Happy Summer?

by Anna Christie

I’m spending a beautiful, sunny and warm day inside today working on this website. We’ve just gotten over a heat wave in Vancouver that had us all confined to tiny rooms with tiny air conditioners. Since six people live in our house it was a challenge. The grandkids, ages 9 and 6 went swimming every day at their other grandparents’ house which is a few blocks away and has a pool. Or they splashed in our “hot tub” which is now a “cool tub.” But my grandson also got heat stroke or heat exhaustion a few days which was hard on the little guy. I’ve had several clients text me that they were feeling the heat as well. Remember to stay hydrated by drinking water, but also stay in the shade. You can cool yourself down quickly by putting some ice in a wet towel and putting it on the back of your neck. This will cool down your core temperature.

A big thing to remember is not to leave a child or a dog (or any animal) in a car, not even for 5 minutes. Many people think that if the window is open and the dog has water that he’ll be ok. But the problem is not oxygen or water – it is the fact that cars heat up incredibly within 5 minutes. Your dog can be dead in 10. So leave Fido at home in the house or take him in the car only if you plan on taking him out when you arrive at your destination. We take our dogs to police dog competitions. In the heat wave which was up to 35C, people had to put their dogs in crates under trees in the shades. Inside the crate we have to have cooling mats which means the dog is basically lying on an ice pack.

So obviously, don’t leave a child in there either! Heat stroke is real – it can kill a person, so don’t be surprised if you feel pretty crappy if you get overheated. It’s not norovirus season so it’s doubtful that you have that. More than likely your core temp is so high that it’s making you nauseous. Now I know that you’re afraid of vomiting in the heat (and every other time) but it’s doubtful that you will if you never have before. People seem to be either pukers or not. My grandson throws up easily, and especially in the heat whereas his sister gets equally “ill” from it, but never throws up. As far as you’re concerned, if you’ve never thrown up from the heat before you won’t now. So enjoy your summer, stay cool and stay out of the sun. I really believe the reason I look 10 years younger than I am is because after my teenage years I stayed out of the sun. At 63 now I just have ONE wrinkle between my eyebrows. Sometimes I joke it’s from doing this for so long:

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