Use This Red Cross Trick To Cool Off ASAP

It’s been quite a scorcher this summer thanks to a record heat wave that’s sent the mercury soaring in states from New Mexico to New York. Heat indexes in cities including Washington, D.C., New York City, and even Billings, Montana, have reached triple digits, making time outdoors all but unbearable.

Extreme heat like we’ve been seeing is dangerous because it can cause dehydration, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke. Intense high temperatures can also increase the likelihood you’ll get hurt on the job or have a heart attack, according to an article on the medical news site STAT. Heat can aggravate other health problems, too, including migraines, rheumatoid arthritis, and asthma.

So, if you have to be outdoors on hot days, you need a way to beat the heat fast. The British Red Cross has just the trick to help you cool off quickly — and all it requires is some cold H₂O.

Cool Your Pulse Points

First, find your pulse points. There are nine primary pulse points on your body, and they include the areas where you might dab on perfume — the wrists and neck — as well as your temples, the insides of your elbows and knees, and the tops of your feet.

Pulse points have arteries close to the surface of your skin; the arteries take warm blood from your core to tissues throughout your body.

When it’s hot, you want to cool these pulse points. First, dip your hands and wrists in cold water or hold them under a running faucet for several minutes. Or you can try the U.S. Army version of this trick: They have soldiers submerge their forearms in ice water for a few minutes to cool down. 

If you need to be on the move, you can drape a damp cloth or wrapped ice pack over the back of your neck. This is one of the best spots for quick cooling because it has lots of blood vessels close to your skin’s surface. Finally, you can hold a wrapped ice pack under your armpits, where there are also large blood vessels, if you feel overheated.

Your Inner AC

Cooling these areas chills your skin as well as the blood in the vessels below them, which continues circulating through your body — so essentially, you’re cooling your body from the inside.

You won’t see a dramatic drop in your core body temperature, but you should feel more comfortable. That’s because your core temperature is controlled by the hypothalamus, the part of your brain that acts sort of like an internal thermostat. When your body gets too hot, your hypothalamus triggers several cooling responses, including sweating. As your sweat evaporates, it takes heat away from your body. (This is also why drinking hot beverages on scorching days with low humidity will help you cool down.) 

Chilling your pulse points is a quick way to feel more comfortable with the temperatures outside are soaring. But to prevent overheating and heat stroke, it’s important to stay hydrated, avoid alcohol, take breaks in air conditioning or shade when you must be outdoors, and always wear loose-fitting clothes, a hat, and sunscreen.

_{Featured Image Credit: © PonyWang—iStock/Getty Images}