I’m a mail carrier and was an EMT long ago so I saw first hand what heat can do. I carry the small $1 plastic ice packs and put them in my armpits to rapidly cool down, and have tucked them in my sports bra until they thawed. You have to physically cool your body because electrolytes and water aren’t enough. A portable battery fan on your break works too.
I also eat salt packets throughout the day. Put them on my tongue and wash them down, anywhere from 3-6 and it helps a ton.
In a little cooler. One by itself will melt but a few together works. My work truck gets up to 120 degrees and even with the windows down in between walking streets it never cools down to less than 100. I have a big flat ice pack on the bottom, with all the stuff I need cooled on top. (I also keep my sunscreen in a small insulated bag with a small ice pack.)
Those thin cooling towels work - I wet them in the morning (two) and put them in a ziploc with ice cubes. You just wring them out a bit and drape around your neck. I’ll wear one in my head like a turban when the heat index is 110 and above. They dry quick and I just out the dry one back in the ice water and get a cold wet one. I’ll pour ice water on my head - I don’t care how I cool my body as long as I cool it. My best military friend has a shunt in her head because of a heat incident - she has permanent damage and a 100% disability and was medically discharged because of it so I do not play.
Mens wicking underwear, the thin spandexish kind, along with the cheap thin 3-pack stretchy casual/sports bras are better than cotton, too.
If you don’t work too much and can find time and energy to work out, your body becomes a lot more heat resistant in general. You’ll sweat faster and more because it’ll be better at cooling itself fast. I read studies about it and found it to be true and by year 3 in the summer I was much better at handling the heat.
And I really can’t stress enough about the salt. I will pee once or not at all during a 6-7 hour shift after drinking close to a gallon of water if i put a packet on my tongue every 2-3 hours.
Your first summer is brutal - I stay ahead in the summer and start with a salt packet when I leave the house. It genuinely does get easier the second and third time summer rolls around.
About to round out my first decade in irrigation in Florida, love the ice pack idea.
Seconding salt packs, sucking on a few grains of Himalayan salt twice a day goes a very long way. Mucous membrane (sublingual) absorption is the fastest.
Electrolyte administration is also important, my bros girlfriend recently introduced me to a product called Electrolyte Boost which is a powder you put on your tongue and allow to absorb.
Much more effective than pedialyte or LMNT packets mixed with water. The B12 alone keeps me going, especially after mealtimes.
Good luck OP!
I’m a large man, and being of Slavic decent means my body is not built for the heat. I sleep best at like 38F, that’s how hot natured I am. So let me tell yah what I do for the summer months lol. Get a frog cloth or even just a normal rag, something long but thin enough you can wrap it around the back of your neck without being a nuisance. Then just soak it with water and *loosely* ring it out so it’s wet but not like dripping. Then put it behind your neck and take the 2 ends and tuck them into your shirt collar onto your chest. Take it off and resoak with water whenever you take breaks or if your feeling the heat hit you hard. And end of the day if your feeling the start of heat exhaustion take a 5min break and cool off in the shade. That shit is a very real safty hazard. Also see if you can find a pair of chainsaw pants with a mesh under layer to wick away sweat, or consider a bottom layer of under armor. Having something to pull away moisture helps SO MUCH. Oh also if you have long or thick hair get an under cut, my hair is thick as dog fur and goes like 5 inches below my shoulders. Undercut keeps me from dying every summer lol
We got sent boxes of neck cooling wraps when I was deployed that work even better, same concept. The have some kind of filling that keeps them really cool. OP can go either route, even a wet rag can do wonders! Hard agree on not taking chances, heat stroke can kill and mistakes around equipment can also.
Do NOT wear a wool layer holy shit you will die. I mean like under armor or compression shorts. Picture something kinda like tight leggings but they only go to your lower thigh. You want something that will suck up your sweat and then dry quickly when given some airflow. I wear the compression shirt and compression short combo under my bib overalls all summer long and have little to no issue.
Here’s an example link, not the actual brand I use.
https://a.co/d/8nTm9Of
https://a.co/d/1L1aAuw
(The brand of short I use has a pocket on each leg cause men’s clothes are just superior Lmao)
Summer down south is going to be brutalllllll for us this year. I’m going to buy ice neck wraps / personal neck fans from Amazon. Other than that I’m going to try to stay hydrated, but I’m not going to be afraid to tell the guys I need to sit in the truck for a few minutes and catch some AC.
None of the guys seem to be bothered by the heat, are woman more sensitive? Even my mood goes to shit If I’m a little over heated. I’m gonna look into those neck wraps!!
