UNITED STATES—A vast majority of the United States has been dealing with some extreme heat lately. For me I have never and will never be a fan of heat or summer. Out of the four seasons and depending on what part of the country that you live in summer can be absolutely unbearable. Sometimes you have dry heat, other times you have humid heat. I’m a firm believer that humidity can make the heat worse. Why?

You are just uncomfortable and no matter what you attempt to do to cool yourself down you find yourself in this situation where it becomes very difficult to cool down especially if you work outdoors. I feel for people who have to work outdoors in the extreme heat because a lot of the time they have to wear clothing and safety gear that adds more weight and clothing to the body, which means when it is hot outside, your body will sweat more.

Yeah, you can have a cool bottle of water, but that subdues you for a period of time, so when that heat flares back up, you’re hot again. You’re sweating again, you’re trying to find shade, you’re trying to stay hydrated, but it is NOT as easy as you hope for it to be people. Recently, I had a trip to Las Vegas and whew, I will never head back to that city during the summer months. It was 100 plus degrees every single day the entire time I was there. At 7 and 8 o’clock in the morning it was already 90 degrees, but 10 it was already 100 degrees.

You walk the Las Vegas Strip for a few minutes and you’re blistering in sweat, you’re hot, you’re uncomfortable, you just cannot catch a break and that is no fun people, no fun at all. This sentiment can be echoed for many in Southern California, Arizona and Texas who have had to deal with temperatures lately over 100 degrees, some places reaching between 110 and 125 degrees.

Imagine a heatwave of that magnitude for nearly a week or longer. Talk about uncomfortable, that is just brutal. Now imagine you do not have air conditioning or central air, dealing with the heat is even worse. You can rely on a fan, but when it is hot do you know what a fan does? It simply kicks out hot heat; it is NOT cool air people. With central air or air conditioning, at some point you will get chilly and you will want to warm up, so the point I’m getting at is when it’s hot, excessively hot, cooling down is near impossible people.

Yes, you can go swimming and take a dip in the water on the beach, but it will NOT keep you cool for a moment, but when the heat is on it is on. So some tips to stay cool in excessive heat: 1) wear light clothing 2) wear light fabrics 3) don’t overdress 4) find shade 5) stay hydrated 6) don’t be afraid to stay inside 7) don’t leave kids or pets in a vehicle 8) if you’re feeling unwell seek medical attention.

Written By Zoe Mitchell