Please share your favorite ways to stay cool and refreshed during the hot weather...

Those of you like Shelley and Wanda that have a garden and work outside in it, what are your precautions to avoid getting overheated and dehydrated?

I try to drink lots of water both winter and summer but especially so during the heat...I like extra salt. Popcorn and oranges with lots of salt are favorites.

Staying cool is a big problem & really limits my day during the summer.
I have to get most things outside done before noon & always take a bottle of water along to the garden. I wear a big hat & always have a phone with me.

Before going down the slight hill to the garden I have to have some protein/salt in me. Getting back to the house after working & sweating is another story, but so far I've made it up the hill.

Get your gel neck coolers out. One around the neck & the waist. They are so nice!

Yesterday was a weird day & I ended up having SALTY popcorn for a late dinner. I only woke once at 5am for my thyroid pill & went back to sleep until 7am. That is a GOOD night for me. No trip to the bathroom either!

I will have to try the orange with salt!!

When it gets "beastly" hot and humid, I like to put an ice pack to the back of my neck and relax with a tall cool lemonaid. (grh)

I think getting enough salt in makes for a better night's sleep for me! That popcorn dinner sounds like something I'd do...try the orange and salt, it is so good! -cks-

Marti and Wanda I like you ideas of a cool gel or ice pack to the neck...waist...I sometimes feel that I just can't cool off...miserable feeling! :wacko:

I have super thick hair and that's where I get the hottest....so while I'm working outside I put my hair up in a twist with a large claw clip and then I pour cold water on my head. It trickles down in the twist and keeps my head a lot cooler. With my head cool I stay cooler all over. I've been known to dump ocean water or my head when out sailing to cool off. I always wear light weight cotton, big oversized shirts in light colors too. When they are big the breeze blows through and cools you off. I also try to get the work done in the shade when ever possible. I carry those little packets of salt you get at Wendy's or McDonalds in my pocket too. And when I get over done I just dump one of those in my mouth and gulp a bunch of water. They are lightweight and handy and single serving size.
So that's my tricks....
Oh and I have my little laundry room/office right next to the kitchen and every summer we put a window a/c in.....so I have one room that is nice and cool. So when I am canning in the kitchen and it gets too hot I can go cool off in my little room. Then I'm ready to tackle the heat in the kitchen again.

(grh)

fans fans fans even gets hot in Alaska. No kidding!! :D

Yes...I have fans in every room....I love to have the moving air on me......
I also have 2 room a/c's that are going in this week sometime.....already using it in the car....

Shelley, I used to work for the forest service and I would wear my hair in a bun soaking wet.....it really acts like a little head air cooler......esp on really bad days or when we were on a fire line.....

I just really try to avoid being out in it....and this yr I am really thinking i might try Kathy's sweat solution......I was to brkfst today....not even feeling too warm...and I was just sweating drinking my coffee.....ridiculous!!

Diane

Kim, You crack me up...does it really get hot in Alaska? I thought you all lived in igloos! It was beastly here in Chicago today, the humidity nearly killed me during the day. The weatherman is saying we are going to have a 30 degree drop in temperature tomorrow...and that is fine with me. I have a fan that I carry around from room to room to keep me cool. The guys think I am nuts, but if I get hot I get very cranky! I hate the heat. Also, no makeup and s-h-o-r-t hair is a must for me! gdbV
Maureen

Good suggestions , thank you all. :) We're already getting pretty hot here in the south...we always have a lot of humidity...

I love to work in the yard but just can't take long periods of heat so I work until I'm hot and run inside into the air conditioning - take a drink - spash my face with cold water - eat a pretzel or something little and salty and then head back out. Since I've stayed on the full tablet of fludrocortisone I don't seem to droop as easily. But the biggest difference in how I feel has been that 2.5mg of HC before bed. I don't know why, but I feel like a million bucks now. Getting that good night's sleep makes all activities easier. I was thinking back to my annual Mem.Day weekend yardwork marathons and I can still remember the dragging feeling. But this year was soooo much better!
Rebecca

How much total HC are you taking Rebecca? I am usually at 25 but haven't much staying power...I have changed thyroid meds and what a difference! ^db^ But if a tad more HC would help...I was low on salt I think this morning and maybe even HC...I had Ramen noodles for lunch. -cks- ;)

It was cool here in Chicago yesterday and today, in the high 50's low 60's. It could stay this way as far as I am concerned but I know that we will wake up someday soon and it will be in the 90's. That's Chicago for you...you never know from day to day with the weather. Anyway, yesterday I went to Home Dept and bought 2 new fans! One for my bedroom and one for the family room. The one I had fell apart at the end of the summer so I needed to replace it. A little one to put on my dresser to blow on me all night, combined with the ceiling fan and the A/C if it is really hot. I got a big one for the family room that I will point right at me when I am sitting in there. I dread the summer heat. Hooray for fans! ^db^
Maureen

Jo, I take 27.5mg total of HC. - 20mg first thing in the a.m., 5mg by 4 p.m. and 2.5 mg just before crawling into bed. I have gained weight but am not overweight. With the extra bit of HC just before bed I have energy to exercise and function all day long so it all evens out, I suppose. The weight gain and osteoporosis scare me to bits so I tend to resist increasing much. My thyroid levels have remained pretty level on .0375mg of levoxyl.

I forgot to tell you all that I had a reaction to the lydocaine (sp?) in the dentist office the other day. Scared the dentist. I called my dr. and the dentist talked to the fellow on call. I ended up taking 20mg HC stress dose. My BP was o.k. afterward but my heart rate stayed low for a while. I went to work about an hour later and did fine. Those things don't happen to me. Weird!!!

Hi all,

As most of you may remember this is a SERIOUS problem for me, as in the past I have had TONS of problems with EXCESSIVE Sweating. So much so that I went online an ordered a HOmeopathic Pill (from England) that temporarily Paralyzes the sweat glands to help with my EXCESSIVE sweating. Which was mainly Face, Head & Body trunk sweating - NOT underarms, feet hands etc.

Also, I try to stay indoors in A/C as much as possible, I have some of the gel neck coolers also. I wear ONLY Natural fibers in the summer - thin 100% Cotton Sleveless tops w/ skirts, and or sundresses- I usually don't wear pants again until like October!!!

I also discovered last year, that wearing - believe it or not - Disposable Underwear like Attends, Poise, etc helps to absorb all the sweat that used to accumulate on my belly, between legs etc, causing me to sweat thru my clothing usually within 1 hr of putting it on!!! I use Poise, as they are cut HIGH on the leg, like real panties, and absorb SUPERBLY.

I also ALWAYS have a water bottle with me (Refillable) and in the summer I take Salt Tabs. Brand CMC - Consolidated Midland Corp. They are simplly 1 gram tabs of normal Salt. No extra stuff. No Chloride or Potassium, JUST salt. I take one in the AM before I leave for work, and I always carry extra in my purse in case I need more. I do not like to EAt to get my Salt, as that would cause me to EAT more often, and I want to Lose weight.

I also keep my little "HELPER PILLS" (the Homeo. Pills from England) on me at all times and I used to take them every morning before I left the house. Hopoefully I won't need to go back on them REGULARLY this summer, as since being on the Methotrexate for my Arthritis, my Excessive Sweating has diminished. I still sweat alot, but NOTHING like I used to.

I also keep me hair Short, thin and/or up in the summer.