Tuttle Did It

I start passing out from heat stroke around 12°. This morning, when I took my dog out at 3 am, it was 24. It’s going to get much worse today. I know a lot of places are experiencing similar heat waves, even if it’s not the exact same numbers.

PSA— things to do right now.

Stay indoors/in the shade as much as possible.

Please drink water. Take water everywhere you go. If it all possible, take some electrolytes with you. They have sachets and little dissolvable coins of electrolytes. You can plop them in some water, drink it. Drink water.

Please wear suncream. 50+ is ideal. Reapply every few hours. Yes, even if you are going to be indoors all day, if there is a window, or fluorescent lights around you, you can be getting UV exposure. Yes, you should be wearing this every day all year if possible.

All of you people who are concerned about wrinkles and fine lines and sun spots, you could spend a hell of a lot less on all these expensive serums and treatments if you just wear suncream every day.

If at all possible, please take a UV protection parasol/umbrella – preferably a parasol that has a UV protection on it. I have umbrellas/parasols that have UV protection on them, I use them every single day. Rain shine doesn’t matter you will see me under a giant UV 50 parasol. In this sun exposure, even a non-UV umbrella will give you better protection than nothing. And, happily, UV parasols/umbrellas can actually decrease the heat that you feel when you are directly under the shade.

If you have one of those little handheld USB fans, – or even a hand fan, remember to charge those and put them in your bags before you leave the house.

Slow down. A lot of people seem to think they can go at full speed and full pace when it is this hot outside. And then they end up overdoing it, and burning themselves out. Slow down. Rest if you have to, sit if you need. A lot of people – normally healthy people – end up in hospital or even dying because they keep going and ignore all the signs.

If you have pets, please check the recommendations from your local Vets on whether or not it is safe to take them out. And again, do not leave that house without water for them. Try to stay in the shade and on grass, and remember that it doesn’t take much to burn their paws on that pavement.

And don’t fucking leave your pets in the car. It takes seconds for them to overheat and die in cars. Every year, some fucking idiot leaves their animals in their car “just for a minute” so they can go grab something at the shop shops. Never do this. No matter what the weather, never do this. But fucking especially never do this in the middle of a heat wave.

Don’t forget to order some dehydration liquid for animals. In the UK, we have one called oralade. Get a couple of those bottles, keep them in your cabinets. Because it could very well save their life if they end up getting dehydrated.

How to tell if it’s too hot to walk your dog.

Resource for checking heat stroke and pets.

Fire safety. If you are somewhere where it has been very dry for quite some time, when these temperatures time to skyrocket, the chances of fires can also skyrocket. Be very careful where you flick your cigarette fags, for example. If there’s been a very mild winter, and everything is dry, it just takes a matter of seconds to start that fire.

If you are in a place that is very crowded, and tends to overheat – somewhere like the London underground, bus terminals, et cetera – places with a lot of people and not a lot of airflow, it is especially important to remember to have water and a fan with you. Especially the underground, which can shut off sometimes.

Take as much water with you as possible. Drink as much water as possible. Refill the water as much as possible. Set alarms in your phone every two hours or so to make yourself drink water. Make a challenge between you and your friends of how much water you can drink and how much you can pee in one day. Do whatever you need to do to make yourself drink water.

Signs of heat stroke in people.

I know not all of this is possible for everyone. For example, in addition to being allergic to the actual sun, I am allergic to suncream. I have not found one yet that does not disagree with my body. So it’s doubly important for me to have a parasol with UV protection

So this isn't a rant, but it is an FYI comment, because a lot of people don't understand why the heat hits us as bad in Europe. (and yes I will still include the UK in the EU because geographically, the UK has always been tied to Europe. Also, fuck Brexit). I pass out at 12C from heat exhaustion. I'm particularly vulnerable because I am literally allergic to the sun and have a whole collection of chronic illnesses that make me quite fragile the moment it hits 11C I start getting dizzy.

But as for all the 'normal' people who are struggling with this heat, they're not just being silly over 70F (which is about 21C and most people here really like that temperature).

Right now it's currently 28C outside, which is not 70, it's 82.4. The reader inside my house is 31C. With 73% humidity. It's 13 degrees above average for what it normally is right now. It's forecast to go up to 33C on Thursday. That's quite high for us. People are hospitalised at these temperatures. Animals die. Under the wrong conditions, so do people.

Yesterday I was talking to a neighbour. Some of the paint on her car has been burnt off by the sun this year. It was a really large spot, as well-- about the size of a sleeping large cat or small dog. That much damage has been done in just the last few months from this heat. It's not even July, but her car is melting from the heat. It will get much worse in July-October. It's cracking because our little street has turned into a magnifying glass from the long row of attached houses, the parked cars and all the windows, and the paint is literally cracking and peeling off her car because the heat has been so bad. The heat has no where to go so it just keeps bouncing off the metal and glass.

I had a lot more about about why we Europoors struggle so much-- most of it comes down to the way our cities, neighbourhoods and houses are constructed. I'll post it all if you want but it basically comes down to the physical construction of our living spaces being unsuitable to handle these temperatures.

#I hope y'all are staying safe #drink plenty of water #if you don't have ac you can hang some wet towels in an open window if there's a breeze #it'll cool the air coming into your home #and rest please #I used to work in. warehouse that would get up to 100+ f in the summer and had to take frequent breaks so if you feel out of breath/clammy #/lightheaded then you need to get somewhere cool to rest

Thank you! I hope everyone stays safe. Heatstroke can happen EXTREMELY easily.

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