With another heatwave arriving this week, I am aware that not everyone enjoys the warmer weather, here are a few tips to help.

HOW TO STAY COOL

It’s really important to keep your home as cool as possible. I am often asked how I keep the salon cool. Its taken me 27 years to work out that if I keep the door into the shop open in the morning to remove the heat from the sun hitting the shop window, then keep the door into the treatment room closed all day, the blackout blinds keep the salon cool.

At home, you could do the same, if the sun is on the front of the house in the morning, open the windows at the back to welcome in the cool morning air, then when the sun moves to the back, close the windows, blinds and doors into the bedrooms closed This should help to keep the temperature cool.

Before you leave for work, place a damp towel in the fridge so that when you return all hot and bothered, you can place the cold towel on your legs and feet, this will help to cool you down instantly. Make sure to place a jug of water in the fridge too, a long cooling drink will be wonderful.

It’s often the evening we all struggle with, light bedding will help as well as having a fan on, although sometimes, it does seem that only warm air is circulating. Hopefully, your bedrooms have stayed cool during the day so that you can get to sleep before you feel hot. Cotton bedding is best.

HOW TO REDUCE SWOLLEN LEGS AND FEET

Hot weather can make your legs and feet swell, making them really uncomfortable. Use the cold towel method as before to help. Drink plenty of water, it’s a misconception that any water you drink will make lymphedema worse, in fact, if you can flush through with more fluids, sometimes it can help.

Watermelon is known to be a powerful lymph cleanser, is 90% water, and includes electrolytes such as potassium, it is a healthy choice if you struggle with swollen legs and feet. As is pineapple which contains an enzyme, bromelain, which triggers the body to reduce swelling.

Soak your feet in an Epsom salt foot bath, try a coolish water temperature and relax. Then elevate your legs so that the circulation in your legs can work better. There is a yoga pose, legs up the wall, which is highly effective at clearing excess fluid, if you suffer from any medical condition, please read carefully before doing it.

Being active is really good at stimulating your circulation and lymphatic drainage. Your lymph is pumped around your body by your breath and movement so it is vital to keep moving.

You can dry hand brush your legs in an upwards direction to, again, stimulate the lymphatic flow.

If you don’t have to go to work, consider an early rise, siesta in the afternoon and then go out again later on when its cooler.

How to help animals and wildlife

The hot weather is a real issue for pets. Imagine being a rabbit, with a thick hairy coat, stuck in a hutch without any option to move. Place a water bottle, nearly filled with water, in the freezer. Then in the morning before you leave for work, place the bottle in the hutch. The coolness will last all day. Make sure the hutch is out of direct sunlight and in the shade if possible, I saw a wonderful post about walking your dogs in the heat. They said that people should walk barefooted whilst wearing a fur coat to fully understand that dogs should not be walked on hot pavements. Im sure they will be happy lying on the cool kitchen floor than being walked in the sunshine. Don’t leave your cats out during the day, they won’t enjoy the heat.

Our wildlife is in trouble and needs all the help we can give them. Please leave fresh bowls of water front and back of your property, some shallow for hedgehogs, and some with pebbles in for insects. Find a shady place to keep the water cool. Try and plant hedges in your garden. Do you remember how lovely and cool it is to sit under a tree in the hot sun, your garden needs lots of trees, hedges, and shrubs for all the birds, mammals, and insects to take shelter from the hot sun. Consider a pond too for our frogs and newt friends. I read somewhere that if every garden in the UK had trees, shrubs and a native hedge, we would have so many more birds, mammals and insects and be cooler too. Did you know that if you let your lawn grow a little longer, the moisture will remain in the soil making it cooler for insects and invertebrates.

TREATMENTS TO HELP WITH SWOLLEN LEGS

Reflexology Lymph Drainage really helps to clear toxins, and stimulate your lymphatic flow, resulting in less swollen feet and legs. Lymphatic Drainage Massage is a full body treatment targeting the lymph nodes, if you struggle with lymphedema, I would recommend having a regular massage.

And finally…

Thankfully heat waves are not continual in this country so far, scarily they may happen more but not this year. We may have to change the way we live to allow for the change in temperature but its a choice we can make. If we continue as we are, as a planet, we will face hotter summers which will cause many bigger problems for future generations. It’s time to put pressure on big greedy corporate companies, our MPs, and central government to end fossil fuels and bring in mandatory renewable energy ie solar, wind, and water. I know what I am prepared to do.

I hope the tips will help you.