Cool tips to beat the heat By Willie T. Ong, MD (The Philippine Star)

The human body works best at a certain range of room temperature, usually around 23 to 25 degrees Centigrade. Being exposed to extreme temperatures can bring about weakness, fatigue, and even serious illnesses like heat stroke.

During the hot season, we should take steps to minimize the ill effects of heat on our bodies. For the elderly, the very young, and those with chronic medical conditions (heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and others), check out these tips to keep cool and healthy.

COMMON TIPS

1. Stay inside the house or a building between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. If possible, spend more time in an air-conditioned or well-ventilated room. Try to avoid the sun.

2. Wear something white and cool, like cotton and linen shirts. Light colors reflect the heat of the sun, and cotton shirts help absorb our sweat so it can evaporate. Conversely, nylon shirts can feel sticky and hot.

3. If you’re out in the sun, do everything to cover yourself. Bring an umbrella, wear a large brimmed hat (not the small baseball cap), or cover your head with a newspaper. Avoid direct sunlight.

4. Drink between eight and 12 glasses of water a day. The elderly and those staying in air-conditioned rooms may drink less water, but active, young adults may need to drink more. Try to minimize drinking coffee and alcohol. Compared to plain water, these drinks don’t fully hydrate the body and may make you even more thirsty.

5. Eat more fruits with high water content, such as watermelon, melon, and coconut water.

NOT-SO-COMMON TIPS

1. Check the weather. Internet websites like AccuWeather.com are quite accurate in predicting the weather for the next five days. Lessen your appointments on a particularly hot day, and do more work under cooler conditions.

2. Slowly acclimatize to the heat (or cold). Our bodies do not like abrupt weather changes like going into an air-conditioned room after being in the sun. You can slowly increase the thermostat in your office or bedroom, say from 23 degrees to 24, then 25 degrees Centigrade, to slowly get used to the hot weather.

3. Go where the trees are. Leafy trees and plants are our best allies in beating the heat. In fact, studies show that temperatures are lower (and there’s more oxygen) in areas where there’s a lot of greenery. So start planting those trees around your home and workplace.

4. Buy houseplants. Just like trees, house plants may help a bit in improving the air quality inside your house. A study shows that houseplants can give oxygen and absorb surrounding pollution.

5. Freeze or chill your water. Before going to work, we usually bring frozen or cold water and place it inside an insulated bag. The water can stay cool even until the late afternoon. Try it.

6. Drink water little by little throughout the day. Take some water every 30 minutes or so until you reach your quota for the day. Drinking little by little is gentler to your heart and body as compared to drinking two glasses of water straight up.

7. Check your urine color. A rough guide to our body’s need for water is to look at the color of the urine. It’s usually darker yellow in the morning and late afternoon, when we are more dehydrated. That’s why you are advised to drink a glass of water when you wake up. Try to keep the urine color on the lighter yellow side.

8. Take a break during work. This advice may not be popular with employers, but an effective way to cope with the heat is to rest more often. If it’s very hot, take a short break, and maybe eat some halo-halo, mais con yelo or just sip a bottle of chilled water.

9. You can place a cold water bottle on the sides of your neck, cheeks, forehead, and also the wrist area where the pulse is located. This can help lower the body temperature. Alternately, you can cool some stones in the refrigerator and place them over your neck and arms.

10. Find and stay in the coolest room inside your house. You can even place dark curtains over the windows to block the sunlight. Use an electric fan, air cooler or air-conditioner.

11. If you’re just inside your house, guys can wear a sleeveless undershirt to keep cool. Of course, you shouldn’t do this at work or you’ll get fired.

12. Try using a spray bottle. It’s a little trick that’s being used by athletes. Buy a spray bottle (similar to those used by gardeners) and fill it with cold water. You can gently spray your face every so often to cool yourself. Having an electric fan around also helps because this adds to the “wind chill” effect of the water on your skin.

13. Take a bath and wash your face. You can also wet a towel and wipe your neck, face, armpits, and body.

14. Get some ice chips and sip on them while working.

15. Wear your sunglasses. Think cool and you’ll feel cooler.

16. Minimize or avoid exercising. If it’s very hot and you feel kind of weak, I would advise you not to exercise for that day. Exercising raises your body temperature and makes you feel hotter. You can still exercise, however, in an air-conditioned room.

17. Rest and sleep, if the hot weather makes you feel tired.

18. To keep cool inside your car, tint your car windows or attach see-through window shades. When you have to park under the sun, cover your windshields with those large sunblockers.

19. Finally, try to lose some weight. Thinner people can deal with the heat better, while overweight individuals feel more sweaty and hot.

During the hot weather, remember to avoid the sun, rest more often, and plant those trees. Let’s do what we can to stay cool and healthy.