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Summer is here! Time to review summer heat tips to keep you cool and comfortable.
June 21 marks the summer solstice when for those of us in the northern hemisphere the sun is highest in the sky and our half of the earth points closest to the sun.
Oddly enough, this is also the time that we are actually the greatest distance from the sun.
Summer Heat Tips for Eczema
If you live in the Midwest or northeast, you probably thought summer arrived a few days ago with the crazy heat. If you have summer allergies and suffer from eczema, the heat can be particularly difficult.
Make sure that you dress in light colored, loose clothing. Look for natural fibers, like cotton, to help your body’s sweat evaporate and keep you cool.
No one likes to talk about sweat, much less sweat evaporating, but it is nature’s way of keeping your body temperature down.
Some synthetic fibers are not water vapor transmissive and sweat can’t evaporate. If it can’t evaporate, it can’t remove the heat and in addition you feel wet. Not good any time of year, especially in the summer.
Also, be sure to drink plenty of fluids, especially water. By the time you feel thirsty, you are already dehydrated. Same goes for keeping plenty of water available for your pets.
I know some dog owners who put ice cubes in the pet’s water bowl. I haven’t tried it with my cats, they tend to be suspicious of anything different.
Summer Heat Tips for Sunburn
If you forget that sunscreen or forget to reapply and get a sunburn, relief is possible. Aloe Vera is an amazing plant that relieves the pain of burn and sunburn and speeds healing of the skin.
It does all of this without lanolin, formaldehyde, fragrance and masking fragrance. It's all natural and easy to grow.
I don’t sunburn, but I have been known to burn myself in the kitchen. I burned the top of my hand on an oven rack when baking cookies for Christmas this past December. I immediately applied ice to stop the burn. Later, I went to the yard and cut some Aloe Vera and applied that.
The itch went away also. I applied a small dab twice a day and in just a few days it was completely healed.
Summer Heat Tips for AC
If you are beating the heat by staying indoors, don’t forget to change your air conditioner filter frequently. Nothing works better to keep your coils and blower motor clean than a high quality electrostatic filter that fits well.
But, if you don’t change your filter, it can clog up, restrict air flow, and even cause your coils to ice up so that your air conditioner runs and runs, but doesn’t cool.
Not a good look for your utility bill or summer allergies for sure!
Some time back, I gave tips and tricks on how to remember to change or clean your air filter. I still think the one that works best is to set a monthly reminder on your smart phone or Google Calendar.
If you can’t find a filter to fit your unit, just give us a call, we can custom make almost any size.
Summer Heat Tips for Food Allergies
If you have dairy allergy or are lactose intolerant, that doesn’t mean you can’t have frozen treats this summer.
Wash grapes, dry thoroughly, spread them on a cookie sheet and pop them in the freezer. This will allow them to freeze separately.
If you skip this step, you will end up with just a giant clump of frozen grapes. Once the grapes are frozen, move them to a freezer storage bag.
When you want a frozen treat, just pop one or two in your mouth. I won’t lie and tell you it beats ice cream, but it is refreshing and a totally different.
If you want a frozen treat that is creamy like ice cream, then follow the procedure outline above but use very ripe, peeled bananas.
Frozen bananas are also refreshing and can get this great crazy creamy texture if you wait until they are so ripe they are brown before you peel them and pop them in the freezer.
I have seen recipes where they put the banana on a stick and dip it in chocolate but that looks like a lot of work. If you are avoiding dairy, you are also avoiding milk chocolate, which is commonly used as a coating for frozen treats.
Just keep those ‘nanners natural, they will be sweet enough as it is.