How to Protect Yourself from the Heat of the Sun

The summer heat is on! And this summer heat is not the ordinary ones that we experience every year because of the El Nino that hit the country. Because of the El Nino, the country is experiencing a dry spell and many farms were ruined because of the drought. The extreme heat ushered in many health problems like heatstroke, sunburn, and other skin diseases.

The Department of Health warned the public to avoid being under the direct heat of the sun. There also studies saying that being exposed to the sunlight from 10 AM to 3 PM causes skin cancer. However, there are those times when we have to work under the sun. Here are some of the things that you could do to protect yourself when you have no choice but to stay under the sun.

Tip # 1: Cover Yourself

The best protection is to avoid being directly exposed to sunlight. This could be done by covering yourself up with umbrella and hats. It is recommended that you use umbrellas with thick cloth because the thicker the cloth is, the better it is in protecting you from the sun. Umbrella gives you the best protection because it covers not only your head but also your arms and nape.

If you prefer using headgears, then I recommend wide brimmed hats than baseball caps. Wide brimmed hats will protect your face and nape. It is also better to wear light colored clothes because these kinds of clothes are better in reflecting away radiation from the sun as compared to dark colored clothes. The more radiation are reflected, the lesser the heat absorbed by the clothes, thus the lesser the heat experienced by your body. White is the best reflector of radiation while black is the poorest since it absorbs most of the sun’s radiation.

Remember that Ultraviolet rays, sun’s radiation that causes skin cancer, can pass through clouds. So, even in a cloudy day, it is recommended that you cover yourself up.

Tip # 2: Use Sunblock

Sunblock is good to use in protecting exposed parts of your skin and will block the UV rays if properly applied. Sunblock lotions could be bought at the groceries or your local drugstores. Choose sunblock lotion that is SPF 30 and above. SPF is the rating used to show how strong the sunblock lotion is in protecting the skin. The higher the SPF value, the better the sunblock lotion in protecting your skin.

Tip # 3: Drinks Lots of Fluids

Sweat is usually produced when your body is exposed to heat. Sweat cools off the skin by absorbing the heat in the skin. The drawback of sweating is that we lose fluids that are inside our body. Dehydration is experienced when the body has less amount of fluid than what is required. The signs of dehydration are when we feel thirsty and when the color of our urine is yellowish.

It is recommended that you always have bottled water or fluid replenishing drinks like Gatorade at hand. Keep on drinking water so as to replenish your body’s lost fluids and prevent dehydration. Drinking water refreshes your throat and gives you a steady supply of sweat so as to keep your body feel cool.

Tip # 4: Protect Your Eyes

Extreme heat and sunlight is harmful to your eyes. Our eyes are also susceptible to the harmful effect of the UV rays. Thus, it is recommended that you protect your eyes by wearing sunglasses. Also avoid looking directly at the sun.

Tip # 5: Don’t Go Out Between 10 AM and 3 PM

Sun’s heat is the greatest between 10 AM and 3 PM. Because of this, it is recommended that you avoid going out, as much as possible, during these times.

These are the some of the tips that you could follow to protect yourself from the harmful effect of the summer heat. Follow these tips and you will be fine.

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Visit Before the Eastern Sunset and read about Cebu City’s Fort San Pedro.