Heat vs Human-Monitoring your Health.

EATHER can kill you.

And it almost did kill me yesterday..I swear I didn't see it coming but I should have..as I've gotten older the only part of me that has not accepted my physical limitations is my thinking!

I've always DONE anything I wanted to of course within the scope of my ability..but now even things that generally fall into that category are falling away.  Of course I know Im aging...I see that every time I look in the mirror,,,every time I bend down to tie my shoe than rise up and almost faint, it's a reminder of the physical limitations!! Yes my physical body has changed...but Im still trying to do the things I been doing for years, that may have to change.

My body does not hold water well at all...I sweat gallons even in cool weather I can't wear cotton under clothes I will freeze once they get damp from the sweat that is always going on.  Yesterday I told you I had to change my clothes 3 times, but what happened later really scared me. For the past several days I've been doing outside chores in the heat and humidity and coming in with my clothes soaked thru as if I jumped in a pond!  This is how much water comes out of me..

Yesterday was the tipping point.  While typing my post yesterday MY head was pounding...I did not eat breakfast before I went outside took both my headlights off the car and examined them and made the decision to go to town and buy the "regular" bulb not the extra bright maybe it's too powerful and is overheating the wiring and I bought some other items, what I really need are new headlight assemblies...and I will probably order that if my intervention does not work.

ANYWAY all that aside...we have been under heat advisories for days...and I normally get things done as quick as I can and back inside so yesterday after the hour spent taking out the lights I changed into dry clothes drove to town and back and then decided to put in the new bulbs and replace the light assembly...that took me another hour...I was soaked and shaky when I came in since I had not eaten...I showered and ate a bowl of granola in almond milk, finished up my post for my daily Writtin's, and by that time my head began to POUND and my arms n legs were aching I had stomach muscle cramps, my heart was pounding my face was flushed and I was burning UP!

I took my temp and it was 98.8 okay that's just 2 tens above normal, but my normal is usually 97.7 I was so lightheaded I drank a glass of water lay on the couch and pulled a blanket over me as I was then starting to chill...I feel asleep and 20 mins later I woke up burning UP...took my temp now it's 99.8 Almost 100...so I got some ice packs and put on my head, my head was literally burning up! I put alcohol on a cloth and rubbed my skin, drank more water I could barely move to be honest with you..

My temp went back to 98.8 about 6 p m...I made a sandwich and lay back down..drank more water and took ibuprofen for my headache.  At 8:30 I gave up and went to bed...I put the ac on in my bedroom HIGH...and slept pretty good until 5 am woke up in a sweat, my pillow soaked also my clothes...so I changed back to bed and slept till 8 am...

My head is still pounding I took my tempt now it's 98.8 again, that is high for me,  97.7... is always where I'm at so it's still high for me,,,so it's no secret I almost had a heat stroke I figure I was right on the verge of it, if your body temp reaches 104 there can be permanent brain damage!! OMG
So today I'm inside no walk no work just gonna drink water all day and try to re-hydrate...

I was too sick to even take my Blood Pressure yesterday I took my pulse by palp...There is a lot of things you can do to monitor your own health.  At Walmart they have these battery operated Blood Pressure Monitors, probably at Drug Stores also like Walgreens etc I suggest you get one. They don't cost much I think I paid $25...I've had it a long time tho, it runs on a 9 volt battery, and it will give your BP and your Pulse...this morning mine was 119/79 and my pulse was 99 that's not good the BP Is ok but the pulse is too high..this tells me Im hypovolemic. Meaning low fluid volume, my BP should be about 120/80 and my heart rate should be about 70 or 80.
Monitoring your BP can be a good idea, check it several times a day and write it down...If your BP runs high say 140 then when you pump up your little monitor (don't get the wrist type get the one that has a cuff that fits on your arm and you pump it up) Pump to say 160 it gets very tight..but then it will slowly release...
My heart is pumping fast to keep the volume of blood and fluids moving in my body so without proper fluid I can get organ damage!

