A thread for those who struggle in the warmer weather

[Playplayaway]

Sorry if there's already a thread. I cant see one. With the weather forecasted to get warmer I thought I'd start a thread for those of us who struggle with heat. I remember from previous threads there are a few of us with illnesses such as asthma, eczema, allergies and other illnesses that get worse in summer. Also for those who live in homes that retain the heat such as town houses, flats south facing etc that want advice on how to keep their homes cooler. Or just those that really hate being hot!

It's very warm here today in the South East. It says it's 19 but when the sun came out it felt a lot warmer in my sunny front garden, and very muggy with no breeze.

We removed all our carpets downstairs and replaced with hard wood and tile last autumn so I'm hoping it makes a difference this year to the inside temps. The fans are still in the loft so far. I went shopping today and put a load of easy to cook stuff and a few iced treats in the freezer. We try not to use the oven too much in the summer as it heats up our little kitchen. We have the slow cooker, microwave and air fryer.

How is everyone else preparing?

Oh ... and there are always a few posters who say 'Stop moaning and enjoy the lovely weather!' This isn't a moaning thread. It's a thread for those who genuinely struggle in the heat and want to share advice etc.

I'm in! I'm autistic with sensory processing disorder and heat just makes my whole body have meltdowns and cry a lot. I just feel awful in hotter weather; I don't seem to be able to adapt like most people do, and have tried lots of exercise, medication and almost every kind of therapy (except hypnosis which I might look into this year). I'm slightly underweight now, but that hasn't helped either.

Last year I bought a portable air conditioner and it was a godsend. I'm really worried about the environmental impact and costs, but it let me have a whole summer without needing to go off work sick from heat-related exhaustion, stress and issues. Fingers crossed hoping it hasn't developed mildew or mould in storage 🤞

Can I suggest that we just ignore the ignorant ploppers who routinely come on to these threads to exclaim in disbelief or to insult everyone? Every single year without fail, like wasps buzzing round being right wankers for no reason

Yay I've found my people!!

Absolutely hate summer and actually start getting a bit anxious when the temp gets to around 20, sticky suncream, wasps, sweaty, flies. Just uurgh.

I do however like the cool mornings and evenings of summer pottering I the garden.

I don't see the appeal of beach holidays etc we live on the coast but never go the beach in the day only in tge eve in summer

I also cover from shoulders preferably elbows to knees all year round get some funny looks in summer but personally for me that's what I'm comfortable for modesty reasons.

Luckily our house is 200 years old so lovely and cool in summer but freezing I winter!

Forgot tips....

Cotton as much as possible, clothes, bedding etc

Keep curtains closed

Open loft hatch makes a big difference for us

If you can open front and back doors to get a through draft but watch other doors don't slam.

Insulated waterbottle a game changer we use klean kanteen and it really keeps water cold

Thank you for your post and your very wrong assumption that weight is my issue.

I have illnesses since birth that get worse in prolonged heat. I had my first asthma attack age 7 on the school field in the heat (1976 was a bastard of a summer). I was probably around 4 stone?

My dd is tiny and also asthmatic. It's her gcse year. It's no joke revising for and taking exams in hot dry conditions when you struggle to breathe.

I have no issues at 19 degrees. My op clearly states that I am preparing for the weather getting hotter. I need to prepare to keep myself and my dd well.

I do hope I've explained that well?

The ignorance around this astounds me.

*tackling

Can I suggest that we just ignore the ignorant ploppers who routinely come on to these threads to exclaim in disbelief or to insult everyone? Every single year without fail, like wasps buzzing round being right wankers for no reason Grin*

Absolutely. I'm so sorry my last post is rising to one of them. I just saw red at the ignorance.

Onwards and upwards! Let's get us all through the summer as happy and healthy as possible.

West Australian here.

In summer, I keep a face cloth or J cloth in the car. If I am wearing a dress, it goes up my clacker to soak up the sweat.

I keep a 3 litre insulated water bottle on the bench. In the morning, I put ice blocks in it and cold water and that’s what we drink. It saves opening the fridge often and making it work harder. Ice blocks are made of yoghurt pot sized containers as the larger the block, the slower it melts. Little ice blocks are a pain.

A previous poster asked about the black blind in the bedroom. Night shift workers here cut a piece of corrugated cardboard to fit the window and cover it with aluminium foil, shiny side out.

A good way to keep cool is to stop the sun reaching the house and windows in the first place. Deciduous vines over a pergola frame or a frame with shade cloth over it makes an enormous difference compared to nothing at all.

If you are redoing curtains, buy pelmets. Hot air rises and pelmets catch that hot air preventing it from moving into the room.

I have been known to keep two inches of water in the bath and just wash my feet throughout the day. If washing your face during the day, wash your ears, too. Your ears are designated to lose heat so help them along.

Bring a mattress into the coolest room and sleep there. That might even be a tiled hallway as the air moves best there. Don’t be stuck on sleeping in a hot bedroom just because its the bedroom.

I've moved a lot further north now, so don't suffer as much anymore. But a portable air con saved me before I moved, before I got it I use to just cry sometimes as I really do not cope well with the heat, but being able to keep one room cool afterwards helped me so much and was life changing tbh. Also pillowcase and very light pyjamas in freezer just before wearing them and a cool bath before bed.

