Record breaking high temperatures how to cope with them is in this article, can anything beat lots of water?

It is hot outside, breaking all temperature records all over the
world.

It's summer, this year it is a really hot summer, high heat temperature records are being broken in numerous places across the country. I lived and worked in one of those areas, the Southern California desert for just over 3 years, we decided to leave during a power outage when the ambient temperature reached 126 degrees F. We rented a house in the small town of La Quinta, California, it was a Spanish style with a pool. The water was 110 degrees, no wind, and it was a "dry heat", according to the people who had lived there for a long time. I would answer "So is an oven", rarely getting a chuckle. In reality, very few people would live there without air conditioning, we decided not to even though we did rely on it.

A strange thing about the desert, I never have been able to understand. No matter where a person is driving, there is always someone walking on the shoulder of the road. I have been 50 miles from the nearest anything, there are a lot of places isolated like that, and someone will be walking. I have looked across the desert and seen groups of 4-6 and more people walking in the blazing sun with an old gallon milk jug filled with warm water. Most of the time the people were walking north from Mexico, entering the country to find work in the fields of the Southwestern United States. One other strange thing is no matter where a person is there are boats in yards everywhere, but there is no water.

Water is the lifeblood of the desert, typically drinking a minimum of one gallon of water every day, still, the crew I worked with would suffer from dehydration. Flies die at 120 degrees F. they are attracted to water when a puddle is made instantly it is covered in flies. It's a life and death situation not only for the smaller insects and creatures but for humans also. It is hot outside and the heat is extremely taxing when working in it.

(Follow this Link to FEMA's water recommendations.)

The companies in business in the Coachella Valley are aware of the dangers of hot ambient temperatures. As an example, we worked outdoors at a power generation plant, a biomass burning wood waste from the Los Angelos area. The company I worked for had a rule, we worked outside for 1/2 hour then rested in the air-conditioned shop for 3/4 of an hour. Still drinking lots of water, spiked with energy drinks. There would be a safety meeting once a month, a doctor would be there regularly to talk, and answer questions about the heat. It was informative at the least and life-saving at best, I ascribe to the later, it was life-saving. "Stay Hydrated", was our battle cry as we sweated profusely in our soaked clothing. The wet clothes were a blessing as well, it is easy to monitor the loss of minerals in our systems by the white deposits left as the moisture dried away. That would be an alarm our bodies needed attention.

A typical wood fuel pile, that's a lot of wood.

Energy drinks were a common subject, they add electrolytes to our water enabling our bodies to catch up with the deposits on our clothing. However there is a danger in the energy drinks as well, the Doctor would brief us on that as too. He told us to not drink the solution exclusively or straight, dilute with 50 percent water, which I did and still do to this day. In fact, a pint of Gator-aide in a gallon of water suited me just fine. Still, when all of the precautions are adhered to danger still lurks in the heat, dehydration is unpredictable. I worked with a man from Texas, he was a hard worker and being from that Southern State no stranger to the heat. He like the rest of us drank copious amounts of water all day long, we sweated but rarely expelled water in any other way. On a particularly hot day, we were on the side of a huge wood pile working on a piece of equipment when he went down. His eyes rolled back, mouth opened, and down he went, we all sprung into action. Part of our training was as "first responders", due to the distance we were out of town it took the fire department 1/2 hour to get to us. We had to be "self-reliant" on our crew, and we were. Three of us carried James off of the wood pile, we had no vehicle so we carried him the 300 yards or so to the shop. He lost conscience but did not stop breathing or enter into shock, soon after getting him into the cool air he came around just about the time the paramedics arrived. He ended up being OK, a real demonstration that no matter how acclimated we thought we were to the climate the dangers still existed.

(This Link will lead to Wiki how's page on dehydration treatment.)

