To think there must be something wrong with me because I absolutely can not tolerate the UK heatwaves - anyone else?

[Saywhatnowhey]

I am 53 and in perimenopause so that is not helping at all but I have always been like this.

As soon as summer hits and these heatwaves come out of nowhere I feel dreadful. I have never been able to tolerate either cold or hot weather at all, even when I was younger. As a child I preferred winter over summer so I could cover and layer up.

Where I live in the UK it is often the most hot and humid weather during the summer months and it makes me feel so physically unwell. I have some existing health issues but none that are related to temperature intolerance so no idea why I get like this. It's only 9.30am and I have already had to sit down with my neck fan on. Just hanging out a few loads of washing and tidying up the kitchen has left my heart racing, my stomach churning (I do have IBS which gets worse in the summer) and I feel so nauseous (I always feel so sick in the heat). Other than pace and fan myself there doesn't seem to be a lot I can do to dampen down the ill feeling I get.

No one else I know is like this, everyone adores this heat and really looks forward to it, some saying the hotter the better but I just want to lay on my bed and lay with the fan on all day, I feel so lightheaded and weird.

I have mentioned this numerous times to my GP but my blood levels return ok so they don't have any suggestions.

Is it normal to feel so unwell during the summer months? Does anyone else get this?

I freeze during the winter, like to the bone frozen but I would rather take that over the summer because at least I can carry my trusty hot water bottle around with me and layer up. The sticky, humid UK summers make me want to rip my skin off. It really annoys me because I love warmth and sunshine - I could happily reside in September and October for the rest of my days, I am at my most comfortable in Autumn.

In a WSW facing top floor flat keeping curtains closed and keeping the cool air in makes a big difference in indoor temperature. There is no cross breeze nor a shaded side past noon.

I don't think it's all that unusual OP. I certainly don't like extreme hot/ cold weather.

If you think about the temperature in which the human body generally functions at its best, it's temperate and mild, spring/ autumn type temperatures.

A lot of hot countries are more geared up to handle high temperatures than the UK. They have air con/ actually respect the sun and stay out of it when its at its hottest.

Brits just get too excited by it, go out at midday and then we burn 😂

Also this - I cope a lot better since losing weight. I think healthier/ fitter people generally do better as their bodies are functioning more efficiently so they can cope in less than ideal temperatures.

Yeah sorry I was adding not opposing. We were walking the streets of Houston wondering where everyone was (and dying in the process) then found out everyone was underground 🤣 it certainly made us understand the driving culture a bit more, yes America is built for cars, yes it’s not good for the environment and it can partially be down to laziness, but in States like Texas it is pretty necessary also.

the problem is we have so few very hot days
and when we do the country makes such a big deal of it

Can’t relate whatsoever. It is such a tiny tiny portion of our yearly weather. Cannot stand winter personally but got to crack on with it.

I don't mind it when it is 20 degrees. However i have always hated it when it is 30 degrees. This time last week i thought that it was cold. Now it is like been in the tropics. It would probably help if spring didn't feel like an extension to winter.

They will wait till someone dies like they always do.

Speaking of infrastructure most of my town have no water It has failed already

So you will be able to back this up by linking last years hot weather??!!!
And if we have so few hot days as you claim then ppl getting air conditioning wont affect the climate as much as is claimed cos it wont be used very often will it.

The highest temperature ever in the UK is over 40C, so todays temperature where I am is over 10C below that.

Actually quite nice weather for a bank holiday and if it gets too hot some iced drinks are in order.

I have been in the Gulf when it is 45C and that is genuinely hot.

I wish that was the case for me but sadly not. I’ve never been overweight, I have been slim all my life and exercise but I can not tolerate very cold or hot weather.

Ive been a size 28 and a size 12 and find it equal hell at both sizes

They are becoming more frequent now and if climate experts are to be believed this is going to become the norm for the U.K. The last few years have shown record temperatures which seem to be broken as each year comes along.

Agree about the weight not necessarily being the cause. In fact this myth probed quite dangerous in my late teens pushing me into anorexia as apparently “only large people struggle in the heat “😕

Watching Loose Women and Olivia Attwood mentioned her flat is on the 30th floor and has air con
Banking this in case they have a discussion at a later date about how air con is bad for the environment and why ppl shouldnt have it like those of us in social housing

I used to love it when I was young, but I'm 70 and can't tolerate it like I used to. In the hot summer of 1976, I used to lie out and sunbathe on the flat roof at the back of our flat. The roof got so hot that when one of my flatmates saw me out there and came to join me, he burned the soles of his bare feet!

I first noticed that I was less heat-tolerant when I was 49, so probably peri-menopausal. Maybe the menopause reset my thermostat for ever...

I do think for many houses - particularly new builds and flats in the SE. We need to start seeing air con as a necessity.

I agree with this.

For most of my life, there has been an emphasis on insulation and energy efficiency, I think that they should start giving grants for AC to be installed!

Well if I want outside in this heat I would be sending at least the next 2 days in hospital due to my condition. So yes I will winge because it ruins my life

According to my friend, it's 32 in the town centre. The centre is always hotter than the outskirts, it's an old town with narrow streets and all the buildings crammed close together act like a giant storage heater on hot sunny days.

I live on the edge of town, nearly 300 feet higher, and there's a fair bit of breeze up here. I have the windows open and curtains drawn, and it's a tolerable 26 in my living room.

My heat intolerance is definitely getting worse with age. I can’t imagine I’ll ever be able to tolerate it in the way I did when I was younger and even then I struggled more than my friends.

seems like you need to chill out

That must be really awful @Tshirtking .

I suppose that it must make travelling difficult, as crammed trains and buses get so hot.

I can't even imagine what that feels like.

My DF had to work in Saudi for a couple of weeks. He arrived late in the evening and went straight from air-conditioned car to air-conditioned hotel, and didn't realise how hot it was.

The following morning, the office rang to ask him what time he wanted the car to pick him up, and he said he'd walk, because it was only a short distance away. They asked if he was sure, as it was really very hot, but he insisted.

When the door from the hotel lobby to the outside world opened, he said there was a rush of heat "like a fucking furnace", so he sheepishly rang the office to say that he'd changed his mind about the car.

Probably coincidence, but everywhere he was sent after that was very north and probably chilly much of the year: Sweden, Nova Scotia and somewhere in Scotland, north of Aberdeen.

Agree and HAs need to be given those grants too.