Summer In The Arizona Desert 2
Dogs and cats don't sweat so they cannot cool themselves that way. Be careful if your dog or cat overheats and try to cool them in a pool of cool water as you may put them in shock and they can die. It is best to always make sure they have shade all day long and they have plenty of water to drink. If they are allowed in the house then they should be there. If not then you can buy a little kiddie pool for them to lay in to help cool them off in the shade of course.
Speaking of pools let's talk a little on that subject. Arizona is well known for all of their swimming pools. What a better way to have fun then splashing and playing at the family pool. Just make sure you keep an eye on those non swimmers. Arizona is notorious for drownings! Mostly because a toddler slips out of the parents sight and into the pool. Keep a fence around your pool and a padlock on the gate.
Swimming pools are a great way to cool off and remember you must continue to drink while you do so. You can still dehydrate at the swimming pool if you don't drink.
If you feel thirsty then you are already dehydrating. If your lips feel dry then you have lost at least 5% of your fluids. It is best to sip water continuously throughout the hour. If you start to feel dizzy and uncoordinated you should get someone's attention to get help. Have them take you to a shady area preferably with air conditioning and sip on water. If you don't feel quite right in about fifteen minutes then go to the hospital and get some fluids. The drawback to getting dehydrated enough to get heatstroke or heat exhaustion is that you are more susceptible to it again. So be out in the sun in the early part of the day, stay out of the sun in the afternoon hours until about four. Keep hydrated by drinking water not sodas or tea as they tend to have the opposite effect. Summer in Arizona can be tricky so help keep an eye on each other, even those stubborn big adults tend to overdue it!
For more information on heatstroke and heat exhaustion visit http://www.emedicinehealth.com/heat_exhaustion_and_heat_stroke/article_em.htm .
I don't want to scare you about the Arizona heat, I just want you to be safe while you are in the sun. Oh yeah, keep all crayons, chocolate, CDs and anything that you don't want to melt out of your car. I just found what used to be a pack of crayons in the glovebox of the truck.
Arizona raised,
Laurie
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