Your BP is considered normal in this range, up to 120/80 but honestly that is not very accurate, most people are more like 129/90...here is a chart for you..the highest BP I ever took when I was a paramedic is 299/145.  We rushed that one to the hospital..IF your BP is that high don't lay down sit up and put a cool cloth on your neck and go to the ER.  Also limit your movements...IF its LOW you can lay down and elevate your feet that will generally raise it also no movement, if your pressure is like 80/40 you could pass out..

So for your own medical kit get one of those digital thermometers, you just place it on your forehead and it works perfect, get a BP monitor, and get a Blood Sugar monitor as well.  It's easy to buy also Walmart, you will need 3 things the Monitor, some test strips and some Finger Pricks...all of these items should be on the shelf near each other..I think the monitor comes with a starter pack of each...tracking  your Blood Sugar is important, and its so easy..there will be a little booklet telling you how to do it, it's very simple the monitor runs on a 3 v round battery I think.  Normal is 80-100 fasting, and it can go up as high as 170 after eating, and if it goes above 126 while fasting you could have type 2 diabetes.  Here is a good chart to refer to.  MY BS is normally low...I have seen it as low as 66 and was told my a nurse to sit down and drink some orange juice...I have never had a finger stick over 77.  

SO since I didn't eat, didn't drink, didn't stay out of the heat I'm paying the price.  Don't be me...You don't have to be a doctor to track your own health and this is not a replacement for visiting a DR when you need to...but these handy items could save your life!  Learn  how to take your pulse at the wrist...if you turn your hand palm up and trace along the thumb using the index and middle finger, when you get to the wrist go down one more inch and press you should be able to feel your pulse.  Look at a second hand on a clock, or use your cell phone however you do it sight the seconds at zero and start counting the beats you feel for exactly 15 seconds,,,then multiply that by 4 or count for one full minute. 

If you count 20 beats in 15 seconds, your pulse is 80...THE object here is not only count the pulse but to feel the rhythm, is it regular?? Is it skipping beats, it's is speeding up then slowing down, these are all indicative of some sort of heart arrhythmia...and you should be checked. Normal pulse is 60 - 100 anything below 60 is bradycardia, and above 100 is tachycardia. The problem with Brady is you can increase the risk of clots, you can go into cardiac arrest, and it can cause Low Blood Pressure..problem with Tachy is stroke, sudden cardiac arrest, and Death! Some extremely fit athletics can have normal pulse of 60 or less..


Im going to eat breakfast soon as I schedule this post and then find something to occupy me inside. The girls are in too they can also get heat stroke, please read  up on the symptoms of a dog in heat stress, Normally viscous panting vomiting, lethargy, and anxiety....they have to pant and can't sweat so please know WHEN not to take your dog out and have them chase a ball or go on a hike...if they are not in good physical conditioning, then work on getting them in better health with daily easy exercise, just like us they age, they get fat and out of shape, and they have day to day issues to deal with.

As I just told everyone in my Journey Blog my tongue is now numb on the right half thanks to a dentist who damaged my Lingual nerve, I've been trying to adapt to that it's very unpleasant to not have the sensation and taste that I normally do and my mouth is dry all the time anyways so how can I tell when it's dry from thirst or just dry due to the loss of sensation?  These are things I need to figure out..

Meanwhile I'm just gonna drink water every hour whether I need it or I don't..I figure it can't hurt as long as I don't over do it you can upset the balance of sodium in your body so adding some electrolyte is also a good idea...I think if I had been hydrating as I should have over the past 4 or 5 days after those sweat baths while doing my chores I may have been ok, it was cumulative damage.  I drink Ice coffee and that is a diuretic, I drink the sparkling water, and sometimes tea...the sparkling water is fine tho...so more of that on ice and plain water with maybe a little salt in it.  If when you exercise you feel a gritty salty residue on your skin you have lost salts and that needs to be replaced. 

Not only has the climate warmed, but I've grown older so these 2 factors collide, and I have to change the way I think about how the weather affects me, I nearly froze while camping in the high elevations of Colorado in Sept...one thing was the fact that I sweat and the damp got into my sleeping bag and I could not warm up.  So having a spare bag is how I deal with that...from now on no more strenuous chores in summer heat. I take the sweat towel off my neck and throw it in!!

Don't do what I did and think you're Super Girl...rest, hydrate, and stay in during the heat unless you're swimming!