How is heat wave affecting you?

Question

Many parts of the world are having heat waves. We were over 40 C here yesterday. Roughly that would be close to 110F and its supposed to get hotter today, maybe 44C ? We have hit 120F in the past with it going down to 110F at night . (farenheit for American members)

How are y'all holding up in this nasty heat? And what coping methods are you using? Other than Central AC ? Drinking a lot of water.

My friends landlord lied about having central AC - he plunked an itty bitty little AC unit in the window last month that barely cools the LR/DR area.

I am not getting a lot of sleep and have 2 fans blowing on me all night, wake up at 7 AM with the sun beating on the bedroom windows and already sweating -- :-( top floor apt

I just have this CRAVING, MAD INSANE URGE to throw my body into deep cold water and stay there until fall but there are no beaches close by. No swimming pool I care to use. (ick)

So many people are limited in mobility - how are you making out?

Before someone bashes me about "too good" to use public swimming pools, I have a compromised immune system, and have developed abscesses in the past from being exposed to "germs" that required major surgery to stop the spread of anoerobic bacteris through my whole body. Dont need anymore tissue removed from my body -

uh make that "bacteria" - the literary police are going to all over me for that one.

Answer 1

And I thought it was hot here! (Florida) The highs here have been in the 90s (on the farenheit scale) Though the humidity is really what will get to you here. My windows have been fogged up due to the heat, humidity and rain.

I stay indoors most all the time and I keep my central AC on 72 degrees farenheit. I used to have a huge oak tree over my house but a limb fell on my roof a few months ago and we had to have that tree cut down. (It was rotting from the inside out.) So now, we have no shade tree and no insulation in the roof. It gets as hot as 78 degrees in the house (I always have it set on 72) I am absolutely dreading my next utility bill! (The last one was $170 US!!!! Eek!)

Part of my condition makes me extremely susceptible to heat. I can't handle anything over 76 degrees indoors and stay active. When the temperature in my house gets over that, I get an ice pack and sit down under an AC vent until nightfall. When it gets really hot at night, I'll often go to sleep with an ice pack or two. Have you tried that? They work really good, especially when placed on the back of the neck.

Cold baths and showers are also a good idea for beating the heat. As is eating ice cream. Or anything cold (I know some people can't handle a lot of sugar, so ice cream wouldn't be a good option there.)

I hear ya! Sometimes I want to throw myself into a cool body of water and just stay there all summer. But I can't let my skin get too much sun. Even with sunscreen, I still tend to burn. (I have a slight melanin deficiency.)

Ugh. An itty bitty little AC unit in the window? That's not good for much. Not in heat like the stuff you guys are getting! I hope things cool down for you. Heat waves are hard on everyone, but for some people, they can be deadly.

EDIT: What was wrong this answer and two of the other answers here? All five are actually pretty good & helpful.

Answer 2

In live in Southeast Virginia and it is pretty nasty here, too. The temperature has been around 95F for the past few days.The humidity is unbearable, yet it has not rained at all this month and the leaves on the trees are turning yellow.

The only way I can handle this heat is drink plenty of ice water, wear light colored clothes, and try to get a fairly early start before it got to terrible hot. Instead of eating hot, heavy, greasy, or oily foods, I stick with eating more fruits and salads without salad dressing. At night, I have the AC blowing on high and a huge 20" hurricane fan blowing on top of me while I sleep.

Answer 3

There have been heat waves many times in my life, I know how to deal with them, and good job too, because this is the beginning of global warming. It will get much worse before any better. Probably no one alive today will witness the turn around to more pleasant weather.

Drink lots of cool liquids ... thank God (and man's inventiveness) for air conditioning and refrigeration ... although the way the energy crisis is developing, some people alive today may see the end of that being affordable.

Cover windows with white drapes in summer, black ones in winter. In the hot weather, the white drapes will reflect the sunlight instead of beaming it into the home. In the cold weather, the dark drapes will absorb heat from sunlight and supply heat to the home. By this means you spend less money on public utility bill.