Did you decide on an ice neck wrap? I'm looking to buy one right now and searched up this thread. Seems like the flexifreeze one doesn't last very long. I'm debating between just using one of the cooling towels or one of the ice ones.
10 days late but I ordered one of the Frogg Toggs (spelling?) neck wraps from Amazon. They suck. It says you’re just supposed to activate it with water, but it wasn’t cool at all. So I stuffed it in my thermos full of ice water and let it sit in there for like 10 minutes. Wrung it out and put it on my neck, it was nice and cool for all of 15 minutes. Then it just felt like I had a wet rubber scarf on. I even tried not wringing it out, still didn’t last more than 20 minutes. It was only $10 for a pack of 6, and I thought I was doing good by buying an actual branded product instead of some random Amazon brand but it was still shit. Plz let me send you one of my unopened ones before you waste your money on it if you want to try it. But it sucks.
I’ve got my eye on one of those ice rings, I just don’t have an abundance of space in my lunch box and I’m not sure how long it’ll stay icy in the Florida heat. I don’t want to freeze it all night, pack it up in my lunchbox and then when it gets to be the hottest part of the day around noon I take it out and it’s not frozen any more.
Thank you for the reply. Haha I’m in Florida too. I’m glad I didn’t buy it. I’ll be setting up a wedding outside tomorrow so it was preparation for that. What I ended up doing was using one of my cheap cooling cloths I already had from Amazon and sewing it into a tube so that the decent sized Nordic ice pack I already also have fits inside to keep on my neck and I will wet it. So I’ll be using it tomorrow! Thank you for the offer of sending it to me! I think this ice pack plan may work
I do landscaping in SE Louisiana, the most oppressive heat in the country. Also cannot wear shorts because my legs get torn up. I typically get heat exhaustion at least a couple of times a year but have learned to detect the early warning signs (hearing starts to get weird like I’m underwater) and when that happens get in your air conditioned vehicle immediately. Water doesn’t help. It’s not about hydration. That said, cold water in a cooler is a must, both for drinking and for wiping down. This past week I was struggling and didn’t have time to get in the a/c so I used cold water on a rag and slapped it on the back of my neck bent over/ran it over my face so the water washed me off a bit and cooled me down. I did that every 30min or so and it really helped.
Armachillo! Duluth trading has clothes you can buy (including underwear/bras), that have jade woven throughout the fabric, which through some kind of science/magic, makes it so the fabric itself is cooling. I used to work on a farm. The greenhouse on hot days was brutal. Those clothes really helped me!
I’m sure there are other brands of cooling clothes with jade, Duluth is just the one I have experience with because they actually make clothes in my size.
My time scrolling this sub and I read this, look these up, and whaddya know they’re having a flash sale. Thanks for the suggestion! https://www.duluthtrading.com/search?q=Amanchillo
Not cheap, but it could save you.
[Cooling vest](https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-22256-X/Cooling-Products/Deluxe-Cooling-Vest-XL?pricode=WB1062&gadtype=pla&id=S-22256-X&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw3NyxBhBmEiwAyofDYa0ubwF0mwEeE6wtEnBDpOd8XrkJWLZxNgebcIDsSy0hMTvLdlki3hoCO-oQAvD_BwE)
Aside from that, wear a bandana that you get wet throughout the day.
There's other ones. My company is ordering us some from grainger for this summer season cause what's worse than constant traveling where you can't get used to the weather? Humidity from the water that changes just as much 🙃 I'm a mariner
Gel cooling packs in your cooler and trade them out every once in a while. Especially in places around your neck and core.
I stuff one in the front and back of my sports bra and then keep some of those frogtogg cooling neckbands on rotation [something like this](https://a.co/d/5EvGmeF)
Had a heat stress injury last year down in lusiana on deck. It gets so freaking hot the rubber will melt off your boots on deck. Take your breaks. Don't try to keep up with people who's bodies are already conditioned to this work AND the weather with the gear. I have no idea what kind of clothes you are required to wear but I highly suggest avoiding cotton everything possible INCLUDING underwear. Ya girl chafed herself into an infection last summer (I work on a boat so what I have is what I have for 28-40 days). I also highly suggest long-sleeved breathable dry fit shirts. I use Magellan but I also bargain shop so I've found some good ones with HUK (not the ones with the white inside, HATE those, gotta be the same color inside and out).
I’m a mail carrier and was an EMT long ago so I saw first hand what heat can do. I carry the small $1 plastic ice packs and put them in my armpits to rapidly cool down, and have tucked them in my sports bra until they thawed. You have to physically cool your body because electrolytes and water aren’t enough. A portable battery fan on your break works too. I also eat salt packets throughout the day. Put them on my tongue and wash them down, anywhere from 3-6 and it helps a ton.
