Second summer (aka that random week or two of September when New England suddenly goes back to eighty-plus-degree daytime temp) means some days this is my view for hours at a time. But! If you also have problems overheating, at least I can offer a couple of tips that may help? (I'm not that kind of medical professional and these are just things that have worked for me after consulting with mine. But they might be something worth bringing to yours, too, or give you another option if you're really in a pinch and are trying anything and everything - been there, and hope this might alleviate some of that.) 1. Don't just drink water. Turns out I sweat more salt than average and drinking water was making it worse. Other things I've had instead that meant I could be at least minimally functional on hot days instead of sobbing, knotted up with heat cramps, laying in the air conditioning in between cool baths: - sports drinks (like Gatorade, Powerade, etc) - those new hydration/energy tablets to dissolve in water (like Nuun brand) - similar hydration mixes you can find near the protein powders in health aisles - water with a little salt (when I'm short on funds or find myself dehydrating unexpectedly, like this morning, this is my go-to -- adding honey can help the flavor) - coconut water I've also heard watermelon, aloe, or cucumber water/juice is really hydrating, but I haven't done those myself. I've also been very tempted to go for Pedialyte but never could get past the flavor being grape... If sports drinks are your thing - I have to do sugar free ones because of a family diabetes history - check your supermarkets, Target, and CVS right now for sales so you can stock up. At one point I was hitting sales every week where big bottles were around sixty cents a pop, and when you have to drink these daily that's hella helpful. I go back and forth between these and the Nuun tablets - on sale they're five dollars at Target for a tube of six - just for portability's sake (I was keeping a tube on me at all times). Then it was because there were better flavors...but I found I needed two a day some days, and you can't buy them with food stamps because they're considered a supplement, not a drink. Right now I'm just sticking with flavoring salt water because I'm really lazy and...really sick of choosing between flavors like Red and Blue, and coconut water is pricey. 2. Frozen washcloths and ice packs can be helpful, but they can cool you off even quicker in some spots versus others. The forehead didn't do me any favors, but spots that did: - under the arms (yep, right in your pits) - behind your knees - back of your neck 3. Lastly, this may only have been a placebo effect. But it's been most helpful for me to go in this order with shower/baths: Start with just cooler than room temp to avoid shocking myself. Work down to cold to help cool me off. After awhile with cold, when I'm no longer feeling sick or cramped, work back up to somewhere between warm and hot. When I do this it not only helps me get to a safer body temp, but once I'm feeling less awful, chasing it with something hotter makes everything else feel cool when I get out of the bath or shower. Don't go too hot though! You don't want to completely undo the effects of cooling off! So that's your update, from the bathtub. I'm gonna go chase this with some saltwater and honey and sit in front of the air conditioner... OH! AND ONE MOE THING- if you have a difficult time with judging things like temperature or safety, that's ok! Have someone help you, or find a thermometer - the sort for your mouth, something from the kitchen, I've even used our meat thermometer - to make sure your bath isn't going to burn you! I know it can be hard to take those extra steps, but it's better to be sure of your safety than accidentally boil yourself!
