{"id":7000,"date":"2022-07-16T07:36:20","date_gmt":"2022-07-16T11:36:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.silvercentury.org\/?p=7000"},"modified":"2022-07-17T07:54:19","modified_gmt":"2022-07-17T11:54:19","slug":"cool-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/2022\/07\/cool-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Cool It"},"content":{"rendered":"

I don\u2019t like summer. There. I’ve said it. Seaside, poolside, outdoor activities\u2014not my thing. I hibernate in the summer. An unseasonably hot day in May caused me to miss out on a community Spring Fling arts-and-crafts event I looked forward to all winter.<\/span><\/p>\n

One reason I don\u2019t fare well in heat is that I carry extra weight. Imagine doing what you like to do in 90-degree weather, wearing a backpack full of bricks. Add in some chafing and perspiration-laced sunscreen dripping into your eyes, and you begin to understand why I\u2019m not playing frisbee on the beach.<\/span><\/p>\n

As climate change is making summers longer, older adults\u2014even thin gardeners and fit sun-worshippers\u2014need to know about heat-related health challenges that caused 1,577 deaths in the United States alone in 2021. As we age, we can lose the feeling that we\u2019re thirsty, making us less inclined to grab a drink. Medications may have a diuretic effect, or we drink alcohol, coffee or tea, which also promote fluid loss. This, along with perspiration, and even breathing, can leave us dangerously low on the fluids, salt and minerals we need to cool ourselves down naturally. <\/span><\/p>\n

The two most common risks to the dehydrated are heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Heat exhaustion is your body\u2019s way of saying your fluids are low and your body can\u2019t cool down. Dizziness, fatigue and confusion can be accompanied by muscle cramps, loss of balance, headaches and thirst. Hallmarks of heat stroke are skin that\u2019s not sweating, an elevated body temperature and severe confusion, possibly convulsions. Heat stroke can occur suddenly, without the precursor of heat exhaustion symptoms, and can cause organ failure. Heat stroke should be considered a 911-level emergency. <\/span><\/p>\n

To prevent these heat-related illnesses, stay hydrated. Mark your water bottle and set a goal, so you can be reminded that you need to drink. Consider a sports drink like Gatorade with salt and minerals to replenish your electrolytes. Always pack more drinks than you think you\u2019ll need. Choose foods that have a high water content, like watermelon or strawberries, that won\u2019t weigh you down and will give you some electrolytes. Stay in the shade or, at the very least, know where to find shade if you start to feel overheated. Dress in breathable, light-colored fabrics. Plan your activities for times of the day or week (or season!) when the temperature is more forgiving. <\/span><\/p>\n

As for me, you\u2019ll find me in an air-conditioned room until the community Fall Fest comes around in October. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I don\u2019t like summer. There. I’ve said it. Seaside, poolside, outdoor activities\u2014not my thing. I hibernate in the summer. An unseasonably hot day in May caused me to miss out on a community Spring Fling arts-and-crafts event I looked forward…<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Cool It<\/span> ›<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":7001,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":null,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":null,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-voices-views"],"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"","source_text":"","source_url":""},"wps_subtitle":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7000"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7000\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7003,"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7000\/revisions\/7003"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}