If the heat wave or the hot weather are difficult for everyone to bear, seniors are among the people who suffer even more. With age, in fact, we sweat less in particular, which leads to difficulties in maintaining a normal body temperature. This is why the elderly are more prone to heat stroke with symptoms of a rise in body temperature above 40°C and/or great weakness, dizziness, vertigo, nausea, cramps muscles or headaches. In periods of high heat, and before arriving at these extreme situations which most of the time require medical intervention, it is possible to adopt the right actions to allow seniors to cool off. Our 6 tips and tricks to protect yourself, but also your home, from high heat.
In hot weather, the first recommendation for the elderly is to leave their accommodation as little as possible, especially during the hours of the day when the temperatures are highest. The best protection against heatstroke is to stay in your home provided you make sure to keep it cool. Several small tips and tricks can help you in this direction.
First, during the day, keep your shutters, windows and curtains closed as much as possible. On the other hand, take advantage of the night and the early morning to ventilate your house, create small drafts and bring in a little freshness.
You can also place sheets and towels that you moisten with cold or even ice water in front of your windows, which helps to lower the temperature of your rooms. A very valuable thing in the bedroom, especially for sleeping well!
During the day, do not hesitate to have a fan in your living room and in the hottest rooms of the house, or at night in your bedroom. Also, avoid plugging in electrical appliances as much as possible, which contribute to warming up the atmosphere.
On the other hand, think about the green plants in your home. Their mechanism of evaporation and perspiration also helps to maintain a pleasant atmosphere of freshness in the house.
Dehydration is more common in seniors. Even more during hot weather, you must drink a lot (between 1.5 and 2 liters) and regularly, cold water but not super icy. In the same way, favor for your diet cold dishes, salads, vegetables (cucumbers), fruits (watermelons, melons, etc.) whose water intake will help you cool down during hot weather.
Between intakes of cold drinks, such as iced tea for example, discarding all alcohol-based ones of course which contribute to raising the body temperature, also use a water sprayer that you can keep in the refrigerator for you. regularly refresh the face, arms or legs. For a maximum feeling of freshness, spray especially certain areas of the body where the blood vessels are almost at the surface of the skin such as the outside of the knees, the temples, or the inside of the elbows.
Other useful tips:if you have a hot water bottle, fill it with very cold water or ice cubes. You can thus place it, for example, under your feet for a feeling of freshness guaranteed over time. You can also replace a hot water bottle with a simple cloth. In the same way, wet your hair lightly and regularly.
