The heat here is really making me sick!! Not kidding!

[zoey]

Kirsten, I'm so sorry you're going through this!
I can relate to an extent. I'm near Houston, Texas where the heat index is 110' some days. And let's not forget the *lovely* humidity. I too have thyroid issues and until just this week, I had no a.c. in my office. I know the thyroid problems cause muscle weakness in the lower extremeties and man, some days i really just about fainted!! Finally, my boss allowed me to get a small a.c. unit, for about $90. American. Until then, I would water down my face and head and sit in the fan, for relief. Do you at least have a fan in your office? Have you heard of the cold suits? It's a cooling device you wear under your clothes. I remember hearing about it and did several searches but came up empty. Perhaps someone here has heard of it. Otherwise, I hope you can get an a.c. somehow!
The dizziness you're experiencing has me concerned. Maybe you could write to the press and they could do a story on this issue. **HUGS**

[Corinna]

Boy do I understand i can't do heat well either any thing over 75degrees Farenhit and I'm cranky and headachy too. thankfully our store has Ac and I have a small one at home. We too have been having a heat wave here not like some but it's more than we are used to.

[zoey]

http://www.sharperimage.com/us/en/catalog/product/sku__SI758SL2

I found it!! I knew i'd seen it at Sharper Image. Perhpaps it would help. Good luck!!

[Argranade]

If you want to keep cool.

Just keep putting Ice cold bottle's or Ice cubes on your wrists it can cool off the hole body actualy and for me it works and hopefuly for you.

Im glad its not too hot here In Canada mostly.

We have been getting cool rain showers like once every 1 to 2 week or sometimes 3 days In a row in Toronto that is.

Right now its raining but I cant go outside thats the down part.

[ChrisH]

It's raining, bucketing down ... ... cool breeze! oh, oh, thunder!! ... oh, I don't care!!

Look at that beautiful grey sky!


And listen to the sound of the falling rain.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_XSp6iYk_U

By the time I uploaded the rain had stopped and the sun is peaking out again. Never mind, it was a nice break.

[momoffuzzyfaces]

If you want to keep cool.

Just keep putting Ice cold bottle's or Ice cubes on your wrists it can cool off the hole body actualy and for me it works and hopefuly for you.

I had a nurse tell me once to run cold water on your wrists to help cool your body temp down. It seems to work. I've done it quite a few times.

Our heat wave has finally broken here. I hope yours ends soon too!

[caseysmom]

It was 112F here, hot even for here. My daughter had a diving meet today so I got to sit out in it for 4 hours.

The A/C was icing up this morning so I ran to home depot at 7am for new filter and that seemed to do the trick thank god.

[krazyaboutkatz]

We're also having a heat wave here too and I don't have any AC either. I have a ceiling fan in the dining room and anther floor fan in the living room that have been on all day to help circulate the air and keep my cats cool. It's still about 100 degees in the shade and about 90 degrees in my condo. It's supposed to be even hotter tomorrow. I hate the heat and even though we usually have a dry heat it's still way too hot for me.

[Lizzie]

I, too, am sorry you are going through this hellish heat, Kirsten. The combination of high heat and humidity really does make you feel that you are not breathing in any air. Do you have plants in your office to help with the air quality?

It's in the nineties in the Seattle area now and today's set to peak before it "drops" into the upper eighties. Over the weekend, I've tried to sleep during the mid-afternoon into evening so that I could do things at night when it's cooler. But even during the night, moving furniture and rugs, vacuuming and scrubbing out litter boxes makes me drip with sweat. After a brief sleep, I got up at 5am to try to get more done, including cooking some pasta for salads - but I couldn't bear to warm up the house to any degree so I guess it's bean and veg salads today. I also tried to do some weeding at about 7am but got overheated very quickly and gave up. Ah! A slight breeze just fanned over my arms from the window and I could feel myself inhale with pleasure and smile from the brief relief.

The kittens are racing around now, using up their pent-up energy. By this afternoon, as the sun pounds into the house, they will be stretched out trying to get as much of their bodies exposed to air as possible. One of my upstairs cats is a black long-hair and she feels the heat intensely.

I've managed to avoid the heat enough that I haven't become ill from it, though twisting my sleep/wake cycle around so much is making me feel pretty rotten. I have A/C in my car and at work so I'm lucky in that. In fact, my workplace can be so chilled that I keep a winter coat there and wore it a few times last week.

Ugh! I just had to close my window because a neighbor went out onto her deck to smoke. She's not that close, and I have a high hedge, but it's an unpleasant shock when you are taking deep breaths of relatively cool fresh air.

[GreyhoundGirl]

I can't stand the heat either. Really makes me appreciate the " extremely hot summer weather " here is about 20. And that's unusual.

[Kirsten]

Thanks for being so understanding - and for all your advices to keep cool!

I wish I could tell you that it has cooled off meanwhile, but it didn't. Even though there was thunder and some heavy rain today, it's still warm, and VERY humid, and they say the humidity is going to last the next days. Also, it will be really hot again next week, so there's just no end in sight. It's simply unbearable!

Besides, I have learnt yesterday that I have a lack of vitamine B12, something that needs to be treated. I will go and see my doctor tomorrow. Maybe this is because I feel so extremely miserable this summer?

Kirsten

[lbaker]

It's not just the wrists, it's the pulse points.. all of them, and it works. Coldness/coolness, whether it be ice or cool compresses on wrists, behind the knees (really) behind and around the head. Wet down your hair. Sit in a tub. Heat stroke/exhaustion is very serious and can be deadly. Extra salt and more water intake than you think you want. If you start to get nausiated get to a medical facility quickly. No joke.

[Sonia59]

Apparently you do not have A/C at work, Kirsten! Here it's quite frequent to have it in offices. In my office I am almost freezing if I stay too long behind my computer and if I close the door And believe it or not, but after some time you do not realize anymore how the real temperature outside can be. It is always a surprise when you go outside the building in the evening.

Having cool air the whole day makes the heat easier to stand when you go back home, because your body do not have to fight permanently against the high temperature.

You can also take cold showers at home, it helps a bit, but the effect does not last long. My mother who has heart problems and cannot stand the heat anymore does it several times a day when she does not feel well.

Poor you and your kitties, I hope you feel better soon!

[kuhio98]

Anyone ever try a cooling vest? http://www.arcticheatusa.com/

These were all over the news when the Olympic athletes were wearing them to keep cool before and after their races.

[GreyhoundGirl]

Anyone ever try a cooling vest? http://www.arcticheatusa.com/

These were all over the news when the Olympic athletes were wearing them to keep cool before and after their races.

That's a really good idea....