{"id":625667,"date":"2024-06-26T20:30:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-26T17:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/the-best-way-to-cool-down-quickly-and-safely-in-a-heat-wave\/"},"modified":"2024-06-26T20:30:02","modified_gmt":"2024-06-26T17:30:02","slug":"the-best-way-to-cool-down-quickly-and-safely-in-a-heat-wave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-best-way-to-cool-down-quickly-and-safely-in-a-heat-wave\/","title":{"rendered":"#The best way to cool down quickly and safely in a heat wave"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a349415c5670\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a349415c5670\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-best-way-to-cool-down-quickly-and-safely-in-a-heat-wave\/#Applying_cold_things_to_the_body\" >Applying cold things to the body<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-best-way-to-cool-down-quickly-and-safely-in-a-heat-wave\/#Fans\" >Fans<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-best-way-to-cool-down-quickly-and-safely-in-a-heat-wave\/#Hot_and_cold_drinks\" >Hot and cold drinks<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-best-way-to-cool-down-quickly-and-safely-in-a-heat-wave\/#Shade\" >Shade<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2024\/fan-3.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2024\/fan-3.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Credit: Pixabay\/CC0 Public Domain\">\n<figure class=\"article-img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2024\/fan-3.jpg\" alt=\"fan\" title=\"Credit: Pixabay\/CC0 Public Domain\" width=\"800\" height=\"530\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up text-truncate-js text-truncate mt-3\">\n                Credit: Pixabay\/CC0 Public Domain<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>As the heat wave begins to grip the UK and the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/cgrrjm496gpo\">heat health alert<\/a> is in effect, people are looking for ways to keep cool and reduce the risk of heat stroke\u2014the most severe form of hyperthermia, with a body temperature above 40\u00b0C.<\/p>\n<p>                                                                                                                                    Older adults, those with underlying health conditions and the very young are at greatest risk. Some of this arises because <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/23703052\/\">the young<\/a> and elderly have less efficient body systems to dissipate heat away from the body.<\/p>\n<p>Older people hold heat more than young people because their sweat glands don&#8217;t <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC2900329\/\">function as well<\/a> and their hearts don&#8217;t circulate blood as efficiently, so less heat is lost from the skin.<\/p>\n<p>Sweating is the most powerful way your body can remove heat. As sweat evaporates, it takes heat with it. In the heat, people can produce <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC8226773\/\">between a half to two liters<\/a> of sweat per hour.<\/p>\n<p>In temperatures where the air temp is above the body temperature, heat can be transferred from the air to the body, which produces an additional challenge in removing heat from the body.<\/p>\n<p>Aside from sweating, the other major way we lose heat is <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/30454590\/\">vasodilation<\/a> (a widening of the blood vessels) in peripheral tissues. In extreme heat, the skin can receive between <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4551211\/\">six and eight liters of blood per minute<\/a> to help carry heat away from central organs.<\/p>\n<p>Much of how the body responds is aimed at moving heat away from the major organs and the central nervous system to keep their temperature at as <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/books\/NBK331\/\">close to 37\u00b0C as possible<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>While sweating and vasodilation are effective, they are limited\u2014especially when temperatures stay high for several days.<\/p>\n<p>The best ways to reduce your temperature are ones that support the body&#8217;s existing mechanisms to remove heat.<\/p>\n<p>                                                                                                        <!-- Google middle Adsense block --><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Applying_cold_things_to_the_body\"><\/span>Applying cold things to the body<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">App<\/a>lying cold water or a cold damp sponge to the skin is effective in moving heat from the body. This is beneficial in people with limited mobility and older adults.<\/p>\n<p>Those who are able, can take a cool shower or bath. Evidence suggests that water that is <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/books\/NBK459311\/\">about 26\u00b0C or 27\u00b0C is optimal<\/a>. It is cool enough to take heat away from the body, but not cold enough to initiate shivering, which will generate heat. (Immersing in water that is too cold can also cause <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thelancet.com\/journals\/lancet\/article\/PIIS0140-6736(03)15057-X\/fulltext\">cold shock<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>Studies looking at the French heat wave of 2003 showed that cooling (using a mister, cool, or cold bath or shower, sponge bath, mechanical fan or air conditioner) may be <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jamainternalmedicine\/fullarticle\/413443\">beneficial<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/eurpub\/article\/16\/6\/583\/587693\">prevented heat-related deaths<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Ice or cool packs (a damp towel or cloth works just fine) can be applied to the body. The <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/associationofanaesthetists-publications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/full\/10.1111\/j.1365-2044.2008.05727.x\">groin, armpit<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC8800980\/\">neck, forehead<\/a>, wrists and torso are all areas that have plenty of blood vessels close to the surface. The cooled blood can then return to the major organs to bring the core temperature down.