Oh what a night...

[russian blue]

Like some of the other regions of the world Toronto has been under a huge humidity/smog/heat alert for the last few days. I'm currently renovating an old house and do not have air conditioning.

Last night I thought I seriously was going to die. It reached a high of 90F in my house. My sister gave me a portable air conditioning unit which absolutely did nothing since it's a small unit. My body felt like it couldn't keep up and I seriously thought I was going to have to go to the ER. I've never had heat stroke but it almost felt like a panic attack. I took a really long cold shower at 4 am which helped a bit.

There is a severe storm warning for Toronto which will hopefully bring temperatures down to normal. I now have a migraine and will be going back to bed (I get weather related migraines).

I can't even imagine what the elderly are going through but this isn't healthy for anyone.

Sorry, just needed to vent. For all those people who think Canada is a big block of ice....you're wrong!!!!!

 

[kittylover4ever]

Oh Kass, so many of us know what your going through........hang in there! I hope the storm does help you!!!

 

[marie-p]

I know the feeling. I'm in Montreal and yesterday, with humidex, it hit 47C (That's 116F) and today should be almost as bad. And of course I have no air conditioning

I've had heat stroke / sun stroke / dehydration before and it's horrible. Until a few days ago, I kept having dizzy spells, I was often feeling numb and had an overall weird feeling. I think it's because I had been sweating so much... I had lost to much water and too much salt. After a day of drinking gatorade and water and eating some pretzels, I was feeling a lot better.
Usually lots of water and a little bit of salty food helps me in cases of heat-related problems.

 

[icklemiss21]

My cousin in Australia called yesterday to ask if our igloos were melting because they mentioned the extreme heat on the news over there

Hopefully it will get cooler, we have been sleeping in the spare room as it is much smaller using a window A/C unit which has helped a little, but I also get those weather related headaches and have felt sick for the last few days.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a high of 26 so just 1 more day, its already 41c here with humidity/heat index and isn't supposed to go down until tonight. I didn't want to get off the GO train this morning it was so cold

 

[yosemite]

I got a new (to me) car last Friday with AC that works!

Since I haven't really had a car with AC before I never really thought much about it - but with this heat, I'm now hooked on AC. I even had to put it on this morning on the way in to work as it was already 30 degrees.

I too feel light-headed and queasy - we northern folks just arent' used to this kind of heat.

 

[hopehacker]

I feel sorry for you. We in California went through the extreme heat for more than 2 weeks straight. It started cooling down to normal levels this past weekend. For us normal is about 86/87 degrees. I think the worst part of our heat, was that we had humidity, which is something most of us aren't used to. Here in California, the heat is usually a dry heat, which is a lot more bareable to humid heat.

I don't have A/C either, not even in my car. (The A/C in the car is broken), so I didn't get one moments relief from the heat, when we were having the heat wave.

 

[alikatt]

The heat is bad everywhere it seems. Being from Georgia, I know how bad the humidity is here. Average high lately has been 93-95, but when you add in the heat index, and humidity, it makes the temp. over 100, then with the humidity, you feel like you are suffocating when you go outside, and it clings to every surface of your body.

 

[starryeyedtiger]

I now have that "oh what a night" song stuck in my head lol....Anyways, i totally feel your pain on the heat- Memphis is like a sauna!!!! It's been such a hot summer! And we can't seem to get enough rain- it'll only happen once in a blue moon, and it's been really scattered- so all of the grass and plants are dried out- this week a loose wire by the power company hit some dry grass and started a small fire (nothing major- the fire dpt did an awesome job of putting it out....but quite a few street lights were out a while ) So i definitely sympathize. Sometimes when it gets really bad, i'll put a shirt or other clothes in the freezer a little damp and let them chill and then put them on- sounds weird, but it cools ur body down. Those little hand held fans are alright too if it's really hot. I hope it cools down for you soon

. Try to stay cool ,and if you think you're having a heat stroke- please get to the hospital (i've had 2 in my life, and they're nothing to mess around with- i had them when i was little). ~Sending you cool vibes~

 

[starryeyedtiger]

I also noticed that someone posted about salt earlier. That is a really good idea in the heat- When you sweat, your body looses sodium and water....so you need to replinish your sodium levels by eating salty foods- crackers, chips, pretzels, salted nuts...all are good sources, and drinking plenty of water and gatoraide. I personally have Vertigo- and when my salt levels go down, i faint, pass out, get dizzy spells- the whole 9 yards....so i eat a high-sodium diet to manage it. It definitely helps in the heat

Good luck.

 

[pushylady]

phew this heat is doing me in! No a/c for me either. I'm worried about my cats - we've been taking them outside more as it's actually cooler down there.
I got heat exhaustion once where I very nearly fainted. It's really important to take care in this heat.
I'm going to try freezing my clothes! Never thought of that!

 

[cat_eyes]

I herd from people on here that you could put a cool towel around your neck.
I put ice cubes in the towel. and i have Ice cubes already made. I just put salt on them is like having chips!

 

[lucat]

It's horrid here so unusual for the mts. to be this hot & humid-supposed to break tonight & start cooling down tomorrow-hope so because I just returned from an emergency vet trip with Lukas -was having some problems -vomiting & not himself -vet said was definitely heat-related -everything else checked out ok-so Lukas & I are takig time to ride in car with A/C & giving him some nice cool "baths" -one thing he said to be careful with food being left out including dry for free-feeders -not a good idea -& to make sure water is changed frequently-

 

[miss mew]

Hang in there Kass!! there is supposed to be some relief tomorrow, and I agree with the others on the gatorade thing. I always drink lots of water anyways, but when it's this hot I add in the gatorade

 

[starryeyedtiger]

Originally Posted by pushylady

phew this heat is doing me in! No a/c for me either. I'm worried about my cats - we've been taking them outside more as it's actually cooler down there.
I got heat exhaustion once where I very nearly fainted. It's really important to take care in this heat.
I'm going to try freezing my clothes! Never thought of that!

I hope that works for you. I do that on days when it's really hot and it always keeps me cool. I also like to fill up the bathtub with cold water and ice cubes and some yummy scented bath beads and turn on the jets to circulate the cool water. Also, frozen fruit is a yummy way to stay hydrated- green grapes are awesome frozen, so are pineapple chuncks and raspberries

. Good luck!

 

[russian blue]

Thanks everyone for all your feedback.

I'm doing better now especially that the migraine is over. Heat + Migraine = Feeling like death warmed over.

They are still calling for a storm to go through tonight to bring better temperatures. Right now with humidity it's 44C or 111F in Toronto.

Originally Posted by HopeHacker

For us normal is about 86/87 degrees. I think the worst part of our heat, was that we had humidity, which is something most of us aren't used to.

Toronto must be one of the top cities for high humidity in the summer. I agree that a dry heat is much more manageable.

Originally Posted by StarryEyedTiGeR

So i definitely sympathize. Sometimes when it gets really bad, i'll put a shirt or other clothes in the freezer a little damp and let them chill and then put them on- sounds weird, but it cools ur body down.

Ha......I never thought of that. I can just see Rob's face if he reached into the freezer and pulled out a shirt or bra instead.

 

[starryeyedtiger]

Originally Posted by Russian Blue

Ha......I never thought of that. I can just see Rob's face if he reached into the freezer and pulled out a shirt or bra instead.

lol, Colin's never complained before

lol, i bet Rob wouldn't mind eithor- just make sure you don't put granny panties in with the ground beef- stick to something lacy and you'll be safe

lol.