AAA South Jersey July/August 2012 : Page 11
Beat The Heat And Survive The Summer by: Paul Purcell The “Dog Days” of summer are almost hour, even if you don’t feel thirsty. Avoid upon us and record temperatures are soft drinks and alcoholic drinks that are sweeping the country. Unfortunately we actually diuretic and rob your body of the have the highest number of elderly and water it desperately needs. medically fragile people in history, and 2. Eat small, light, non-spicy meals. Eating an aging infrastructure that is feeling the heavy meals cranks your metabolism and strain of heavy electrical use as our senior can raise your body temperature. Also, citizens struggle to stay cool. digestion robs you of energy. Since the heat We’re here to give you tips and tricks to is already robbing you of some energy, you help you beat the heat should you be don’t need to add to this drain by taxing susceptible to extreme temperatures, or the digestive system. However, don’t skip should your power go out. Here’s a short meals since food that replenishes the list of suggestions: electrolytes you lose through sweating and 1. Drink plenty of cool water to keep increased water consumption. yourself hydrated and reduce your body’s 3. Some sources suggest you wear “light core temperature. (Warm water won’t do colored, loose fitting clothes.” However, this, and cold water might be a shock to that’s only if you’re going outside. If you CruiseMD-JA12-12485 5/29/12 9:34 AM Page 1 sensitive systems.) Drink regularly, every go outside, go with that rule and also wear a loose fitting hat or carry an umbrella for shade. Forget the fashion rules, follow the heat rules. (By the way, royal blue and/or white are the best colors to wear for their heat reflective qualities. Ever wonder why most tarps and boat awnings are blue? This is why.) For indoors though, forget all those rules and go with the “bare as you dare” notion. The more exposed skin you have the more efficient your cooling-by-sweating process can work. Also, be sure to tie up long hair, and if you have a beard, consider shaving in order to remove all that facial insulation. 4. Though “bare as you dare” is the way to go indoors in limited AC, most of us would prefer to have good air conditioning. If yours is out, or if power sources are Continued on page 36 AAA.com • SJ First • 11 • July/August
Beat The Heat
Paul Purcell
And Survive The Summer<br /> <br /> The “Dog Days” of summer are almost upon us and record temperatures are sweeping the country. Unfortunately we have the highest number of elderly and medically fragile people in history, and an aging infrastructure that is feeling the strain of heavy electrical use as our senior citizens struggle to stay cool.<br /> <br /> We’re here to give you tips and tricks to help you beat the heat should you be susceptible to extreme temperatures, or should your power go out. Here’s a short list of suggestions:<br /> <br /> 1. Drink plenty of cool water to keep yourself hydrated and reduce your body’s core temperature. (Warm water won’t do this, and cold water might be a shock to sensitive systems.) Drink regularly, every And Survive The Summer Beat The Heat by: Paul Purcell hour, even if you don’t feel thirsty. Avoid soft drinks and alcoholic drinks that are actually diuretic and rob your body of the water it desperately needs.<br /> <br /> 2. Eat small, light, non-spicy meals. Eating heavy meals cranks your metabolism and can raise your body temperature. Also, digestion robs you of energy. Since the heat is already robbing you of some energy, you don’t need to add to this drain by taxing the digestive system. However, don’t skip meals since food that replenishes the electrolytes you lose through sweating and increased water consumption.<br /> <br /> 3. Some sources suggest you wear “light colored, loose fitting clothes.” However, that’s only if you’re going outside. If you go outside, go with that rule and also wear a loose fitting hat or carry an umbrella for shade. Forget the fashion rules, follow the heat rules. (By the way, royal blue and/or white are the best colors to wear for their heat reflective qualities. Ever wonder why most tarps and boat awnings are blue? This is why.) For indoors though, forget all those rules and go with the “bare as you dare” notion. The more exposed skin you have the more efficient your cooling-bysweating process can work. Also, be sure to tie up long hair, and if you have a beard, consider shaving in order to remove all that facial insulation.<br /> <br /> 4. Though “bare as you dare” is the way to go indoors in limited AC, most of us would prefer to have good air conditioning. If yours is out, or if power sources are Uncertain, go someplace that has AC like the mall or other places that don’t mind people coming in and hanging around a while. Also, you can “AC pool” with friends just like you’d car pool. Go to a friend’s house who has a good AC system.<br /> <br /> 5. Failing to find another source of AC, and considering that the power might be out, here are a couple more tips. First, stand-alone floor unit air conditioners aren’t that expensive and can run off regular household current without the need for the special 220 volt outlets. This means that they can be operated using the smaller gas-powered electric generators. Can’t afford a generator? You can probably afford a power inverter which can sometimes be found for under twenty dollars. They plug into your car’s cigarette lighter and, using an extension cord, can power an appliance like your stand-alone AC, or at least some fans. Speaking of your car, if nothing else, if your car has AC you can ride around during the hottest hours of the day, providing you can afford today’s gas prices. If absolutely nothing else, go to your nearest “dollar store” and see if they have any of those little batterypowered fans.<br /> <br /> 6. Can’t afford a stand-alone AC but you have a generator? Your generator or power inverter can also power your fridge and/ or freezer, where you should have two-liter plastic bottles full of water filling up every empty space in both the fridge and freezer parts. Having cold water is a great thing. You drink cool water and use cold water to soak towels to wrap around your neck, wrists, and ankles where the veins and arteries are closest to the surface. This is one of the best ways to reduce your body temperature. Also, setting up a few of the frozen two-liter bottles in front of a fan can blow a nice cool breeze your way.<br /> <br /> 7. Now that we’ve talked about keeping you cool in the heat, let’s backtrack a bit and talk about reducing the heat you might experience. Naturally, the first rule is “block the sun.” Do what you can to reduce the sunlight that hits your house or comes in through the windows. Keep the shades drawn, and you might even consider hanging a white sheet or blue tarp as an outside awning on the side(s) of the house that catch the most sun. These tarps are also effective if placed on the roof as they’ll reflect the sun’s rays.
