Just Having Another Heat Wave

Can you believe the forecast for this next week? Holy Smoke!

It gets so you find it hard to differentiate between the nineties and hundreds, between an orange alert and the big red one.

Once the temperature goes over the high eighties, the only way to tell if you are in a heat wave is when you can't catch your breath. A red alert means that ozone levels are high enough to recommend staying indoors. Asthma or COPD make things worse so this is good advice for everyone.

There is a primal instinct to seek water as temperatures rise. Life originated in the seas and today most of your body is water. If you are a senior, accustomed to sips of tea rather than chugging slurpies, it may be hard to tell if you are stressing from the hot weather.

Critical amounts of water can be lost by perspiration. This can be life threatening if not replenished on a timely basis. There is a saying that once you are thirsty, it is already too late to drink. Of course that seems a little simplistic. I personally feel that was created by a marketing rep for a bottled water company, but there is a valid idea here. Keep up your fluid intake and drink plenty of liquids.

Water can keep us cool in other ways. If you do not have air conditioning in your home, water filled lasagna pans place in front of your electric fans can make dog days more bearable. As the fans evaporate the water, the process can cool the air temperature as much as ten degrees. This is most effective on days with low humidity, but even on high humidity days it can work.

Make sure that you open windows on the upper floors of your house to vent the build up of hot air. Heat rises and the top floors will be unbearable if the heat cannot escape. When you vent your house this way it also helps circulate air. Opening some windows on the low levels at night will let in cooler air and help this effect.

If you are concerned about safety, consult with your local police department on advice on keeping out predators. You do not want to compromise your security of course, but keep in mind that merely running a fan in a closed up house is like sitting in a convection oven.

Watermelon really hits the spot when it is so oppressively hot. The stores have melons on sale for as little as $4.99 each. A whole melon seems like an awful lot to carve up so I cut it in two inch chunks and freeze it in gallon plastic bags. Every two hours I take the bag out and whack it on the counter to keep pieces more or less separated. When the contents are completely frozen it will keep for months. There is nothing as tasty as these watermelon ice cubes in iced tea or a mixed drink. After they thaw, you have a nutritious portion of fruit in your glass.

Some other tips to deal with this weather are:

Keep your refrigerator full and try to stay out of it as much as possible. LOL. What I mean, of course, is open the door as seldom as you can. This saves energy.

Keep the curtains or blinds on the sunny side of your house or apartment closed. Open them late in the day or early in the morning when the sun is not shining in. As the sun moves around, shut them for the hottest part of the day. The shade makes it easier for your air conditioner to handle its territory.

Wear light colors and loose fitting clothing and learn the symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. At the first sign of discomfort or confusion seek help.

The combination of medication and effects of age make it difficult to deal with the heat so we have to be more careful. Use common sense. Buddy up with a neighbor and check up on each other. We're all in this together.

Have a nice day.