Welcome to mid-summer. When the temperatures get this high, you’re wondering whether you could fry an egg on the sidewalk and are ready to try it. Add in the humidity, and you feel like you’re in a sauna as soon as you walk outside.
Heat sensitivity is a common problem for people with MS.
Between 60 and 80 percent of MS patients experiencing worse symptoms because of the heat. On the plus side, the symptom increase is temporary and treatable. But that’s not comforting when you’re feeling the effects.
A 2013 study showed that even a half-degree increase in body temperature can bring on symptoms, so even intensive exercise can heat the body enough to worsen symptoms.
We Have An Arsenal Of Aids At Our Disposal
We’re no unarmed in our battle to restrain heat-related symptoms. With proper planning and execution, it’s not hard to minimize problems.
Plan Ahead
Information and planning are your greatest weapons against heat.
- Do you know whether the weather is your BFF or a nightmare disguised as a daydream?
Weather forecasters are your buds. They’ll let you know how hot it’s going to be over a 10-day period. They can tell you whether it will be humid and whether the heat index (combo of heat and humidity) is gross. They’ll even issue advisories when the heat index is high enough to mess with people who have health conditions.
-
- Check the news. You can easily find a weather reporter of your choice (geeky, cheesy, perky, relatively normal) on your TV.
-
- Check online weather sites. Plenty of options there too – numbers, pictures, happy/sad sun icons, multi-color radar, etc.
-
- Find a smartphone app. Want a widget on your main screen? Automatic notifications? Bouncy happy sunny faces? Whatever you want. Plenty of these apps are free. I use Weather Underground. Anytime I unlock my phone, I’m looking at the temperature and heat index on a color-coded widget.
- Flexibility – it’s not just for yoga instructors anymore!
You wrote out your To Do list. You’ve plotted out every hour for optimal productivity. Sucks for you that the heat and humidity have an evil plot against you. It’s time to leave the superhero cape at home, my dear. You can either wait to fight another day or fall victim to your kryptonite.
You wouldn’t go swimming during a thunderstorm, would you? Let the weather win this time too. Is it worth immobilizing yourself for a couple of days to get that tube of lipstick at the drugstore?
- Go home – do not pass Go, do not collect $200
Home – or any place with an air conditioner – is the place to be. Outside bad, inside good. There are plenty of things to do inside, and the biggest is to protect yourself. You’re taking a giant step on the self-care journey.
Stock Your Toolkit
You don’t have to go it alone. Grab your weapons to fight the heat monster.
- Your formula for success is H2O
When it’s hot, you make sure your plants have plenty of water. Unless you’re me. Then again, plants are doomed the moment they enter my possession. Don’t you deserve to be treated better?
Staying hydrated is an easy way to fight the heat. Heat sensitivity and dehydration are a dangerous combination. Ice water is your friend. If you’re heading outside, take a water bottle with you so that the water can help keep your body temperature low.
Tip: If you put the water in a metal bottle, the bottle gets cold. You get the extra benefit of holding something cold while you’re in the heat.
- Check out cooling products that can help keep your body temperature down.
◊ See my vest, see my vest
If you’re going to be outside for a longer period of time, or if you’re going to be exerting yourself in the heat, then a cooling vest could be right for you. It covers your torso to keep more of your body cool. If the vest uses ice packs to keep you cool, you’ll need to freeze the ice packs before you can use the vest.
◊ They’re just not for beach contests anymore!
A wet t-shirt can help keep your temperature – and your costs – down. No advance prep needed. Downside? It’s not the best look for going out to a restaurant, church, etc.
◊ BYOA – Bring Your Own Air
You’ve got fanning options galore, and I’m not talking about those folded papers. You could grab a spritz bottle with a fan on top so you can get a double dose of air and water.
You can also find a variety of handheld fans. Keychain fans, battery fans, handled fans, fans with handles, fans that play on rocks…you get the idea.
Two possible uh-ohs with small fans:
◊ They’re small and cheap – two words you don’t usually hear in the same sentence as durable. Odds are that at some point you will find it in more pieces than you expected.
◊ You may not find your fan in fewer pieces than you did because you may not find it at all. I’ve been ready to go out only to fish through piles asking where the…bleep…that fan went. I’ll give up and go out without it, and then it magically appears once I get back home. Then I’ll sometimes say a word that starts with f- but does not end with -an.
◊ Tie one on
I tried one earlier this month and am now completely hooked. I was shocked at how good it felt and how long it lasted when the temperature neared 100.
You’ve got plenty of options. You can get wristbands, bandanas, scarves, or towels. You can pick your color and even pattern, if you want to make a fashion statement. Mine’s peacock blue.
Some are put into cold water, the refrigerator, or the freezer to activate. Others have inserts you freeze and attach to an inside pocket. My scarf just needs a 15-20 minute soak in cold water to be ready to go.
This post contains affiliate links.
Recharge after dealing with the heat
Be kind to yourself. While heat makes symptoms worse for most patients, it’s only temporary. You will recover, and you can speed up that recovery by taking care of yourself after the heat.
- Get out sooner rather than later
If you start feeling worse, get out of the heat as soon as possible.
- Find a cool spot
Air conditioning is your friend.
- Water, water, water
Drinking ice water is a great way to get your temperature down.
- Rest
Do not push yourself. If you let the heat get to you, then you could be out of commission for days. It’s not worth it.
The forecast high on Friday…and Saturday…and Sunday…is 100 degrees. The meteorologist has said we could possibly break the daily record of 102 on at least one of those days. He also said that we probably won’t hit the all-time high of 105, but I’m nervous since he brought it up.
Obviously, I can use all the help I can get. How do you beat the heat?