Before bed time, get a shower, and go to bed wet, do not dry off ... the air will evaporate the moisture on your body, cooling you down. Lie on a towel so as not to mess up bed clothes, lie with covers not on, so cooling is whole body. You may get a cold out of this, but you will also get comfortable sleep.

If wake up in middle of night and hot. Go into bathroom & run the tap water and wipe yourself down so wet again, then back to bed to do the evaporation solution.

Alternatively, have a dish of water near bedside, and a face cloth, to wipe yourself when you wake up in middle of nite. You can also put damp cloth between your legs to provide many hours of coolness to a part of your body that has great influence on the comfort level of rest of body. Some parts of body really are the boss.

In my car rear window is a solar powered fan ... sunlight shines on it & it runs ... the car is noticeably cooler getting into it than it used to be before I got this.

Answer 4

I'm in Connecticut, USA, and it's been pretty warm here, although nothing like what you just said. Phew!!!!

What you may want to do instead of a central AC unit is get the type of unit I bought, it was maybe 98 dollars US altogether. The lightweight window units don't bend any metal or plastic, and they work beautifully. This is the one I use, although the manufacturer's price isn't right for the area where I live, costs all of 30 dollars to run each season:

http://www.frigidaire.com/products/roomair/window_mounted/compact/prod_FAX052P7.asp

Generally, many home improvement stores can install the unit for you if you explain that you have limited mobility. I don't know if they charge for that or not.

Answer 5

I have limited mobility and use a power chair. It's been awful here in southern Tennessee with the heat and humidity trying to fry us. I take my dog for a walk early before it's too hot for her to walk on the sidewalk or for my tires to melt. I provide my pets plenty of fresh water and they live inside with me. I have covered my windows with heavy dark fabric OVER my insulated drapes. The AC runs on high (I keep the filter clean), I have three fans circulating, I make sure to run the stove fan when I cook but I eat a lot of salads and fresh fruits during the heat wave. Sometimes more than one cool shower a day is nice. I drink water all day after my morning decaf. I watch for signs of autumn and dream about winter!! When I hear the first katydid I'll know it's six weeks till frost!

Answer 6

I take 3 different medications that have warnings about avoiding the heat because taking this med can make me more susceptible to heat stroke.

So, I stay inside in the AC. When I go somewhere my Van has AC. The only problem I may run into is tomorrow.

My youngest daughter is getting married at an outdoor ceremony at 4:00 in the afternoon. So I'm going to stay inside until it's time and then as soon as it's over I'm headed back inside.

Unless it rains. Then I don't know what we will do. Get wet I guess. ;-)

Answer 7

It's been like a steam bath so far! I don't have AC, nor a fan (too expensive, really), nor do my windows open properly--there's one in the main room of my flat which is opened about 2", nor is there a swimming pool near by, so I take lots of showers, drink lots of tea and eat lots of peanut butter when the thermometer hits 80+ F. and the humidity is up. (This week, it's been low humidity, but next week, it's supposed to rise again.)

Answer 8

I'm in Arizona. It's way too hot, and even at night, it's almost unbearable. I try to stay inside as much as possible. It makes it harder to go out and run errands too. My A/C isn't working properly in my car and one of my A/C units just recently went out in the house, so the bedrooms are warm and the kitchen and den on the other side of the house stay reasonably cool around 70 degrees. It's HOT!

I can't leave my dogs outside. They don't even like to stay out there long enough to use the bathroom. They stay indoors as a result. I can't take them for walks in the evening as the asphalt or even dirt roads are too hot on there padded feet.

I'm really looking forward to fall and winter!!

Answer 9

My daughter is disabled and can not tolerate AC, she gets a horrible headache. I place a fan on her with a larger container of ice in front of the fan so it blows over the cold ice. It helps. Also get a towel wet and put it around your neck, the let the fan blow on you. Stay hydrated! Best of luck to you.

Answer 10

i have major breathing problems with the heat so i am stuck inside with the air conditioner going full blast, and run a ceiling fan. try taking lots of cool showers they help some.