ruhe sanfte, sanfte ruh

This is a parasite that usually causes about 3000 cases of illness per year in the USA, Michigan currently has reported about 2900 (the confusion about “Michigan outbreak” is because Michigan is the first that caught an uptick in cases and has been very proactive about trying to trace them). Last official update from Massachusetts was 18 cases here centered in Greater Boston. The CDC recommends NOT assuming there are no sources of the parasite in your state even if no cases have been reported.

It isn’t an unknown illness but it is an unusual quantity of cases, and the fact that they haven’t been able to pin down the source after weeks of tracking is what makes it particularly concerning this year (harder to contain).

Heat exhaustion is quite literally your body getting too hot and Exhausting itself to cope. Heatstroke is your body Failing To Cope.

Heat Exhaustion signs include:

You get a headache that Will Not Go Away

You feel confused and dizzy (balance who? Idk her)

You don't feel hungry but you feel sick as well (this sucks and happens a lot in high heat so try and snack regularly)

Sweating and clammy skin like the kind that has people go "you're freezing!" because you've sweated so much you literally end up with a chill on your skin

Cramps. Feckin cramps. Arms. Legs. Stomach. They suck ass.

You have a heckin fast pulse or you're hyperventilating like you've just had a Scare

Your body temp is over 38°c (because you're literally boiling like a lobster in a pot)

You are Beyond Thirsty and no matter what you drink it Does Not Abate

If you end up experiencing any of these symptoms, or multiple, and you're in a hot/warm environment, then sit your ass down in the shade, get something to drink, and get a damp cloth on your head or a change of clothes that are cool.

Basically, stop what you're doing and give your body a chance to Not Keep Boiling

Heat exhaustion is NOT THE SAME as a heatstroke.

Heatstroke is So Much Worse™.

Heatstroke signs include:

Still feeling like utter shite 30 minutes after you sat your ass down, rested in a cool place, and rehydrated

Not actually sweating even though you really do feel like a lobster in a pot that has the heat up High

Your body temp is 40°c+ (which is bad btw, that's temp for causing your to pass out etc)

Hyperventilating/fast breathing or actual shortness of breath (I struggle with this because asthma so I'm always like "idk if I got this oops)

Feeling confused but in a like "I don't know what's going on, I can't think, I have no idea about anything, someone help me please I'm crossing into traffic and don't even realise" way

Having a fit/seizure because your body temp is so high your brain is Actually Getting Boiled In Your Skull 🙃 [upside down smiley emoji]

Passing out and not actually responding or waking up from a brief fainting spell (this is the Serious™ kind of passing out that has doctors going "oh shit, we need an IV STAT!" or whatever it is they say when Shit Is Going Down)

Heatstroke can be really dangerous if it isn't treated quickly so please don't ignore these signs. Right now, I'm in a cool environs, with hydration, and am avoiding moving and am gonna have a nap because I'm going very dizzy, can't focus properly, have a headache, and am only coherent here because I'm HyperFocusing on this post. I can't even understand words being said to me right now hence nap, hydration, and cool environs.

Some additional hot weather tips

If you have low blood sugar, but are having a hard time eating because you feel crappy from the heat, try sucking on some hard candy

If possible, after you get out of the sun/heat drink Gatorade or something similar to replenish what you've been loosing from sweating

When drinking water or Gatorade (no matter what you have it is important to stay hydrated!) it is important to drink slowly, even if you are very thirsty, because if you drink too fast the water might come back up

In hot weather, bandanas are very useful, even as a preventative measure, because you can pour some water from you bottle (or anything else) on them, and then put them on your head (as mentioned above) or neck. A few other areas help as well, like armpits, but I would personally recommend your neck.

It is not recommended to use a fan at or above 99°f or 35°c, because they can actually start to make the heat worse. (I know these are different temps, the recommendations come from different governments, 35°c is around 95°f, but this also depends on conditions like humidity, so just use your best judgement with this info)

Most importantly, if you think you are getting heat stroke call 911 or your equivalent, heat stroke kills several people each year, even in my area, where it normally only gets to 100°f for a few days each year

For fahrenheit users,

38°c = 100.4°f

40°c = 104°f

It's why it's so important to rest and keep hydrated when it's warm. I hope you eventually felt better and maintained your hydration levels with water and other fluids.

I had three days of feeling the after effects of heat exhaustion myself and felt like I had a cold, a constant headache, and random chills all at the same time as having a dry throat, not sweating properly, dizziness, and even muscle cramps from the rapid dehydration I experienced.

In general, to anyone who sees or reblogs this:

It's really important to take care of yourself, both immediately after you recognise you've got heat exhaustion, and in the long term. It can affect you for days after.

Please take care of yourselves aka TAKER:

Take breaks

Avoid too much sun

Keep hydrated

Eat regularly

STAY IN SHADE.

HYDRATE.

EAT IN EARLY HOURS AND LATE EVENING.

NAP WHEN YOU GOTTA.

