Keep Cool and Carry On

The UK is experiencing higher than normal temperatures this week and especially today (Tuesday 19th) where it may reach up to 40 degrees celsius, the highest UK temperature on record ever. As a result, health warnings across the UK have been issued. Rochcare and all of our associated homes are committed to ensuring the people we support are kept safe and cool and we would encourage everybody to check that elderly friends, relatives and neighbours are managing OK whilst the temperatures remain high. We’ll be following some tips and tricks to keep ourselves cool and you might want to take a look too.

High temps increase the risk of overheating and dehydration. First and foremost keep hydrated! Keep regularly drinking fluids, primarily non alcoholic, you’ll want around 6-8 glasses (around 2-3 litres) of liquid a day as a minimum but given the dangers of extreme heat you may want to go further.

On top of that here are ten top tips that we are following and you should follow too!

1. As much as we may want to keep in the sun, try and avoid doing so during the hottest times of the day which is around mid-afternoon.
2. If you’re travelling by car or public transport, take a bottle of liquid with you!
3. Avoid strenuous activity, if you need to do anything that may cause excessive movement try and keep it limited to early mornings or late evenings,
4. When inside, try to stay in the coolest parts of your home. Keep your home cool by closing blinds and curtains especially in rooms that catch the sun.
5. Keep windows shut while it’s cooler inside than out and open them when it gets hotter inside. If it’s safe, you could leave a window open at night when it’s cooler
6. Wear loose, lightweight, light-coloured, cotton clothing.
7. Take cool baths or showers, avoid jumping in to fast to prevent shock.
8. Splash your face with cool (not very cold) water, or place a damp cloth on the back of your neck to help you cool off, if possible, fill a bucket with water and ice and place your feet inside!
9. Eat normally – even if you aren’t hungry, you need a normal diet to replace salt losses from sweating. In addition, try to have more foods with high water content, watermelon, strawberries and cucumber can be an excellent way of keeping yourself hydrated.
10. Hydrate! So important we’ve mentioned it twice, keep liquids topped up.

It has always been a priority at Rochcare to protect the people we care for and this level of care isn’t reserved for our family but for all families. If you need any information regarding keeping you and your loved ones cool, please refer to local guidance or online portals such as AgeUK.