Beating the summer heat

Beating the summer heat.

The weatherman is finally predicting a stretch of sunny summer weather and just in time for the fair.  Gotta love it.  With the sun comes the heat, are you ready for it?  Personally, I saved up my memories of that nasty cold and windy stretch we had last winter and am planning to bring that to mind when the heat arrives.  I don’t think it will help me sweat less but it will sure cut into my complaining.  After the sun drives away the thoughts of last winter’s chill, I figure I’d better have a few ideas on dealing with the heat.  Here’s what I’m going to be thinking about.

The sun and the heat are not what is dangerous to us, not directly at least.  We get into trouble if our core body temperature gets too far out of its comfort range.  “The big three”, our heart, lungs and brain don’t work so well if they get overheated.  Our body has a wonderful way to beat the heat.  When we get too warm, we sweat.  As the sweat evaporates this draws heat out of the body and on most days this is enough to keep us functioning quite well.

So, what could happen that’s going to beat our ability to cope with the heat?  What should you be looking for?

To start out let’s remember the way the body cools itself, we sweat.  If we do not drink enough fluids the body will continue to try to cool itself as long as it can.  It does this by “borrowing” fluid from your blood.  If this goes on too long the body suffers from a condition called shock and that can be fatal.  So, rule # 1 is stay hydrated.  It’s a little crude to put it this way but, if you are not urinating several times a day, you are dehydrated and need to drink more.  Keep your fluid levels up and you can tolerate the heat better.

If the heat is starting to overcome your body, the first indicator most people notice is a condition called heat cramps.  These can be quite painful and usually occur in the calves, hamstrings or abdomen but can happen in any part of the body.    They are caused by dehydration, your sweat contains water and electrolytes your muscles need to function properly.  When you sweat a lot but don’t replace the fluids and electrolytes, cramps are the results.  Generally the cure is fairly simple and effective, get to a cooler area and drink as much as you can.  I have found sport drinks to be very effective as they contain electrolytes and quickly relieve the cramps.

If you don’t catch the problem at the heat cramps stage you can develop heat exhaustion.  This is more serious as now it’s not just the muscles but the heart, lungs and brain can also be affected.  You need to get into the shade, strip off any clothing you don’t need to protect your decency and cool down quickly.  Spritzing the skin with a spray bottle helps the evaporation process along.  Drink plenty of water and once your skin is cooled down put on dry clothes.  Watch your temperature, it is common for it to rise again, you cooled the skin but your core temperature may still be high and you may need to cool down again.  If you can’t get it under control or the person starts to loose consciousness this is a medical emergency, call an ambulance.

The nastiest result from overheating the body is heat stroke and it can kill you.  Heat stroke (sun stroke) can be caused two ways.  Classical heat stroke is caused by dehydration and continued exposure to heat (the sun).  The body runs out of fluid to cool itself and your core body temperature rises out of control.  The second way is exertional heat stroke.  Working hard on a hot day your muscles heat you up from the inside and the sun heats you up from the outside.  Your body can not sweat effectively enough to get rid of the extra heat.

If your temperature is not brought back down the heart, lungs and brain begin to function abnormally (due to low blood volume called shock) and the person may become unconscious.  Because the brain is affected the person may complain that they feel cold and seriously resist your efforts to cool them down.  This can cause the person to die.  To help them out, get them out of the heat and cool them down.  If they are unconscious, place them in the recovery position and get an ambulance.  If they are conscious and alert give them fluids, slowly.  People suffering from heat stroke frequently vomit.

Nasty stuff, these hot weather ailments.  That’s why I’m thinking about them now.  The best way to deal with them is prevent them.  Wear a hat to keep the sun off your head and neck.  Drink plenty of fluids to keep yourself hydrated.  Take a break when you feel your body temperature rising, don’t risk raising your temperature from both inside and out.  And watch out for the kids, they are having too much fun to notice the sunburn and heat.  Slow them down and make them drink plenty.

Fun at the Lake

Fun at the Lake.

Spending time at the lake is a great way to get together with family and friends and solidify relationships that tend to get strained in our day to day lives.  It’s an opportunity to step out of our day to day routine and let the stress of getting by go away.  When we slow down we tend to pay attention to the important things, like conversation and play within the family.  The family and friends get a chance to see you in different circumstances and we all tend to have a good laugh or two.  All around, time well spent to strengthen our important relationships and reduce our stress.  With all the fun and rush to get to that fun sometimes other important things get forgotten.  A great time at the lake can be destroyed by tragedies, like boating incidents.  Unfortunately, every year we hear about them.  People new to the boating community making inexperienced mistakes or experienced boaters discovering equipment damaged or missing when they need it most.  To make sure we can relax at the lake, what are some of the things we need on a boat to help cope with problems while on the water?