Key Takeaways:

Trans women more likely to be unemployed than trans men or enbies but trans women and enbies had much higher full time employment rates than trans men, suggesting much more temporary and part time work among trans men. All were at least 2-5x the unemployment rate of cis queer peers

Disability is one of the greatest factors for quality of life decrease, with a lot of disabled trans people

Over half of trans women had taken medical intervention, a bit under half of trans men, and only a fraction of enbies. Despite this, more trans women than men found they didn’t need medical intervention, with enbies overwhelmingly saying they don’t pursue medical transition

Study skewed young but the youngest respondents had staggeringly poor rates, suggesting that young folks are in much worse positions than adults

Nonbinary people are rapidly becoming one of the largest portions of trans respondents, dispelling the idea that enbies are rare in trans spaces—with this being the largest trans study, the first to include asexual people, and the first ive seen to be made up of mostly nonbinary folks. With all nonbinary subtypes accounted for: 65% of respondents were not binary trans people

Asexuality is much more common than expected among trans respondents and also is not as rare in cis queer people as expected either, suggesting severe undercounting

Trans men tended to come out earlier but were less likely to pursue medical transition than trans women, and not by their own choice

The biggest source of homelessness among youth was relationship to family, which ranged across various trans identities—it had little to do with WHO the trans person was

The biggest compounding factors for trans struggles besides disability have been: 1. Race 2. Migrant status

Across gender lines, trans men had the highest suicide rates, but trans migrants of a variety of genders had significantly higher rates of mental health struggles and suicidality

When it comes to medical discrimination, it was fairly even across binary gender lines, but much higher for intersex trans folks, and even higher in general for trans people of color regardless of gender

In school, gym, and sports, trans girls were much more likely to be discussed, but trans boys were exponentially barred from locker rooms, teams, and facilities. It seems while there is more scrutiny on trans women, they are less likely to be out at this age, so trans boys are the ones being openly penalized, while trans girls are staying closeted in sport. This privileges neither group.

Trans women were the highest subgroup to report violence committed by strangers, with 1 in 5 trans women reporting having been the subject of violence at least twice.

Trans people of color and trans migrants reported significantly higher instances of violence from police, with that number likely being under-reported

In every category, race and migrant status played a much bigger role than gender alone

MY Big Takeaways:

Asexuals and intersex people are still grossly under-considered

Yall are fighting about who has it worse between trans men and women like that's all there is and here is the biggest study on trans people and nonbinary subgroups--even just "nonbinary" alone-- drastically outnumber you. Consider us for once.

This study implies or outright contradicts multiple instances that are assumed to be privileged: a. Trans men are coming out earlier but facing the most extreme brutal circumstances as trans youth with little autonomy, especially from parents who consider trans boys to be girls and therefore property. It's the ROGD movement. Coming out earlier is actually hurting many of them worse than the rest of us, across multiple categories but many are not coming out by choice. b. Trans boys are gender minorities whether they come out or not, and so the "freedom" to pursue gender exploration comes more from a lack of ability to stay closeted than because it's "safer" to be out c. trans girls and women are staying closeted more because of the intense scrutiny of trans women, and this is not a privilege either d. trans women are actually more open to the idea of non-medical transition than trans men, both highlighting the damage of transmedicalist spaces and correlating to how for trans men, recognition of their gender is not just about affirmation, but about what they are barred from accessing when they cannot pass

Disability is a massively massively under-recognized intersection of trans experience, accounting for some of the most staggering results over and over. Disability is of course the most "accepting" axis of oppression, meaning that anyone can come to be disabled from any background, but disability does not go after everyone equally. Being under worse stress, being subject to the most physical violence, being discriminated against in healthcare or education or housing. Essentially: racism and migrant status!

AT EVERY AVENUE RACE PLAYED A BIGGER FACTOR THAN GENDER! DID YOU HEAR ME? AT EVERY AVENUE RACE PLAYS A BIGGER FACTOR THAN GENDER!!!!!

Youth oppression is playing a bigger role than misogyny alone, and a lot of the instances that correlate to why trans men are often eclipsing other groups is due to how society treats those it thinks are not just women but girls--aka misogyny and youth oppression

A theory with a lack of intersection that does not seek to understand how trans men and trans women overlap is a useless metric when over and over there is suggestion that areas where trans men or trans women "benefit" over the other are not actually privileging either of them and are either creating more opportunities for oppression or increasing scrutiny

I understand the frustration--hell, I'm screaming in the original post--but I also don't think the findings like this are nothing. Many categories looked into are there with the caveat that "this is the first survey to look at x" "there are no other studies that examine y" which means this is either the first or near first...but it won't be the last.

The results are so staggering but it comes from a big org with a lot of pull--that won't be for nothing.

More surveys will come, more studies will come, more conversations will come.

No, I don't think anyone who wants to ignore us will valiantly hang their head and apologize for their mistake, but it's not about just them. Anyone unsure will slowly be convinced. This has already been circulating around other trans and LGBT spaces. More will come from this. It's creating buzz. It's starting new conversations and giving weight to existing ones.

This is huge.

And not least of which because it tells us we were right. Take that comfort and run with it. Revel that we are right and not alone. If that's all this survey was good for, that would still be such a gift--but it isn't! This is just the beginning.

And in the meantime, hello friend, comrade, pardner! I see you! They see us!

if you are non-american then it can be dangerous to hold beliefs about your rights that are only applicable in the US.

i am australian and i have seen young australians have completely us-american perceptions on the rights they hold (or do not hold) in regards to protest, police officers, self-defense, medical care, higher education, debt, and legal proceedings. i am not talking about "boooo americans" i am talking about the genuine danger it might present to have us-centric assumptions in high-stakes situations