I struggle with extremes on both ends of the temperature spectrum. I bought a portable air con two years ago and (like other posters said) it IS cumbersome and awkward, but it is so worth it. I'll never be without again.

I had it on all day, every day last summer and it only added £5 - £10 to my electricity bill, so I'm assuming about double that this year.

Maybe we should arrange a house swap, I’m up north and hate the cold 😂.

Our house is on a slight hill with absolutely no shade, so in the summer its a constant blast of dry, hot air through the windows. Also get loads of bugs with it.
On Amazon you can get heat-reflecting film for windows which I'm going to try this year. Curtains closed and windows open just does nothing here.

Good thread!
I have the opposite of the typical SAD condition so loathe the warmer weather/sunshine and the general ...you should be outside... attitude most people have! I get irritable, uncomfortable and have no energy for anything. No ability to focus either. Favourite season is autumn, cool/grey and i love the rain too. Not one of my friends understands why i am the way that i am. Happy to hear i dont seem to be alone feeling like this

Oh yes the amazing Italian homes. We need to start building homes like that here. Thick walls, tiny windows (none of this massive bi-fold craziness) high ceilings and tiled floors. Cool in summer, warm in winter. That's my project if I win the lottery!

Poor you. That looks so uncomfortable. People just don't get it do they - heat brings on some nasty conditions that affect the every day lives of many.

I hope this summer is kind to you.

I'm the object of jokes because I loath it too hot! I have to put up with ' it's so cold ' from hot weather friends , but they don't understand how I feel when I'm boiling hot myself and unable to function ( in heatwave weather )
I think we get a bad rep from olive skinned people who lap it up and look cool , I just don't and I'm so miserable.

Oh god finally found my tribe!

@Playplayaway I must be a similar age and size as you become I remember the summer of 76 scorcher in much the same way

I too am asthmatic and have taken steroids since the age of 13 so after 40 years am barrel shaped and suffer in the heat enormously, I’m allergic to almost every pollen/tree/mould going so summer is never fun and anaphylactic to wasps and ants

our house is over insulated and get the sun on the front from mid day regularly recording 38degrees which super heats the house

To the person who mentioned window film further up thread, it does work to a degree, in the rooms I fitted it the temp was about 3 degrees lower, I shall be fitting more this year

Ive made and fitted window nets that allow me to open windows without risking wasps in most windows and this helped a lot last year

i had Dyson fans which were great for the asthma but useless for cooling the house, we also have a ‘portable’ air on in our bedroom

a few years ago I actually resorted to buying a large dog cooling pad for my bed which worked for the first 30 mins of the night

Im team cotton for clothes and bedding, linen make me itch, I’ve also found bra liners from Amazon a godsend as a large chested woman

i recently saw an add for a water cooling system for your bed, a bit like an electric blanket you lie in but that pre chilled water is pumped around. It has great reviews but was about £500, if the menopause gets any worse I may just consider it

oh and I have one the neck fans and they’re fab

I can recommend M&S comfortably cool bedding, really nice stuff

im just about to make up a batch of snow cone syrups for the season. I have a little electric ice shaver. You can buy syrups, but it’s just as easy to make simple syrup and fill up some bottles with a simple syrup flavored with concentrated drink mix.

years ago I had a hand crank version that was sold as a children’s toy so the electric one feels quite fancy.

I struggle with both hot and cold. I have a sun allergy and once i’m hot I can’t cool down naturally, I tend to find I take cool showers 2-3x per day to manage it.

in the winter I need hot baths

I think we should recognise the difference between heat and humidity. Poor air quality and humidity I see as more of the issue in the UK.

I have tiles throughout most of downstairs - really helps (as per Mediterranean countries)

Keep curtains/blinds shut all day. Replace black blinds with white blackout to reflect heat.

I'm looking at buying some sail shades and hanging them vertically outside in front of two big windows on the south facing side of my house (even with blinds down these rooms still get warm). Would like some of those rollerblind shutters like you get in Europe, but too £££ here.

Keep all windows shut until the outdoor temp is lower than the indoor (basic weather station will tell you). Only then open windows and doors to get draft/refresh air. Curtains shut midday but windows open defeats the object...

Caraffe of water in fridge refilled after each use.

Yes higher temps generally mean poor air pollution here in the UK. Moving somewhere cleaner is something we're considering but jobs and schooling are keeping us here right now.

I've been on holidays to parts of Spain and Italy in where it's been well into the 30s but the air feels completely different. Also, the nights don't feel as oppressive, probably due to the buildings being designed to keep the heat out. Plus they see the value in having a nap in the hottest part of the day!

I’m ok at the moment but I really do struggle in heat. I don’t sweat (yes, like Prince Andrew, but really) so I just get redder and redder and hotter and hotter. And then bloating dreadfully. I keep cool by drinking masses of water and then going to the loo every five minutes for the rest of the day. And splashing water on myself.

Thankfully our house is cool (old with tall ceilings and hard floors).

I’m ok at the moment but I really do struggle in heat. I don’t sweat (yes, like Prince Andrew, but really).

The funny thing is that my husband hardly sweats but he seems to cope extremely well in extreme heat. He once went for a walk in Death Valley and returned none the worse for wear. It was 50 degrees.

It was a dry heat, so that may make a difference.

If I could move to Scotland I totally would! 22 degrees here today and our flat is warm already 😩 13% in Glasgow, I'm very jealous!