To tell people NOT to take cool showers if they want to stay cool in the heat

[bumblingbovine49]

I don't much mind the heat generally myself but so many people are discussing the best ways to keep cool and I see advice to take cool showers all the time

I've posted this advice before but I think it is worth repeating. If you want to feel cool in a hot environment in a way that lasts longer, take warm ( or even hot if you can bear it) showers and baths

This is advice I was give by family who live in a climate that is constantly much hotter then ours and who don't have air con . I. have found their advice effective and always take a hot shower before bed on hot nights. When I get out of the hot shower, my bedroom seems to feel cool even if it in fact very warm in there and I don't start sweating again right away like I do after a cool shower.

I was pleased to see that this advice is backed by science

theconversation.com/health-check-do-cold-showers-cool-you-down-71004

Just though it may be worth a try if you are finding it too hot to sleep in the next few days

A cool shower definitely works.

Yes to tepid showers, it's the same when you have a temperature, tepid showers bring your temperature down. It was a staple when DS was young and had several severe tonsillitis inflections with soring temperatures.

What never fails is soaking my hair with cool water and leaving it sopping wet. The following slow evaporation pulls so much heat out of you. I also put on wet clothes (not at work!!); after the initial shock, the relief is bliss.

Hot showers to feel cooler! This has the same energy as my gran telling me 'you won't feel the benefit' if I didn't immediately strip off all my jumpers the moment I entered the house!

Tepid water is the way forward and the only thing that works for me to bring down a fever. Around 5 degrees lower than body temp.

I can't think of anything I'd want to do LESS in hot weather! Stupid advice.

I live in Australia so I feel like I speak with some authority. The idea of having showers as hot as you can bear is rubbish and not supported by the article. What works is when you are feeling hot you get in a cool/tepid shower until you feel relief and then gradually increase the hot water until it is warm. But absolutely not hot!

Nobody who lives in a hot climate is drinking loads of hot drinks or having hot showers to make themselves sweat. It’s disgusting and uncomfortable.

Could just have a cup of tea if you want to make yourself warm?

My husband says drinking hot tea makes him cool down. When the temperatures are in the 40s he drinks loads of hot tea. He bought a camping teapot so that he can make it when we are out and about.

Tepid. Take a tepid shower

Hot showers are not a good idea for the UK people who aren’t used to this heat.

They should be having tepid showers. This is because A) they aren’t acclimated to the heat B) hot showers aren’t a solution because even though you may feel it’s cooler, as the heat quickly leaves your body, you may get hot chills, sweat profusely and need to drink a lot of water consequently.

Close your curtains/blinds.
Only open windows after dark.
Eat light meals, like salad.
If you are acclimated to the heat, drink hot drinks! Otherwise, constant sips of iced water (as in drinking every few minutes) is better.
Light lawn or cotton clothes are better than anything as they are like wearing feathers! There’s a reason so many women in hot climates wear shalwar kameez and men wear their versions.
LED televisions throw out loads of heat. Listen to the radio!
Stay home between 10.30 and 3.30. In fact, use that time to sleep, stay up later/wake up earlier and do the things you can’t do in the day. Cooking, hang clothes out to dry, watch TV and above all, open the windows!
Heat rises. Make a game of “camping” in the living room and don’t make your poor kids sleep upstairs. Even the rare houses here that are 2 storey, the master is always downstairs. There’s a reason we live in single storey housing!

The article does make sense OP, but it runs counter to the advice given for treating someone with heat stroke. That is to either immerse them in cold water, or pour cold water over them, even use a hose with cold water.

Woman-splaining a go go. And remember to say hydrated!

The article is not saying have a hot shower.

Average body temperature is 37 degrees. The article is advocating 33 degrees which will feel cool.

I grew up in an extremely hot and humid climate and no one did hot baths and drinks

They definitely do drink hot tea in India to keep cool. And stay in the shade where possible.
With all this talk of showers I'm a bit concerned about our use of water - rivers around here are the lowest I've ever seen them, as are the reservoirs, apparently, and some streams are completely dry. I've seen idiots watering their flowers at midday when it'll just evaporate off straight away - very hard for me not to say anything, but I haven't. I'm old enough to remember stand pipes in the streets and my mum queuing up with a washing-up bowl. And it wasn't as hot as this! But prolonged. So don't think it can't happen! Save water, please!

Just tie a wet tea towel on your head or drape it over your neck. Don’t waste energy on a warm shower, we need to be conserving energy to slow down climate change!

I've put some plastic bottles of water in the freezer to place as cold water bottles on neck or body should I need some cooling relief in the coming days.

I live in a hot climate ( Western Australia) and definitely advised to take cool showers during hot weather.

Heat stroke is very different from simply feeling hot. Cold baths are done to bring the core temp down quickly and also minimise organ damage and prevent death from occurring.

"I've heard that tepid showers work better than cold ones as you don't immediately start noticeably heating up again."

I was just going to write that lukewarm is what you need.
Too cool and your body will work to warm you up afterwards. I'm really not sure about a properly hot shower either.

Yes, I get that, but the article cited by the OP indicates that cold water cooling the skin won’t bring the core temperature down, quite the contrary in fact. Hence I said the advice for cooling during heat stroke runs counter to the principles explained in the article!

The NHS advice for preventing heat exhaustion and heatstroke include drinking cold drinks and taking cool baths/showers. Heat exhaustion is certainly a risk in the coming temperatures. Is the NHS wrong?