Summer is in full effect, which means pool parties, trips to amusement parks and a nice long vacation for your children. It also means blistering desert heat in the Antelope Valley.
Here’s some tips to stay cool:
Clothing: Wear loose-fitting, light-colored clothing that doesn’t trap heat and allows your body to breathe. When choosing attire, choose clothing made of natural materials such as cotton and linen. Stay away from polyester, rayon, and artificial materials (with the exception of performance fabric meant to wick sweat away).
Indoors: Take a cold shower to cool you down! Jump in a bathtub full of cold water, or run your wrists under cold water for 10 seconds (each hand). It will reduce your body heat considerably. Also, if you live in a two-story home, hang out downstairs. Warm air is less dense than cooler air so it ends up layered on top of the downward moving cooler air.
If you want to keep the kids occupied, give them a hose and some water guns and let them run around outside. They’ll probably spend the whole day outside! Stay cool everyone!
Brian K. Gaw, MD: Pediatrics + Adolescent Medicine 