Let’s start with what qualifies as a boat.  We all get that motor or jet boats are in, but this includes personal water craft (jet skis & seadoos), aluminum boats with outboard motors, pontoon party boats, canoes and kayaks.  These all fall under the Canadian Coast Guard, they provide minimal equipment you should have on board when on the water depending on the craft’s size and how you propel it.

The basic equipment for a motor powered boat under 6 meters is (this includes seadoos and jet skis): a flotation device or life jacket of the proper size for every person on board the water craft, a floating “heaving” line to throw to someone in the water (minimum 15 meters in length),  minimum class 5 ACB fire extinguisher, a manual propelling device (oar) and/or an anchor (with no less than 15 meters of line, chain or any combination of line or chain), a bailer or water siphoning pump, a signaling device (whistle),  a watertight flashlight or three approved marine flares and navigations light that comply to Transport Canada’s guidelines.   The oar, anchor, fire extinguisher are not mandatory if the operator of a personal water craft is wearing a Canadian approved floatation device.

For canoes, kayaks and similar oar powered craft you require: a personal floatation device or lifejacket for everyone aboard that is of the correct size, a floating heaving line (15 meters in length minimum), a bailer or water siphoning pump, a signaling device (whistle and/or watertight flashlight) and navigation lights complying with Transport Canada guidelines if boating during darkness or at times of poor visibility.

Instead of having the signaling device in the boat I prefer to pin a whistle directly to the lifejacket.  This gives people in the water a signaling device when they need it.  A great whistle is the “Foxfire”, it is shrill, loud and easy to detect.

Checking out the gear before you launch the boat helps to prevent hopping aboard without the gear you need, any trip aboard requires this minimum gear.  Look over what you have and make sure it’s still up to snuff.  Life jackets do wear out, rope does fray and flashlights require new batteries.  Fix it now and then you can forget about it.

One last thought on boating.  New operators may need to obtain an operator’s license before taking a boat out.  It is not at all like driving a car and has “rules” you may not be aware of.  Taking the course let’s you now the rules and what to do when things start to go wrong.  Let’s keep the rest of the summer out at the lake the wonderful family time we are looking for.

Are you ready for summer?

Are you ready for summer?

I certainly am.  I’ve caught myself several times over the past few days thinking of the lake and spending more time with family and friends.  A nice break and something I look forward to.  Without too much of a stretch I can see us out at the lake, tents swaying in a light breeze and swatting at the ever present mosquitoes.  Now, smelling of Deep Woods and fire smoke isn’t appealing to everyone, but it is my little slice of heaven.

Nothing brings a great time at the lake to a screeching halt faster than someone getting seriously sick or injured, unless you have the tools in hand to care for the situation (and I don’t mean a shovel).  Have you looked at that old, battered first aid kit recently?  Is there anything in it, other than faded empty paper wrappers and a tube of unrecognizable goo.

First aid kits seldom see the light of day until they are needed and once used, quickly put away and forgotten.  Now is a great time to pull it out and check it’s contents, so what are you looking for?

How is the old case holding up?  Whether it is a hard shelled case or soft, its purpose is to protect the supplies inside.  Check it over for cracks or rips, general cleanliness and a secure closing mechanism.  If all is well start taking inventory of the contents.  A good start for a first aid kit is:

A first aid book (or booklet) on caring for general injuries, scissors, safety pins, tweezers, gloves and an artificial respiration barrier device.  To help someone who is bleeding items such as: 2”x2” and 3”x3” gauze pads (several of each), at least one 5”x9” abdominal dressing and 2” conforming roller bandaging.  To cover and protect cuts have a selection of bandage types like knuckle, knee and finger tip as well as a fist full of regular ones.  To treat the cut before bandaging have an antibacterial such as Bacteriaban or Polysporin.  To relieve minor pain a few aspirin, non-aspirin, ibuprofen tablets and to quell an upset stomach – antacid.  Round out your kit with stuff like antiseptic wipes, lip balm and cream to relive stings, bites and sunburn.

You may just decide to get a new kit, for one like we just discussed you should expect to pay about twenty to thirty dollars.

The farther from home and the longer you will be gone should lead you to stock your first aid kit better.  Think in terms of what you may need to help someone cope with and get what you would need.  A good first aid kit is invaluable when taking care of someone for such a small investment.

If you have a regular group you travel with here’s a thought.  Bring them into your planning.  Ask your campmates if they have any medical conditions (be polite and respectful).  You can now get any additional supplies these conditions may require and add them to your kit.  For people on medications I recommend getting a second supply for the duration of their stay.  Keep the extra with the first aid kit, if theirs goes missing you have a back up prescription and their time at the lake goes on uninterrupted.

With a little planning and cooperation we can all enjoy our little slices of heaven.