10:47am Friday 3rd July 2009
The heat is on! And it’s set to continue today, albeit with a few showers.
With forecasts for more sun tomorrow, how can we cope with the big meltdown and chill out? From deep-breathing exercises to smothering pigs in suncream, here’s how we’re keeping cool across the district.
Splashing around at Ilkley Lido is popular. Visitor numbers are up by more than 50 per cent compared to last year as swimmers make the most of the warm weather. Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, Bradford Council’s executive member for the environment and culture, said: “We have had excellent numbers for Ilkley Lido so far this year and if this wonderful weather keeps up, we are expecting a record year.
“The lido opened on May 23, and since then there have been 17,000 visitors – 6,000 more than the same period last year – which is great!”
While visitors enjoy swimming outdoors at Ilkley Lido, water authorities and emergency services have urged people not to swim in open water during the heatwave.
Diana Smith, safety adviser for British Waterways Yorkshire, said: “We would recommend people choose somewhere suitable to swim, such as a swimming pool or lido, not rivers or canals.”
David Wright, manager of West Yorkshire Police’s Underwater Search Unit, said: “These waterways aren’t like swimming pools. On hot days, reservoirs can seem like a good place to take a swim but they are extremely dangerous due to chilling temperatures and strong undercurrents.”
Another seasonal danger is sunburn. A spokesman at Boots on Forster Square Retail Park said there had been a rise in sales of suncream and cooling sprays over recent days.
It’s not just humans who can overheat. Animals are vulnerable as temperatures rise, and the RPSCA warns pet-owners to be vigilant.
“It’s easy to forget that animals don’t always like hot weather as much as we humans do,” says spokeswoman Jude Clay. “A little consideration and common sense can make summer safe and stress-free for pets. Make sure pets have shade and fresh drinking water. Watch out for heatstroke, which can be fatal.”
At Bradford Industrial Museum in Eccleshill, the mighty Shire horses – D’Arcy, Murdoch and Knight – are kept cool after watering hanging baskets on the city’s streets. Horsekeeper Louise Wightman said the horses’ jobs are scheduled for earlier in the day when temperatures are cooler. “We try to work them before it gets really hot and they get hosed off when they come in,” said Louise.
The horses have their snouts smeared with suncream too. And over at Ponderosa Rural Therapeutic Centre in Heckmondwike, resident pigs are also smeared in suncream. Other creatures, from wallabies and meerkats to pygmy goats and Highland cattle, are given cold water and fruit.
“We make sure they have plenty of shade, drinking water and fresh fruit,” said a spokeswoman.
While it’s socially acceptable for animals to sweat, it is said that gentlemen should perspire and women ‘merely glow’. But with 2.6 million sweat glands releasing a litre of water, salts, sugar, ammonia and urea a day, it’s not surprising we worry about wet patches on our T-shirts. But how do we avoid it in the sweltering heat?
“Sweating helps regulate our temperature and release toxins. Although we often think sweat smells, it doesn’t – it’s only when it mixes with the bacteria on our bodies that it takes on an odour,” said clinical nutritionist Helena Oades, who recommends deep-breathing exercises, yoga, camomile tea and lavender aromatherapy to help control sweating. But don’t go overboard. “You need to sweat, otherwise your body will overheat,” she added. “Eat well, exercise and drink plenty of water, but don’t expect to be totally dry – that wouldn’t be healthy.”
The more nervous you get about sweating, the more likely it is you’ll do just that, says GP Rob Hicks. “Exercise, hot weather, stress and anxiety increase sweat,” he says. “Spicy food, smoking and alcohol make you sweat too. To cut back on the amount you sweat, you might need to make an appropriate lifestyle adjustment.”
Dr Hicks advises washing regularly with hot, soapy water, ditching fast-food, with its heavy preservatives and chemical-intense ingredients, for fruit and vegetables, and drinking two litres of water a day. Avoid garlic – sulphur circulates via your blood to your mouth, armpits and groin – and red meat, which releases toxins and bacteria into the body. Spicy food increases the metabolism, making you sweat, and fast-food is filled with chemical additives that increase bodily toxins and create body odour. Coffee should be avoided, as caffeine keeps toxins locked in.
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