Tips That Will Keep You and Your Pet Healthy In the Heat
All of our listening area is under an excessive heat watch until at least Saturday, this according to the National Weather Service. Here's some things you can do to take care of yourself if you find yourself having to be outside or you don't have access to air conditioning:
- Stay Hyradated. Avoid sugary drinks along with caffinne and alcohol.
- Head to a park, or anyplace with lots of green grass. Heat islands caused by the sun can make roofs, pavement and asphalt 50 to 90 degrees hotter than the air tempature. It's cooler in the middle of the grass. A nice shade tree helps too!
- Feeling overheated? Get inside some place with air conditioning and plan to be there a minimum of 15 minutes or even a little longer. Your core temperature will continue to rise a little, even after getting out of the heat. If air conditioning isn't possible at least try to find a shady area not affected by a heat island.
- Let your sweat evaporate vs. wiping it off you. It's our body's own air conditioning system.
- If you need to cool down quickly plunge your arms into ice cold water up to your elbows. This will pull heat out of your body efficiently.
- Use less electrical devices. TV's, stereos, even lights all give off heat. If you don't need all of them turned on, turn them off and unplug them.
- I've mentioned heading to places that have AC to cool off. May I suggest the library? Or perhaps a coffee shop? Or maybe the Dairy Queen? I don't know if ice cream will really cool you off on a hot day, but ice cream certainly tastes better the hotter it is outside.
You can find more on these tips and other tips at livescience.com. Also remember to take care of keeping your pets cool during the heat. Here's some tips for fido and fluffy:
- Beat the sun. Take your pet on walks before the sun and temperatures soar in the morning, and wait to walk them until the sun goes down in the evening.
- Like humans, avoid the heat islands and find some shade. Stay off asphalt and cement. Remember, you wear shoes. Pets don't. They can burn their paw pads. If you do find yourself out with your pet in the heat of the day. Find some grass and shade.
- Leave your cat or dog at home. Vehicles get hot in the summer. It can get super hot in a vehicle when it's nice outside, so image how hot your SUV will be in this heat. Panting takes more effort than sweating too, so avoid the car ride if possible.
- Keep your pet hydrated. Make sure your pet has plenty of water. Especially if they're going to be outside or in an unairconditioned environment.
- Know your breed and your pet's health condition. Certain breeds like pugs and persain cats can't pant effectively in hot weather. And any dog or cat that's overweight or has a heart or lung issue is probably better off staying in an air conditioned environment when it's really hot.
- Trimming your pets fur. If you have a long haired cat or dog trimming their coat is fine, and brushing out dead sheded fur will help keep them from overheating. However, generally, your pets coat protects them from sun damage and overheating as it is. So trimming your pets coat won't really cool them down any more than not trimming their coat.
For more on these tips head over to petmd.com.