<\/p>\n<p>Ice or ice packs should be wrapped in a towel or something similar to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/10450486\/\">avoid burning the skin<\/a>. Cycling them on and off the body every ten minutes reduces the risk of injury.<\/p>\n<p>Partial filling of hot water bottle and placing in the freezer, to use at bedtime, or placing pillowcases in a plastic bag and into the freezer to chill them for bedtime may also help at night.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Fans\"><\/span>Fans<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thelancet.com\/journals\/lanplh\/article\/PIIS2542-5196(24)00030-5\/fulltext\">recent study<\/a> has shown that fans can improve the body&#8217;s sweat evaporation, but not significantly enough to help reduce the core body temperature. And this becomes even less so when ambient temperatures rise above 33\u00b0C, or for older people and those with an impaired ability to sweat.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Hot_and_cold_drinks\"><\/span>Hot and cold drinks<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Evidence from performance athletes exercising in temperatures of 28\u00b0C showed that <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/20694887\/\">chilled fluids at fridge temperature<\/a> were better at bringing down core temperatures than ice or temperature neutral liquids at 37\u00b0C.<\/p>\n<p>Drinking hot beverages activates the body&#8217;s mechanism to cool, but this will remove much-needed fluid from the body if you haven&#8217;t drunk enough, so chilled drinks are probably best in this situation.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Shade\"><\/span>Shade<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>All of these things are more effective in a cooler shaded area to increase the temperature gradient between the body and the ambient temperature. If you try these in the sun, they&#8217;re likely to be less effective as the ambient air is warmer in the sun meaning there is less capacity to take heat away or it happens more slowly.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, though, the evidence suggests <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/books\/NBK459311\/\">(ice) water immersion is the most effective way to cool off<\/a>\u2014which at home is most easily done by immersing feet or hands in a cool bowl of water. Water immersion is how many animals in hot weather and climates <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC9951680\/\">reduce their body temperature<\/a> by standing in water, so it&#8217;s a good technique for humans, too.<\/p>\n<p>But if you&#8217;re unable to do this, evaporation (mist and fan) is the next most effective.<\/p>\n<div class=\"d-inline-block text-medium my-4\">\n                                                Provided by<br \/>\n                                                                                                    The Conversation<br \/>\n                                                                                                        <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"icon_open\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\"><br \/>\n                                                        <svg><use href=\"https:\/\/medx.b-cdn.net\/tmpl\/v6\/img\/svg\/sprite.svg#icon_open\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\"\/><\/svg><\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                                                                                            This article is republished from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/the-best-way-to-cool-down-quickly-and-safely-in-a-heatwave-233274\">original article<\/a>.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/233274\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                                        <!-- print only --><\/p>\n<div class=\"d-none d-print-block\">\n<p>                                                 <strong>Citation<\/strong>:<br \/>\n                                                 The best way to cool down quickly and safely in a heat wave (2024, June 26)<br \/>\n                                                 retrieved 26 June 2024<br \/>\n                                                 from https:\/\/medicalxpress.com\/<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>\/2024-06-cool-quickly-safely.html<\/p>\n<p>                                            This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no<br \/>\n                                            part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script id=\"facebook-jssdk\" async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/science\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Science category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/medicalxpress.com\/news\/2024-06-cool-quickly-safely.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Credit: Pixabay\/CC0 Public Domain As the heat wave begins to grip the UK and the heat health alert is in effect, people are looking for ways to keep cool and reduce the risk of heat stroke\u2014the most severe form of hyperthermia, with a body temperature above 40\u00b0C. Older adults, those with underlying health conditions and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":625668,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2024\/fan-3.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-625667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sciencee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=625667"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625667\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/625668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=625667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=625667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=625667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}