Tips on surviving the heat

anyone_for_tennis

Dear All

I'm flying to India in 3 weeks and will be there to work for 6 months - Feb-August.

I'll be in Tamil Nadu for the majority of that time, but does anyone have tips generally on how to survive in 30+ degrees heat??

I've been to South India twice before, but July-January time, and the weather was fine. It's April-June I'm worried about!

(I'm from cold and drizzly England, so am drastically underprepared both psychologically and physically.)

Any advice at all very gratefully received!

monkgonemad

youll never adjust so dont try (dont push yourself)

prickly heat powder
shower often
englishmen should stay out of noon day sun (11-1530)
dont push yourself walking/hiking
carry hankerchief
drink lots of water
get enough salt
wear a cool hat
wear very thin clothes
SLOW DOWN - maybe most important

30 is much differnt than say...35. i think even 32 is nice. but 36 is HOT.

humidity can also be huge factor when dealing with comfort/heat. humidity can really make you sweat if youre not used to the h&h.

anyone_for_tennis

Hey thanks, that's some really good advice.

I'd never have thought of prickly heat powder...in fact, such is my cold existence here I'm not even sure what prickly heat powder is........ (Googling it now).

A hankerchief is another stroke of genius I just wouldn't of thought of.

As for a hat - yes, I am desperate to take a hat. Particularly as I will be working and won't be abel to just sit out the heat in a cafe sipping a on lassi.

However, all my Indian friends here assure me (and I agree from past experience) that Indians never wear hats! (excluding the Nehru look, which in any case is brimless).

When trying desperately to blend in in a rural environment (pointless / futile exercise, I know), what kind of hat therefore do you think I could get away with?

I got a big, floppy straw one which I thought would do a good job at keeping the sun off, but a friend laughed hysterically when she saw it and said 'only weird people would wear that'.

What to do?! I need a public hysteria-minimising hat!

PeakXV

..... and no tennis till after 6pm or before 9am.

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Don't go to India ~ Pre-trip Warnings & Misconceptions?

sirensongs

Everything they said, plus -
Drink even more water than you think you need; carry an umbrella (really - Indians do wear hats, but none with a brim, which seems quite pointless - but they do carry parasols); and drink tender coconut water - the best! better than water.

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SANJAY_DEL

Drink plenty of nimbu pani (lemonade): water with salt, sugar and Lemon juice - its best to replenish the salt-water balance after profuse sweating.

Nick-H

37 is my dividing line. Something to do with blood temperature, perhaps?

The winter in Chennai is over. In fact yesterday evening I noticed the difference; breeze mildly warm instead of cool. Day-time temperatures of 30-31 will climb now quite quickly, and peak at maybe over 40 in April/May. When that time comes yo won't even find travelling by auto refreshing: the wind it creates will be hot!

I'd echo Monk's advice about taking it slowly. And try not to be like me: a late riser who is just ready to go out as the sun reaches its peak!

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Nick-H

Umbrella, yes! Second that too!

And don't care about whether or not anyone else is wearing a hat!

Try to keep the sun off your head and the back of your neck.

Please bear in mind that heat stroke is pretty serious --- work, or not, sometimes you may just have to take time off in a cool room. Don't ignore the early warning signs!

SANJAY_DEL

37 C is the normal temperature of the body.
If the ambient temperature gets hotter than 37 C, we start feeling it as unbearably hot.
There are a few places in India where the summer high sometimes hits 49 or 50C.
That hot breeze in summer is named the "lu"!

anyone_for_tennis

Thanks for the advice guys! Keep it comin' if you can - I swear there is no such thing as too much advice on this particular issue.

To illustrate the severe contrast I am about to experience, right now I am sitting in my office with the heater on full blast and a scarf wrapped round my head cos its so darn COLD. How I'm gonna survive India's temps after this is anyone's guess!

(Especially as like Nick I am not the world's earliest riser....will have to re-aclimatise to those 5am rooster wake up calls too!).

Thanks also for letting me know that winter in Chennai has really finished. Forewarned is forearmed.......

kmalik

All good really good advice.

For hydration, Indians often drink lassi (a yogart drink). There's also a mango drink called Panna that's particularly good. The hydration offered by these (and other good hydrating drinks) lasts longer (thank water). That said, nothing wrong with water either if you drink if often enough, I think...

Also, for avoiding heat stroke - in addition to the temperature, the winds have a serious effect as well. Same phenomenon as wind chill - just in the opposite direction. I do not know if this is a factor in areas like Chennai (due to proximity to the ocean).

Protection from the Sun in the form of a hat is good. You might also get some cream with high SPF as well, if you expect to be out a bit. You can get prickly heat stuff in India, although its ability to make it less prickly might be overrated

By and large, it is less likely to be a health issue (and more likely to be a comfort issue).

Digital Drifter

prickly heat powder; there's a brand called 'shower to shower' talcum powder. good talcum powder without the feminine smell which might clue your mates as you being a cross dresser or something

You'll find that in all chemist or medical shops.

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anyone_for_tennis

Sanjay - please tell me where these places are.... (I am guessing Rajasthan etc..?) and I will endeavour to avoid!

PeakXV

I like exercise early in the morning when its relatively cool, nice breakfast with lots of fresh fruit -then feet up, coffee & "The Hindu" as a capper. Then under a banyan tree deep in the jungle with feet in an ice bucket for the rest of the day ..... emerging at dusk for some photo ops, dinner and then on to the bazaars to higgle with the now (late in a hot day)tired and more negotiable shop keepers.

amyl

Care about urself, not the ppl's stare or whatever. They anyway stare at whites...so wearing a hat for your comfort would not make them stare more . All my friends(including ladies) while out in the hot n humid Mumbai wear a fully rounded hat to cover, head of course but also ears and the back neck. A full sleeve thin cotton top wud be recommended if out in the sun for any reason. Cannot emphasize more on having loads of water....even if you have to ease yourself every 40 mins...its worth to keep urself cool

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