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How to Stay Cool as a Cucumber this Long Hot Summer

Dawn Vickerstaff
7 min readJun 7, 2024

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Using tips that Grandma Knew

If you have a fountain handy and you are hot, get yourself wet! That’s always fun. But not all of us have a fountain we can cavort in. Though, some of us might have a small garden with a sprinkler. There is no age limit on running through sprinklers. If there is no garden where you live, take a shower in water-friendly, loose clothes and stand in front of the fan or an evening breezy open window. Do this as many times as it takes to cool you down.

Seriously, the above works and there are several other ways to cool ourselves down during the long hot summer to come and the many hot ones to come along in future years.

Overheating is serious and can lead to health problems that can result in death, especially for very young and older persons. The older someone gets the less able their bodies are able to cool their internal temperature. But let’s start with babies.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, babies should not be long exposed to direct sunlight until they are over six months old. Lighter-skinned babies and small children are not able to efficiently manufacture enough melanin needed to protect their skin. Parents should apply sunscreen and keep them mostly in the shade. Parents of babies with more melanin should also…

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Dawn Vickerstaff
Dawn Vickerstaff

Written by Dawn Vickerstaff

MSW, Mental Health Therapist, Writer of Truth

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