I am aware in the hot climates most people will tell there loved ones to "stay hydrated" when they leave the house in the morning for whatever their day will bring them. I am not sure if that sentiment is common throughout the country but I am confident it is in the Western States. FEMA's recommendation is that we need a minumum of 1/2 gallon a day of water for survival, that is a wide brush stroke. That amount of water may be fine at 75 degree weather with a slight breeze, or working indoors but every situation should be looked at on it's own merits. I have lived in sub-zero weather where I did not drink hardly any water all day long, and I have also lived in high temperature regions where a gallon of water was not enough. We must not wait until we are thirsty to drink water, sipping all day long rather than gulping at 1/2 hour intervals is preferable. Resting when overheated and the proper clothing is also of the utmost importance when living in the heat.

Being from a Northern State I have a hard time understanding why more Westerners do not wear broad brimmed hats. This sun is intense and relentless beating down on an unprotected bare head. Likewise with long sleeve shirts, sun screen, and dark glasses, all designed to protect us from the deadly ultra-violet rays of the life giving and stealing sun. With the low humidity comes relief in the shade, when under a tree, or in broken sunlight, the ambient temperature will be 20 degrees less than the sunny side. Setting up sunscreens is important while being in the sunlight as well. Tarps, umbrellas, and the shade of a tree are all welcome retreats when enjoying a cool drink of water. We had air conditioned bulldozers and other heavy equipment, however, some of the smaller tractors had no protection from the heat at all. Umbrellas are available for mounting next to the drivers seat and supplies shade, but still, we were limited to 1/2 hour in the sun, then 3/4 hours in the shop.

The hat is fine, the dark clothing however
doesn't play well in over 100-degree temperatures.

The shop was (and still is I'm sure) fully air conditioned, as was the fire box. During the summer we would experience emergency repairs, the heat is hard on everything in the desert. Outside the temperature would easily exceed 110 F. inside the boiler it was a comfortable 75 degrees, air-conditioned. Without it being cool inside there would have been no way we would have been able to stay inside working, easily it would have reached temperatures of 150 degrees. The fire box was 150 feet tall, we worked the entire height from a giant scaffold for 12-16 hours every day until the "outage" was complete, it would never have happened without air conditioning. Our crew would retreat to the beaches of San Diego, (2 hours away) at least twice a month for the six summer months, the cool ocean air and beautiful cooling sea water would recharge our batteries.

Yesterday in San Diego it was 108 degrees, 120 in Palm Springs, it would not be much of a reprieve but the cool ocean water would be. Roasting on the coast from Santa Barbara south is predicted for this weekend as well, the beaches will be packed. Stay hydrated will be the greeting many people will have for friends, neighbors, and loved ones. Travel on the freeways will be tested, the heat is hard for cars to deal with also, it is advisable to not travel unless it is vital. Keep lots of water in the vehicle, more is better than less, stored in a chest with just enough ice to keep it cool. Drink plenty of it, and bring a few containers of an energy drink as well, moderation like everything else is best. Drink Gator-aid sparingly and follow it up with generous amounts of aqua, lots of water.

A mistake I made through ignorance of chemistry, I suppose it would be called, was when I executed an idea to make a "batch" of one of the electrolyte drinks. I saw the water cooler and thought it was a good idea if I were to take a powdered packet and mix it in the 5 gallon container of water. I thought we would have a cold drink and it would be better when Gator-aid was a part of it. I remember that the color of the concoction was green, it remained in the water cooler over night. Now I don't know what caused this to happen, but it did, and I felt bad and frankly really kind of dumb. The first person to drink from the water cooler took a long drink, it was in his stomach for about 1/2 of a second when suddenly he vomited. All I can figure is there was some algae or bacteria or something in the bottle or register that interacted with the drink and made it something else which was toxic. I learned at least two things from that, one of course was to not put that stuff in a water cooler bottle. The second is to clean the cooler once in a while. I caution people often to not to make the same mistake, and to clean the water bubbler on occasion.

Thank you for reading and sharing this article, de-hydration is a serious and far too often deadly consiquence of high outdoor temperatures. It is advisable to stay indoors during the hottest parts of the day, venture out in the early mornings and late evening just before dusk. Drink plenty of water and yes "Stay Hydrated". Thanks again.

jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com