I have a theory about keeping cool in hot weather. Tell me what you think...

[CTyankee]

As I age, I find I get physically ill from the extreme heat combined with high humidity. I feel sick to my stomach and a little dazed. I could stay inside all day in my air conditioning but that would be boring as hell.

My "theory" about keeping cool is this: I figure that I have to cool the core of my body so I carry around a plastic cup of water with lots of cracked ice which I consume when I know I'll be out in the heat and away from air conditioning. It seems to work better than just plain water which gets warm pretty fast...

My husband wonders if my "cracked ice" theory is just "crackpot" though... :shrug:

[midnight]

1. I like that idea.. Also... use that cracked ice on your inside wrists to keep your

body temp down.... Or hold your cold water bottle to the inside of your wrists.

[NEOhiodemocrat]

2. Sounds like a good idea to me

I got up sick to my stomach from the heat today. We don't have AC so I do all the normal little things, run cool water over wrists, dress down as much as possible, keep to the shade. It was 80 degrees and 89% humidity here at 9 AM. My daughter was laughting at me last night, I told her the air was to thick to breath. I think I will spend the afternoon down in the bottom of the barn checking what we have stored there, it is a little cooler there with the dirt floors and stone walls. I think I will make some ice cubes up and test your cracked ice idea while I do that! Keep cool!

[CTyankee]

4. I finally broke down and got a/c. Neither one of us could stand it any more.

I was taking very cold showers twice a day to keep my skin cooled. We couldn't eat any hot meals, everything we ate was cold, which gets a little old after a while...

We still run fans upstairs, even WITH the a/c, when it gets REALLY hot here. They really help.

[NEOhiodemocrat]

6. I may have to do that someday

I have never really liked AC thought, had it in one of our houses years ago and we hardly ever turned it on. Felt like the air didn't circulate enough, air felt stuffy to me, especially at night. In the winter I take hot baths to get warmed up since we heat with woodstove, so don't know why I didn't think of cold showers to cool off. You just gave me a good idea here!

[ellenrr]

15. I lived in Houston with no ac but with ceiling fans.

I had this great idea. I kept a bathtub full of room-temperature water. Several times during the night I would sit in it to cool down.
But I think it gave me eczema, can't say for sure about cause and effect, but the dr told me it was cause my skin was so dry.
So if you take a lot of showers to cool down - I hope yr water is better quality than mine was.

So far this year I don't have an ac. I used to automatically start it up as soon as the temp rose above 80 degrees. This yr I had to buy a new one, and I did buy one, but haven't installed it.

I never liked air conditioning and I don't know what I'm trying to prove, but I'd like to get thru the summer without it. But that may change at any time. <grin>
We've been having a week of 90+. Tomorrow is sup'd to go up to 100. I've got 3 fans going. I thot sleeping would be really hard, but so far, except for one night, it's been ok.
I'm glad to see I'm not the only person choosing to forego ac. Most people I know think I'm crazy.

I do use it in my car.

[FSogol]

3. So, you and your husband are arguing over whether ice water is colder than cold water?

:shrug: ;)

[CTyankee]

5. No, the part about cracked ice cooling your body core when you consume (eat) it.

sorry I wasn't clearer...

[enough]

7. Good Article on hot weather and those over 65, even those in great shape.

Raschel posted this yesterday.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1526559

[snappyturtle]

8. I have a theory too! When living in Texas I learned, quite by accident, that

going shopping with freshly washed hair (very damp...but not dripping) was refreshing. Helped when walking across extremely hot parking lots. I figure it's the same principal in reverse of keeping my head covered in cold temps. Worked for me.

[Ian David]

9. Probably more effective if you just carry the ice in your armpit, or on your neck. n/t

[pansypoo53219]

10. i am not that old yet. but i live on ice. even freeze my milk. to chunky.

w/ no AC. i mostly get bra wet. get hair wet. get shirt wet. have a wet washcloth and wipe on hot flesh. or go to the basement.
woke up hot + sweaty. got in shower in underwear and got wet.

[thereismore]

11. Hot tea is used in Africa. Makes you sweat, therefore cooling you. Only works when

humidity is less than 100% though.

