Hot!!

Once again, some of us are faced with killing temps. Even if you're used to the heat, it can still be extremely dangerous. Where I am in Illinois, it's only going to be 90 today, but with the humidity, it'll feel like 100. Humidity can be a factor also. If sweat can't evaporate, it can't cool your body, so it's not just 100+ temps that are dangerous. Even for those of us who are used to the heat, we need to stay hydrated and be aware that we are not only losing water, but salt and other minerals, so throw some Gatorade in with all that water. If you start feeling dizzy or nauseous, don't try to "man through it". Your body is trying to tell you something and ignoring it can be deadly. I have had what's called "heat stroke". It sucks the life right out of you for days. It's like the worst hang over you've ever had, without the fun of the night before.

If you know someone who needs fans or their AC has gone out, try to help in any way you can. I keep a cooler full of ice, bottled water and Gatorade in my truck in this kind of weather and if I see someone broke down on the highway, I first offer them a phone, a ride and then some water. I've given out water to construction workers on the highway, who were a long way from the others, directing traffic. I had a neighbor who's AC went out a couple years ago and told her she could just come to my house, hang out and watch TV if she got too hot. She brought the kids and they had a ball playing with my dogs.

I know this is from afew days ago, but people are dying and we need to realize, heat is nothing to fool with. Even if you're used to it, it can still kill you.

www.cnsnews.com...

The National Weather Service says the number of states under heat advisories nearly doubled Thursday to 12. The affected states are Missouri, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Louisiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. Temperatures are forecast in the 90s across much of those states, but the humidity is expected to make them feel much hotter. Heat indexes are expected to hit 115 degrees in central Oklahoma and northeastern Arkansas.

www.fox10phoenix.com...

This weekend, three people died while hiking. Despite all of the warnings of our excessive heat people still ventured out to the trails in this heat. Unfortunately some of them didn't survive the triple digit temps. "If you have someone who is not physically fit who hasn't been drinking water, you're talking within ten minutes you can have someone’s body become overrun by heat," said Larry Subervi with the Phoenix Fire Department. Officials say on Saturday 25-year-old Anthony Quatela, III, of Phoenix, died while hiking with a friend in the Superstition Mountains. Police tell us the two ran out of water. The friend also suffered from heat related illness, but is expected to be ok. Then today a female hiker was found dead near finger rock near Tucson. And closer to home, a 28-year-old woman died after mountain biking on the Desert Vista Trail.

Stay Cool.

Right about hydration. Whatever liquids you consume normally should be doubled on hot days.

Most of us walk around in a semi dehydrated state all the time.

How much water should you drink each day?

A simple observation is helpful to tell how hydrated you are. The darker colored your urine in the toilet bowl, the more dehydrated you are.

The body needs water to work efficiently, cells need it to pass waste into the blood stream and out the body. This prevents the cells from getting bogged down with waste, giving you that lethargic, achy feeling.

The less water in your system, the tighter the membrane on you brain, resulting in headaches.

The less water the more constipated you are.

The less water the harder it is to digest food, the thicker your blood, the hrrder your heart works to circulate it.

And if you just don't flat enjoy a burst of cool water hitting your gut on a hot day, I don't know what to tell you.

And for Pete's Sake, DO NOT FORGET ABOUT YOUR PETS!

Don't leave them in your car.
Don't leave them without water.
Check on them often!

Hot here in the Memphis area too but not as bad as last week. This past weekend the weather was a blessing. Low humidity and not as hot. But last week, I was worn out after working in the yard.

originally posted by: chiefsmom
And for Pete's Sake, DO NOT FORGET ABOUT YOUR PETS!

Don't leave them in your car.
Don't leave them without water.
Check on them often!

Definitely. I do have an old cat about 14 years old and I swear, the hotter the better for him. He will lay on the back porch under the shade tree for hours. I have to make him come in but he won't stay long till he's scratching at the back door to get back out.
Oh and now he's decided he likes to go,out around 2 or 3 every morning. Wakes me up to let him out.

a reply to: DAVID64

Thanks for giving folks a heads up. People can forget how vulnerable we are to heat. Even sun loving weeds wilt during the heat of the day.

I'm in arid southern Colorado. Summers are always hot/dry here. It was 102 yesterday. We drink constantly, don't over exert ourselves and lay low, as best we can, during the heat of the day. We don't have AC but because it's so arid, nights are deliciously cool. The house holds that coolness for most of the day.

I stood in the garden yesterday and sprayed myself right along with the plants. It was so cold it took my breath away but I stayed cool.

We make sure our pets our cool/watered but I also put out a large container of water for wildlife. I saw the mama roadrunner taking breaks in the shade. I thought she was hurt at first, she extended her wings/fluffed up her feathers and just stood there in the shade. After awhile she straightened her feathers/went back to foraging.

She nests here every year, I can't wait to see her big nagging baby following her around. She's such a good mama I try to help her any way I can. Kudos to you for giving out water to highway workers. Seeing them standing on the hot pavement makes me cringe.

a reply to: intrptr

Thanks! Very informative. Usually, we just see tidbits of those suggestions sprinkled in the news. You've got it together.

a reply to: maybee

Oh and now he's decided he likes to go,out around 2 or 3 every morning. Wakes me up to let him out.

Mine is 19 years old. He has regressed back to his childhood. I had to lock him out the bathroom when the girls were taking their baths, when he was a kitten, because he thought he should be in the tub with them. The moment he hears the shower door open, no matter where he is in the house, he is teleported into the shower, before you can close the door.

When he was about 14, he started with the between 3 am to 4 am wake up calls. Now he doesn't just call. He sings, and chants to the old ones. He is truly tapped into the other realm, because the moment I hit the record button, he stops. As soon as I stop recording, he starts again. I have been trying to catch a recording of his songs for over 6 months. It must be an above top secret language of the ancients, that is not allowed to be recorded by humans.

He too seems to love the heat. I noticed a decrease in how much he eats, slightly, but he is drinking a lot more water. Strange thing though is, he is not shedding as much as I expected, and he is a lot more mellow.

a reply to: chiefsmom

Our dogs stay inside our air conditioned home, with a dog door to the back yard if they need to go outside. It works great, especially if we are going to be away all day. I keep trying to convince my friends to do it for their pets. I couldn't live without a dog door for my babies!

It's been H-O-T here in central Texas.

a reply to: Aliensun
Thanks. Literally, the water of life.

Earht has the only fresh liquid water of light years an any direction.


Glick-glick-click, aaaahhh.