how you cope with heat

[LISAANNE1983]

ok here the thing i live in Scotland which is usually wet cold miserable but lately it seems that we been having reallg humid weather and it maiking me feel really uncomfortable it to hot makes me feel really ill and i find i get relly grumpy and i feel aggression . i take cold showers to cool down but i find it hard to get relief from the heat . do yhow do you all cope. i tried the ice poles sucking ice cubes ect but it doesnt reallty help,

[valhw]

Both my daughter and I have severe POTS and the associated conditions of chronic fatigue and neurally mediated hypotension. Heat is ALWAYS a problem. Before becoming disabled I was a physical therapist (physiotherapist) and so you can imagine how many things I have looked into to try to keep as functional as possible. In the process, we have hundreds of dollars and tried many different things. In the end, we discovered the most successful tool to be a very simple and inexpensive item. We buy THE ASORBER cloths from the automobile section in our department store.
I
I'm an expat Brit living in the US. We only pay about $9.00 for them here.
I found a UK site (it seems a bit more expensive) but it gives you a good description and if it works for you as is does for us it will be well worth it.
http://www.the-absorber.co.uk/

How to use it.
Buy the larger one (27"x18")
Cut it into strips 27" long and 3-4" wide.
Then soak these in iced water and keep them rolled up in zip locks ready for use in the refrigerator.

When you start to feel overheated, put one around your neck.
The downside is that you do get fed up of wet collars on your outfits, but if your POTS is as bad as ours, the cold wet discomfort and being able to  function is a heck of a lot better than the heat symptoms with a resultant no function.

We have tried other things designed  to go around your neck for cooling, but these are much better, because they are so lightweight. Their absorbent quality makes them retain a lot of cool water.

At the moment we are staying with a friend who is a doctor at the Mayo clinic in Minnesota. Even when the temperatures are well below 0 degrees Fahrenheit, we can often still need to apply these cloths.

The beauty of them is they are durable, washable, come in many colors, very light weight and very portable. Even when we are unsymptomatic, we never leave the house without a small insulated lunch bag, containing a couple of these strips in a zip lock bag, and a medium sized bottle of iced water to both keep them cold and to drink if we run into problems.

I hope this is helpful

[pudmott]

I have my a/c on all the time in the house and the car. When i am at work i sweat profusely and feel horrible. i am only comfortable when i have some external coolness on me. If my friends come to visit i offer jumpers but my a/c does not go off.

i live in australia so heat unfortunately is a way of life. even in winter i rarely wear a jumper.

[LISAANNE1983]

THANKS FOR YOUR COMMENTS IT GOOD TO HERE FROM OTHERS WHO NOES. UNFORTUNATELY WE DOONT HAVE AIRCONDITIONING. I BOUGHT AN AIR CONDITIONING UNIT THING HAD IT ON FULL BLAST BUT DONT SEEM TO GET ANY RELIEF FROM THAT SO I TOOK IT BACK TO SHOPS. I THINK IM MY OWN WORST ENEMY THOUGH AS I KNOW I SHOULD DRINK MORE AS I RARELY EXCEED 2 GLASSES A DAY BUT I JUST REALLLY CANT FACE DRINKING AS I HAVE A WEAK STOMACH MUSCLE AND I FIND IT HARD TO KEEP WATER DOWN. ANYWAY I SEE THE CARDIOLOGIST AGAIN TOMORROW AND I HOPE SHE MAY HAVE SOME HELP FOR ME. SHE SAYSY SHE BELIEVED I HAVE POTS BUT SHE WANTS TO PUT A MONITORING DEVICE UNDER MY SKIN. SHE STILL NOT GIVEN ME ANY KIND OF TEATMENT YET SO THIS IS GOING TO BE ON MY HITLIST FOR TOMORROW I HAD ENOUGH I WANT TO HAVE SOMETHING DONE SO I CAN FEEL BETTER .OR I FEAR I MAY NEED TO USE A CHAIR TO GO TO UNIVERSITY

[halbashes]

The heat intolerance is rather severe for some of us, myself included.  I can barely tolerate warm food most of the time, never mind warm weather.  During the summer months I try to stay indoors, with constant air conditioning.

When you do need to leave home, I would recommend limiting your exposure to heat as much as possible.  Travel in vehicles with good air conditioning, and be sure the place you are visiting has air conditioning as well.

You may also want to monitor your fluid in-take.  Try to drink lots of water, and watered-down sports drinks.  Several posts back, some of our community members recommended Pedialyte.  I've found the frozen Pedialyte freeze-pops to be especially helpful for keeping cool.

Do your feelings of agitation in the heat/humidity seem to come on suddenly?  If your blood pressure is particularly low during these episodes, laying down with your legs above your head may help you to feel better.  I've also found supplemental oxygen to be helpful.

I hope the hot/humid weather cools down for you soon.