For Midwestern Followers
(( Nonamum here. I just saw that a huge heat advisory was issued for most of the American midwest.
Tips from a southerner,. where this sort of heat index happens nearly every summer:
STAY HYDRATED (duh), especially if you’re not used to it. And make sure you consumed a lil salt, too, so that that water can actually be retained by the body.
Close your curtains during the day. DO NOT open windows except at night.
Baby powder. EVERYWHERE. Put that shit all over you: your arms, legs, (say GOODBYE TO BOOB SWEAT), but ladies and gents and non-binary friends, do NOT under ANY circumstances put it in your undies. Talc powder can cause serious issues, especially for folks that have cervixes. They’ve linked that to cancer. :O But otherwise, everywhere else, baby powder up. It keeps you cool. Trust me, I’m a doctor.
Stay inside. Just stay inside. Need to walk your dog? Wait until the sun goes down. Trust me.
Don’t turn the AC off/on. Just leave it on. It takes more energy for it to start up and continuously cool a room than it does to just keep it at a consistent temperature.
DO NOT
LEAVE YOUR DOG
OR SMALL CHILD
IN THE CAR
WHAT THE HELL
ARE YOU THINKING
EVEN IF ITS JUST LIKE
FOR A MINUTE
I DON’T CARE
DON’T DO IT
In need of immediate relief? Turn your faucet on cold/room temperature water and put your head under it. It cools your entire body down. Or and ice pack to the back of the neck.
If you notice any symptoms of heat stroke or heat exhaustion, seek medical attention immediately. The situation can escalate very quickly and can cause brain damage or death in worst case scenarios.
Stay safe out there, everyone.
I’ve had heat stroke and let me tell you, it fucks with your mind.
You physically feel cold. You stand there in the middle of the sun and your skin feels cold. Not to the touch, no, it’s hella hot to the touch. But your nerves are giving the fuck up and they’re sending bad signals. For me that manifests as standing in the blistering sun, not a decent tree in sight (Los Angeles sucks btw), not sweating, and feeling frigid cold.
It takes effort to drag your ass to a store to buy water. Because we don’t have water just available and fuck all if you think there’s a pond or stream or canal nearby. It might be miles to that store because urban blight sucks and if you don’t have money you’ll just have to stand in the freezer section until someone kicks you out (5 minutes tops).
Air conditioning is a pretty little lie. I don’t have one, I have a window that faces west. The afternoon winds come in from the west. Every hot day, no matter how stupid hot it’s been, I open that window around now (130-2pm) and hope. Sometimes I get lucky and the wind is nice and cool. Often the wind is coming off the asphalt and is hotter than hell. But if you have an air conditioner, use it wisely. Don’t dart in and out and for the love of hell don’t cycle it. If you have access, use it, otherwise don’t fuck with your own head. 5 min AC/5 min hot is the surest way to a splitting headache and crippling nausea.
Drink water. Drink beer. Drink gatorade. I don’t care what it is, drink stuff. Wear non-constrictive clothing. Or tiny shorts, wear those. Lay in the shade. Make a game of only walking on the white crosswalk lines when you’re stuck on asphalt. Tie your hair up. And for fuck’s sake, stay out of cars with pleather seats.