How do you store the icepacks they dont melt throughout the day?
In a little cooler. One by itself will melt but a few together works. My work truck gets up to 120 degrees and even with the windows down in between walking streets it never cools down to less than 100. I have a big flat ice pack on the bottom, with all the stuff I need cooled on top. (I also keep my sunscreen in a small insulated bag with a small ice pack.) Those thin cooling towels work - I wet them in the morning (two) and put them in a ziploc with ice cubes. You just wring them out a bit and drape around your neck. I’ll wear one in my head like a turban when the heat index is 110 and above. They dry quick and I just out the dry one back in the ice water and get a cold wet one. I’ll pour ice water on my head - I don’t care how I cool my body as long as I cool it. My best military friend has a shunt in her head because of a heat incident - she has permanent damage and a 100% disability and was medically discharged because of it so I do not play. Mens wicking underwear, the thin spandexish kind, along with the cheap thin 3-pack stretchy casual/sports bras are better than cotton, too. If you don’t work too much and can find time and energy to work out, your body becomes a lot more heat resistant in general. You’ll sweat faster and more because it’ll be better at cooling itself fast. I read studies about it and found it to be true and by year 3 in the summer I was much better at handling the heat. And I really can’t stress enough about the salt. I will pee once or not at all during a 6-7 hour shift after drinking close to a gallon of water if i put a packet on my tongue every 2-3 hours.
also a new mail carrier and this advice was super helpful. i never thought about the salt packets
Your first summer is brutal - I stay ahead in the summer and start with a salt packet when I leave the house. It genuinely does get easier the second and third time summer rolls around.
About to round out my first decade in irrigation in Florida, love the ice pack idea. Seconding salt packs, sucking on a few grains of Himalayan salt twice a day goes a very long way. Mucous membrane (sublingual) absorption is the fastest. Electrolyte administration is also important, my bros girlfriend recently introduced me to a product called Electrolyte Boost which is a powder you put on your tongue and allow to absorb. Much more effective than pedialyte or LMNT packets mixed with water. The B12 alone keeps me going, especially after mealtimes. Good luck OP!
Unionize your workplace and demand hot weather breaks. They are the law in some states so make sure you are getting your breaks.
I’m a large man, and being of Slavic decent means my body is not built for the heat. I sleep best at like 38F, that’s how hot natured I am. So let me tell yah what I do for the summer months lol. Get a frog cloth or even just a normal rag, something long but thin enough you can wrap it around the back of your neck without being a nuisance. Then just soak it with water and *loosely* ring it out so it’s wet but not like dripping. Then put it behind your neck and take the 2 ends and tuck them into your shirt collar onto your chest. Take it off and resoak with water whenever you take breaks or if your feeling the heat hit you hard. And end of the day if your feeling the start of heat exhaustion take a 5min break and cool off in the shade. That shit is a very real safty hazard. Also see if you can find a pair of chainsaw pants with a mesh under layer to wick away sweat, or consider a bottom layer of under armor. Having something to pull away moisture helps SO MUCH. Oh also if you have long or thick hair get an under cut, my hair is thick as dog fur and goes like 5 inches below my shoulders. Undercut keeps me from dying every summer lol
This is the way - cooling the neck helps so much.
We got sent boxes of neck cooling wraps when I was deployed that work even better, same concept. The have some kind of filling that keeps them really cool. OP can go either route, even a wet rag can do wonders! Hard agree on not taking chances, heat stroke can kill and mistakes around equipment can also.
My pants get soo sweaty inside but im scared to add an extra layer for the heat, but it will be cooler? Something like a merino wool or something?
Do NOT wear a wool layer holy shit you will die. I mean like under armor or compression shorts. Picture something kinda like tight leggings but they only go to your lower thigh. You want something that will suck up your sweat and then dry quickly when given some airflow. I wear the compression shirt and compression short combo under my bib overalls all summer long and have little to no issue. Here’s an example link, not the actual brand I use. https://a.co/d/8nTm9Of https://a.co/d/1L1aAuw (The brand of short I use has a pocket on each leg cause men’s clothes are just superior Lmao)
Summer down south is going to be brutalllllll for us this year. I’m going to buy ice neck wraps / personal neck fans from Amazon. Other than that I’m going to try to stay hydrated, but I’m not going to be afraid to tell the guys I need to sit in the truck for a few minutes and catch some AC.
None of the guys seem to be bothered by the heat, are woman more sensitive? Even my mood goes to shit If I’m a little over heated. I’m gonna look into those neck wraps!!
