When your AC repair person hasn’t shown up yet or just when your cooling unit needs some time to cool off itself, you need to keep in mind ways to combat heat-related illnesses. Even if you don’t immediately need AC repair, when the days heat up you need to deal with the temperature carefully.
Drink Water
Dehydration is a major cause of heat-related illnesses, and it begins as soon as you wake up. Drinking water on a frequent basis keeps your body hydrated and functioning at its best in the same way as AC repair keeps your home’s comfort system working well. Adequate hyLearn How Heat Illness Feels and Emergency Proceduresdration is especially important when you’re outside, especially if you’re active at all. Not drinking water leaves little for your body to perspire out, which is how your body cools itself down.
Many people think that you should only drink water when you’re thirsty, or that drinking carbonated beverages will take the place of water. Unfortunately, these beliefs are mistaken and can cause you a lot of harm. Carbonation dehydrates you further, and waiting until you’re thirsty to drink water is a prime way to wait until you’re already doing poorly. Be proactive, and stop the problem before it becomes one. Drink water every 15 minutes, even if you don’t feel thirsty in the slightest. You may begin to feel like a water balloon, but your body will feel a lot better for it.
Take Breaks in the Shade
Trying to do as much in the heat as you can during cooler weather is a sure route to heat-related illness. While you may be able to tough it out for a time, inevitably you’ll end up pushing yourself too far and end up hurting that much worse. By taking things more steadily and taking breaks in the shade every so often, you can stave off a lot of heat injuries such as heat stroke. Breaks can be the difference between an enjoyable day and a trip to the ER.
Wear Light Clothing and a Hat
Resting in the shade is a great way to avoid heat-related illness when AC repair is needed, or just when you’re out and about and need to stay cool. The best thing about wearing lighter colors of clothing and a hat is that these measures are like carrying shade with you wherever you go. Light colors tend to reflect more sunlight, which in turn keeps a lot of the heat off of you. Wearing a hat can both protect your eyes and keep your head cooler, which is where a lot of the heat from your body can escape.
Learn How Heat Illness Feels and Emergency Procedures
Often, heat illnesses begin by feeling cold. As ironic as this sounds, learning how your body responds to excessive heat can give you advanced warning of what to do when it starts. As well, headaches can also be a signal that something is wrong. When you learn these tell-tale signs of heat illnesses, you can begin to take action about them.
Keep in mind that there are better actions and worse actions to take. Going into a walk-in cooler is a less effective option than drinking water in steady amounts. Pushing through the signs is the worst thing you can do, while resting with your feel elevated in a shaded place and drinking moderate amounts of water every few minutes is perhaps the best route to having a small problem not become a big one.
Heat-related illnesses are a major summer problem. You can stop these illnesses by taking a few basic personal safety precautions.