Heatwaves and scorching days might typically be described as “good weather”, however warmth can have a harmful impact on the human physique.
From warmth exhaustion to warmth stroke, dehydration to water toxicity, it may be a minefield attempting to remain cool – so the tech world is developing with its personal options to overheating.
Getting sweaty – and measuring it
Our our bodies attempt to take care of a core temperature of roughly 37C, however this may range from individual to individual.
When it’s heat exterior, our blood vessels confide in attempt to lose warmth to our environment.
The hypothalamus within the mind additionally tells sweat glands to begin working, and as sweat evaporates from our pores and skin, it carries away warmth and lowers our physique temperature.
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Measuring that sweat by wearable tech like patches can supply necessary clues to understanding when our our bodies are overheating.
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A prototype for an Epicore sweat patch in 2018. File pic: Epicore Biosystems/AP
Epicore, a US biotech firm, has now developed a patch that measures how a lot sweat you’re producing and the quantity of various chemical substances, like electrolytes, it incorporates.
Sweat can “indicate the health status of the body at the molecular level” and, as a result of it’s so straightforward to entry, it’s “ideal for continuous monitoring”, based on a 2023 research in Nature.
If the sweat patch, which additionally measures the physique’s core temperature and motion, senses you’re approaching harmful ranges of overheating, it sends alerts to your telephone.
Warmth exhaustion v heatstroke
They’re typically used interchangeably by members of the general public, however warmth exhaustion and heatstroke are two distinct situations, though each begin in the identical approach.
Signs of warmth exhaustion embrace tiredness, dizziness, complications, vomiting, extreme sweating, muscle cramps, and a excessive physique temperature, amongst others.
Warmth exhaustion doesn’t often want emergency medical assist in the event you can settle down inside half-hour.
However when it turns to heatstroke, it turns into harmful.
If somebody remains to be unwell after half-hour of resting in a cool place, being cooled and consuming fluids, they could have heatstroke.
A really excessive temperature, scorching pores and skin that’s not sweating, a quick heartbeat and seizures are all indicators it’s time to name 999.
“Ice water can cause the opposite body response of old shock,” she mentioned. “Lukewarm showers are also effective.”
Staying hydrated – however not too hydrated
Whereas it might appear the apparent response, consuming an excessive amount of water throughout a heatwave might be dangerous.
“If you drink in excess, you wash important minerals out of your body,” Dr Brimicombe mentioned.
Once you drink an excessive amount of, your kidneys cannot eliminate the surplus and the sodium content material of your blood turns into diluted – that is known as hyponatremia, and it may be life-threatening.
For some individuals although, simply getting sufficient water is tough.
Individuals with dementia “may forget to drink enough fluids and wear suitable clothing” in the course of the heatwave, based on Angelo Makri, senior data officer for wellbeing on the Alzheimer’s Society.
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File pic: iStock
There are a selection of good cups and bottles being launched onto the market that monitor how a lot water you’re consuming all through the day.
There has not been a lot tutorial analysis into how efficient good bottles are however one research commissioned by the Nationwide Kidney Basis did discover that in individuals with kidney stones, these utilizing the tech had been more likely to drink extra – and forgot to drink much less typically.
A cooling, private breeze
The UK’s buildings will not be well-designed in terms of warmth, based on Professor Prashant Kumar from the College of Surrey.
Poor air flow means it may be exhausting to flow into air all through our buildings, and the dearth of greenery in our cities and cities could make the warmth really feel extra insufferable.
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Fortunately extra moveable followers are additionally out there. Pic: PA (July 2022)
However whereas there are long-term options like higher metropolis planning or retrofitted buildings, it might be extra environment friendly to easily cool the air round you, as a substitute of attempting to chill the entire room.
In Japan, inventor Ichigaya Hiroshi has been attempting to maintain staff cool by utilizing their garments for the reason that Nineties.
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Ichigaya Hiroshi pictured with an early prototype of his fan jacket. Pic: Reuters
Fairly than cooling down complete rooms or buildings, he advised Japan’s authorities PR workplace that he wished to “cool the air around each person” as it might take a lot much less vitality.
He experimented with jackets laced with water pipes however discovered they leaked on individuals, and moved on to sewing miniature followers into the backs of staff’ clothes.
Now, air-conditioned garments are all the craze within the nation, based on Vogue, and even hit the high-fashion catwalks of Paris Style Week final October.
But when a ballooning, air-filled jacket will not lower it at your workplace, extra discreet choices have additionally been invented.
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A catwalk mannequin wears an air-conditioned outfit by Anrealage.
Pic: NOWFASHION/Shutterstock
Followers that cling round your neck and blast cool air onto your face are a typical sight on public transport within the UK in the course of the summer season, and Sony has now taken it a step additional.
The Japanese tech big has developed the Reon cooling system; a steel plate that sits between your shoulder blades and cools your core.
It’s marketed in the direction of workplace staff who can put on the system beneath shirts and blouses, though it’s nonetheless seen on the high of the collar.
A small clip-tag sits on the surface of the shirt to measure the air temperature, and the machine robotically adjusts how scorching or chilly it’s, relying in your surroundings.
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Reon Pocket Professional.
Pic: Sony
All this tech might assist preserve you cool however, as Professor Kumar identified, in the mean time, the UK is barely scorching for a couple of weeks a yr (though international warming signifies that will enhance).
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UK heatwaves defined
Analysis launched final week confirmed the UK had purchased 7.1 million mini-fans within the final yr, however on the similar time binned, or did not use, 3.4 million of them.
In order temperatures rise, it stays unclear whether or not the event of good tech means it has now reached the purpose the place it’s more likely to turn out to be a widespread instrument within the ongoing battle to maintain cool – or if a lukewarm bathe will proceed to suffice for many of us.
