Two posts in the span of two days, this is insanity.
Normally, I’m the kind of girl who posts once a week. Maybe twice a month, or less if I’m really caught up in my own head. But, today, I find myself itching to write another post and come here and “talk” to all of you. Today, I’d like to talk a little bit about heat intolerance.
Before I came into work today, the temperature for my little slice of the USA read almost 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Now, before anyone tells me that one-hundred degrees is hot, I know. However, unlike most people, my range of comfortable temperatures is 62-68 degrees. Anything higher or too much lower than that, has me feeling like absolute garbage. I will literally start screaming like an attack helicopter.
When I’m too hot, it is an instant headache, with dizziness, weakness in all of my limbs, stomach cramping, and the kind of nausea that has you questioning whether or not you’ve drank three-week-old milk. I get confused. Everything hurts, and I get so tired that I just need to curl up, lay down, and sleep it off if I can, or I’ll vomit. From there, I may even pass out if I’m not able to lower my body temperature.
So, it’s fair to say that summer is not my favorite time of year.
Before I came into work this evening, I spent less than 15-minutes upstairs because we didn’t have our air conditioning on yet. Which means hiding in my basement, where the temperature is generally 15-20 degrees cooler than the rest of the house. Because staying in a cool environment, staying hydrated with iced drinks, and wearing lightweight clothing isn’t always an option. I wish it were but in heat like this, I could walk around in my nightshirt and still overheat.
Heat intolerance can lead to heatstroke and heat exhaustion. These are very serious forms of heat injury, marked by high body temps, altered mental state or behavior, alterations in sweating, nausea, vomiting, flushed skin, rapid breathing, an increased heart rate, and a headache. If you believe someone is experiencing heatstroke, seek immediate medical help. Try your best to cool the overheated person off while waiting for emergency treatment, get them into the shade or indoors, remove excess clothing, and cool them with whatever means you have available to you. Heatstroke can cause vital organ damage and even death if it isn’t delt with properly.
So please, please, please don’t go around telling people that it’s “not that hot” or “if you lost weight, you wouldn’t be so uncomfortable” because that’s fucking rude, and it’s not okay. I have heat intolerance, and it’s one of the many symptoms of my chronic illnesses. Try not to be an asshole if you don’t know someone’s story.
-Sky
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