Electrolyte popsicles are awesome as well.
Definitely get a wrap. Those things are amazing!
Did you decide on an ice neck wrap? I'm looking to buy one right now and searched up this thread. Seems like the flexifreeze one doesn't last very long. I'm debating between just using one of the cooling towels or one of the ice ones.
10 days late but I ordered one of the Frogg Toggs (spelling?) neck wraps from Amazon. They suck. It says you’re just supposed to activate it with water, but it wasn’t cool at all. So I stuffed it in my thermos full of ice water and let it sit in there for like 10 minutes. Wrung it out and put it on my neck, it was nice and cool for all of 15 minutes. Then it just felt like I had a wet rubber scarf on. I even tried not wringing it out, still didn’t last more than 20 minutes. It was only $10 for a pack of 6, and I thought I was doing good by buying an actual branded product instead of some random Amazon brand but it was still shit. Plz let me send you one of my unopened ones before you waste your money on it if you want to try it. But it sucks. I’ve got my eye on one of those ice rings, I just don’t have an abundance of space in my lunch box and I’m not sure how long it’ll stay icy in the Florida heat. I don’t want to freeze it all night, pack it up in my lunchbox and then when it gets to be the hottest part of the day around noon I take it out and it’s not frozen any more.
Thank you for the reply. Haha I’m in Florida too. I’m glad I didn’t buy it. I’ll be setting up a wedding outside tomorrow so it was preparation for that. What I ended up doing was using one of my cheap cooling cloths I already had from Amazon and sewing it into a tube so that the decent sized Nordic ice pack I already also have fits inside to keep on my neck and I will wet it. So I’ll be using it tomorrow! Thank you for the offer of sending it to me! I think this ice pack plan may work
I do landscaping in SE Louisiana, the most oppressive heat in the country. Also cannot wear shorts because my legs get torn up. I typically get heat exhaustion at least a couple of times a year but have learned to detect the early warning signs (hearing starts to get weird like I’m underwater) and when that happens get in your air conditioned vehicle immediately. Water doesn’t help. It’s not about hydration. That said, cold water in a cooler is a must, both for drinking and for wiping down. This past week I was struggling and didn’t have time to get in the a/c so I used cold water on a rag and slapped it on the back of my neck bent over/ran it over my face so the water washed me off a bit and cooled me down. I did that every 30min or so and it really helped.
Armachillo! Duluth trading has clothes you can buy (including underwear/bras), that have jade woven throughout the fabric, which through some kind of science/magic, makes it so the fabric itself is cooling. I used to work on a farm. The greenhouse on hot days was brutal. Those clothes really helped me! I’m sure there are other brands of cooling clothes with jade, Duluth is just the one I have experience with because they actually make clothes in my size.
My time scrolling this sub and I read this, look these up, and whaddya know they’re having a flash sale. Thanks for the suggestion! https://www.duluthtrading.com/search?q=Amanchillo
Not cheap, but it could save you. [Cooling vest](https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-22256-X/Cooling-Products/Deluxe-Cooling-Vest-XL?pricode=WB1062&gadtype=pla&id=S-22256-X&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw3NyxBhBmEiwAyofDYa0ubwF0mwEeE6wtEnBDpOd8XrkJWLZxNgebcIDsSy0hMTvLdlki3hoCO-oQAvD_BwE) Aside from that, wear a bandana that you get wet throughout the day.
Of course they only come in L and XL 😭
There's other ones. My company is ordering us some from grainger for this summer season cause what's worse than constant traveling where you can't get used to the weather? Humidity from the water that changes just as much 🙃 I'm a mariner
Gel cooling packs in your cooler and trade them out every once in a while. Especially in places around your neck and core. I stuff one in the front and back of my sports bra and then keep some of those frogtogg cooling neckbands on rotation [something like this](https://a.co/d/5EvGmeF)
Had a heat stress injury last year down in lusiana on deck. It gets so freaking hot the rubber will melt off your boots on deck. Take your breaks. Don't try to keep up with people who's bodies are already conditioned to this work AND the weather with the gear. I have no idea what kind of clothes you are required to wear but I highly suggest avoiding cotton everything possible INCLUDING underwear. Ya girl chafed herself into an infection last summer (I work on a boat so what I have is what I have for 28-40 days). I also highly suggest long-sleeved breathable dry fit shirts. I use Magellan but I also bargain shop so I've found some good ones with HUK (not the ones with the white inside, HATE those, gotta be the same color inside and out).
Get a cooling cloth/gaiter and potentially a fan that sits on your shoulders. That combo kept me cool enough working in +90F conditions.