[woodsprite]

12. I get a large washcloth. Soak it with cold water

Then I roll it up diagonally (so it's as long as it can be) and lay it across my neck, tucking the ends under my bra straps. Sometimes I've even put some cracked ice in the roll. I started doing that when we went to Disney in August and it was hotter than blue blazes. It works fairly well coupled with drinking a constant supply of ice water. I carry a camel-back fanny sack wherever I go. It holds 1.5 liters of water and is insulated. I fill that sucker with ice to the top in the morning, then pour all the water I can fit in it. I can usually go all day with one load of ice.

[mopinko]

21. i like a silk scarf myself.

buy them at the thrift store, either just wet it, or roll up a couple ice cubes in it. works great. well, till the heat index hits 100. a wet baseball cap work well also.
helps keep the brain cool, which is the most important thing, afaik.

[mopinko]

22. oops. dreaded double post.

[dixiegrrrrl]

13. If it works for ya, it works!

Hot humid air makes me nauseas and woozy also.

Even the cold water taps in the shower are warm here in the heat!
I tried the 'cold shower" trick when it got very hot, but alas, no "cold" water.

My lifesaver is the window A/C unit in one room. Being home all day, I can save a bundle of whole house A/C if I just use the window unit and a box fan to keep cool air circulating in one part of the house I use the most.
And at night, that window unit is a life saver, since the humidity rises all night.
So we just turn on whole house A/C for a couple hours in the am and again in early evening till bedtime.

Cool ice water washrag and then standing in front of the window A/c for a few moments is an instant body temp dropper if I have to be outside for a bit.

Heat stroke can sneak up on ya, that is for sure.

[SheilaT]

14. Evaporation is a great cooling device.

I will put ice on my wrists and it seems to help.

Some years back, when we were living in Phoenix, my son then age 3, liked to go in an out of the pool very rapidly. One particular day when it was well over 100 degrees, he actually started turning blue and shivering because he wasn't staying in one place -- either in the water or out of it -- long enough. I finally persuaded him to stay in the sun for a few minutes. It was actually somewhat amusing, but was a very instructive lesson in how evaporation like that can cool you down quite a bit.

[Warpy]

16. It helps, but if you want to get rid of that woozy feeling fast,

pour it over your head. If you don't have enough hair to hold it while it evaporates slowly, wear a light cap.

We lose a huge amount of heat through our heads. Evaporation helps this occur.

I go soak my head frequently in this weather.

[semillama]

17. Actually, we don't lose a huge amount through our heads

that's been debunked, but the general advice about evaporation is correct. There's even types of clothing you can buy that are designed to be soaked and evaporate slowly over time.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/dec/17/medicalresearch-humanbehaviour

http://www.froggtoggs.com/#cooling/

[Manifestor_of_Light]

18. No evaporation occurs when there is high humidity, like in most of Texas.

When the humidity is high it does not cool off at night.

There is no evaporative cooling of the body if you just use a fan in high humidity. That makes the heat worse, makes it circulate faster like you are in a convection oven (an oven with a powerful fan to cook stuff faster).

You MUST have A/C to remove the water from the air in order to cool down in Texas--Austin and points east and south.

I grew up in Houston with only a couple of totally inadequate window units and an attic fan that only blew the dirt and dust and heat around. It was completely miserable.

[Codeine]

19. I've heard eating ice isn't great for the teeth.

Might be bullshit, but something to consider.

[grasswire]

20. ice cubes in a little ziplock baggie tucked inside the bra

I survived D.C. commutes with no AC in the car by doing that.

At home, significant relief can be found by wetting a bath towel and putting it under bare feet, with a fan blowing nearby. Makes an amazing difference.

[Philippine expat]

23. What ever works for you

hot coffee on a hot day makes me feel cooler

[Warpy]

24. I find ice water works best if I pour it over my head when I feel woozy

Then I eat the cracked ice.

[CTyankee]

25. I start to feel a little nauseated in the morning in August. It happens every year.

If the air is heavy with humidity, even with air conditioning, I wake up sick. I t hink the problem is that the A/C goes off at night because the temp drops, but the humidity remains. Even tho I drink water in the night (I tend to sleep with my mouth open which dries it out), it doesn't seem to help. So it isn't a hydration problem.

I've had this "condition" ever since I hit 50, so it must be age related, too...