stuboy

My niece has just e-mailed me from Tenerife where she is holidaying and is clearly suffering from the extreme heat. She is a sensible girl and knows the obvious, keep in the shade, drink plenty of water, avoid alcohol etc etc. I was just wondering what recommendations you may have been given by the locals to combat the worst of the heat.

Rosemary

My locals just seem to keep saying that it hot as though that will make it more bearable. Personally I let the cold water run over my wrists for a while and that seems to help me a little but in all honesty, shade, rest, water and generally being sensible seems to be the main route.

Rosemary

Sam Greenfield

If anyone suffers from heat rashes - cut a tomato in half and rub that onto it - it clears up quickly and stops all itching - a lady in Turkey told me that one when i was covered in it one year - it works brilliantly - well unless you are allergic to tomatoes that is xxx

Pocaloca

I do get prickly heat sometimes, is that the same thing?

I'm guessing you take the seeds out first, otherwise it could get messy!

Sam Greenfield

Yes - sorry thats what i meant but i couldnt think for the moment what it was called lol - nope leave the seeds in - they dont tend to stick to you - or they didnt on me - but you could always pick them off xxxxx

lynnxa

there was a question on a local fb group about first aid for jellyfish stings

one response was 'pee on it' - it worked on 'Friends'

I and others suggested vinegar or tomato rubbed on - an aussie came on & told us that the lifeguards in OZ actually carry vinegar in spray bottles


despite a local doctor coming on & saying that urine might actually make it worse - the one who suggested it was adamant that she had tried it & would do it again

Pocaloca

Thanks. I will try it next time I get it, but it's so hot at the moment I am staying indoors surrounded by fans till it gets dark!

Lynn R

I get it too, it's horrible. I take an anti-histamine tablet every day between June and September, as a precautionary measure, and it works like a charm. I haven't had a single "attack" this summer. Only been bitten by mosquitos twice all summer too, and they weren't particularly itchy because of the anti-histamines.

I find wearing the right clothes helps more than anything - only natural fabrics, particularly lightweight cotton, and nothing too tight-fitting. Skirts or dresses are much cooler to wear than shorts (sorry, guys!). I don't wear a hat as it makes my head feel too hot, just take care to walk or sit in the shade as far as possible. I always have an almost-cold shower immediately before going to bed, we don't have aircon so I sleep with the window open and a floor-standing fan on in the bedroom. In fact all our windows are kept open at night, and all the internal doors as well, to take advantage of the cooler air. During the day we close the windows around noon, as well as the wooden shutters we have on the upstairs windows, and open them all up as soon as the sun goes down. We have persianas on the downstairs windows. In the winter, exactly the opposite applies - the windows are open during the day and closed as soon as the sun goes down. That was something I found it hard to get my head around when we first moved here, but it does make a difference.

jackytoo

Only have light meals. Gazpacho is supposed to be good for cooling down. Not keen on A/C. I think resistance to the heat drops if you sit inside with the A/C on. Go outside and it feels like a furnace when you open the door. We only used it to cool off the bedroom, very rare downstairs.

jackytoo

I have never had prickly heat until the last two years we went to St. Lucia

Pocaloca

Strange isn't it, I never used to get it till about three years ago even though I was always out in the hot sun when I was younger! I find putting sun cream on makes it worse because it blocks the pores.

jjh

It´s so hot here I feel sick and can´t go outside where there´s lots to do. Roll on Saturday when it´s meant to cool down a little

Sam Greenfield

Stop bloody rubbing it in woman xxxxx

Lynn R

Yes, I agree. I suppose it's the same principle, but I have given up going to sit on our roof terrace for the last hour or so before bed, as my OH does. If I do, it seems hotter in the house, especially upstairs, when I go back in. So I stay indoors with the windows open (and the top half of the front door) and read or watch TV, and I think that way I stay more or less at a comfortable temperature.

Dick Dasterdly

Depends on circumstances. If she's on a package limited to one area without personal transport there's little she can do apart from the obvious things you mention.
As J2 mentions,aircon can defeat its own purpose if there is a need to be out and about,making it much more difficult to acclimatise to outdoor temperatures.

I recall quite a few years ago in Greece when the temp was stuck at plus 40 for quite a while and virtually no aircon available.
A lot of tourists took to standing in the pool with water up to their chin for much of the day.
It was really exceptional and even the locals were dropping like flies.

Regarding Tenerife I found having a car was a great advantage during hot spells because there was always a coastal area with a pleasant onshore breeze within easy reach or up NW at Puerto which was usually under cloud or even further N.in the rainforest area.
It always felt cooler up in the Teide national park,but that was deceiving and sunburn was an even bigger risk due to the thinner atmosphere up there.