made to trap heat. So double glazed windows,insulated roofs,cavity walls,carpet,etc and also more segmentation to trap heat. Whereas the place we were in had larger open spaces,verandas,etc which meant many of the rooms were not directly in contact with the sun.

Oh, and Petet, you took the words right out of my mouth about the cooling effect of moving air, even if it's warm air you're moving.

For me, being a tightwad, actively cooling or chilling air requires significant power consumption in the cooling, via heat-exchsnge, etc, whereas a basic fan just shifts air and yet gets the job done and is far cheaper both to buy and run.

Air con also needs a more complex installation and also you do need to make sure the tubing,etc is maintained as stuff can grow inside it due to condensation.

Also I noticed two disadvantages of aircon - the first it can really dry your skin,and the second is going from a chilled room into the hot,humid outside can be a rather jarring transition especially if you are wearing glasses/sunglasses and everything steams up.

That said, my favourite "Bionaire" twin-fan fan wasn't that cheap to buy. (*Note)

Thing is, you seem go be able go get cheap and noisy, or relatively quiet but at a price.


* Note - being a tightwad, I waited until summer was over and the shop (John Lewis) were clsating summer lines to replace with winter) so a £130 fan cost me about £55.

Still a lot for a fan, but ....it's twin-fan, a small 3-blade fan and much larget 5-blade, multi-speed, and variable speed too ( that is, a setting where the fan changes speed apparently randomly, like a breeze getting sttonger or weaker) ... and all that is remote-controlled.

Biggest benefit though = low noise. It's not just volume (but certainly not silent), but a relatively unobtrusive pitch.

The best time to buy fans is not during summer!! You said yours packed up?? Usually it fans stop working its rarely the motor or the spindle but something else - it might be repairable?

[Apex]

Cheap way to cool is a water mister and a fan, got one from the garden centre and works perfectly, cheap mans air cooler

If the trend for this sort of heat in the UK is to keep being like this it might be time to invest in solar film for the windows, and proper HVAC setup in the home if possible.