Family Wilds

Beating the Heat or Not Being Beat by the Heat?

This post is about the heat, not the Heat. If you are into professional basketball you might think this post title is referring to the current NBA championship match-up between The Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks.  I'm the adult half of Family Wilds from Texas, so it would be fair to assume this post is about the Mavs being down to the Heat 2 games to 1, and as I type, down by 2 at the half in game 4.  The truth is, I'm a lifelong and dearly devoted San Antonio Spurs fan, so this post has nothing to do with basketball...except for this entire first paragraph.  Go Spurs!

Our high temperatures in Nashville are hovering in the 90s and the humidity is pretty thick.  It's not the temperature/humidity combination we get back in Texas or Florida (my wife is from Florida, and no, she's not a Miami Heat fan), however, it's pretty rough.  This is especially true when you have a family that loves to be outdoors, and a member of that family is 15-months old.  When I was a much younger man I was always very proud of being able to beat the heat.  Beating the heat meant that I would recklessly subject my body to anything I wanted to do regardless of the potential dangers.  Beating the heat was a challenge; a dumb one, but it was a challenge I would often accept blindly.

A baby can open your eyes really quickly.  Our family's new summer challenge is not being beat by the heat.  Here are a few general rules we follow when planning our outside time in the hot summer months, which mirror recommendations made by the National Weather Service.  We highly recommend reading everything on that page, and on this one from the American Red Cross.

These are our opinions based in the research we have conducted for our family; we do not expect anyone else to do as we do, and we don't even recommend people do exactly as we do.  Everyone has differing tolerance and comfort levels.  Please check with your doctor and conduct further research so you can make the most informed decisions for yourself and/or your family.

1) We eat and drink appropriately.  We do not eat a lot of heavy proteins before outdoor time (they increase metabolic heat production and can cause water loss), and we drink plenty of water before, during, and after.  We make sure we never take water with us that is too cold; this can cause stomach cramping.  I prefer leaving the house with cool or room temperature water, especially with outdoor activities.  Also, we do not drink caffeine or alcohol.

2) We get out in the early morning or late evening when we know the temperatures will be lower and manageable for longer periods of time. We limit our consecutive outdoor hours as appropriate.  Often we're back home from a morning hike and/or swim by 10:30 or 11:00 AM.  Temperatures can rise really quickly and lower really slowly often times, so we don't take norms for granted.  Norms always have ranges and outliers, so we strive to stay vigilant of current conditions

3) We try to go places that have an abundance of shade and places to rest.

4) We dress appropriately (light-weight, light-colored, loose clothing).  We really like to use clothing as sun protection when possible (long-sleeve shirts, pants). If it is too hot though, we dress accordingly, go places we know will be well shaded, and keep the mineral-based sunscreen handy.

4b) Our daughter wears cloth diapers, so we make sure to change her frequently while we're out to avoid heat related diaper rash.

5) We never try to be heroes.  I played in a soccer game this weekend, which had a game time heat index of over 100 degrees.  The humidity made it all the more brutal.  I asked some of our Facebook followers for some advice, and they provided great ideas like drinking plenty of water, using ice to keep cool, eating foods with high water content before hand, and bananas (check out this blog post one of those followers wrote on this topic).  I did almost all of those.  For all intents and purposes I was well prepared.  This last rule was the most important for me on that day.  I love competitive soccer and basketball.  It's fun!  I hate sitting on the sidelines watching others play, but it was so hot outside it would have been reckless of me to not take plenty of breaks.  I did, and  I felt fine during and after the game.  I even had some juice left for a game on the next day.  Don't be a hero.

So far, we've been successful in not being beat by these hot temperatures, and we're pretty sure we'll have an undefeated summer season.  We have a cohesive team with a good defensive strategy that we're comfortable with, and we know our strengths, limits, and gear.  We're not looking forward to the continued heat, but we are really looking forward to the summer. How do you make sure your family isn't beat by the heat?

The Sun Quandary

There is a well established social rule that most people follow, which mandates the application of  high spf, chemical-based sunscreen in any circumstance where exposure to the sun is expected.  While we respect the notion that humans need to be protected from prolonged sun exposure (especially in modern, industrial times), we are weary of the notion that any expected sun exposure necessitates chemical, or even mineral applications of sun protection. 

The whole issue is very broad, and we could certainly (and happily) spend a lot of time and words  articulating our thoughts on the matter.  Don't worry, we won't!  We will say that we think there is a a great deal of power wielded by commercial enterprises, especially in this country.  We also know that the science of sun exposure and protection is ever-changing.

Over the past few years, one of our favorite resources on this topic was developed and is anually updated by the Environmental Working Group.  Their sunscreen guide provides great descriptions of the current questions being raised by the public and science communities, as well as the current research conclusions about sunscreen. We certainly encourage you to read through the information they provide, including a list of the best and worst rated sunscreens of the year, and some simple sun safety tips. 

The sunscreen ratings are taken from one of our other favorite EWG resources, Skin Deep, a cosmetics database.  As of right now, they have 65,000 products in the database, which you can search and obtain safety ratings and detailed reports of that products ingredients.  It's a really amazing resource that we use for everything from face wash to lotion to make-up.  Access to this type of information is very empowering.

Our daughter is the most important piece of our world.  Cancer is a serious disease that we do not take lightly.  We are equally concerned about prolonged exposure to the sun and exposure to chemicals.  As such, the following are general rules we try to follow when considering when and how to sunscreen ourselves and our daughter.  We do not expect anyone else to do as we do.  In fact, we don't even recommend people do exactly as we do, if only because we encourage everyone to conduct their own research and do what makes them most comfortable.

1) We always plan to go places where we are sure that shade will be readily  available, and we stay  within the shade as much as possible.

2) We do not apply sunscreen if we are going to be in direct sunshine for less than 20-30 minutes at a time, or if we cannot provide consistent protection by clothing, e.g., upf woven hats, shirts, and pants.

3) We consistently and very frequently check for pink sections of the skin.  You know, when you press your finger on a spot of pink skin and it instantly turns white, then back to pink after you release pressure. If we see this, we move out of direct sunlight with no delay, and stay out of direct sunlight as much as possible. If we are going to have to be under direct sunlight longer, we apply sunscreen to any piece of skin we cannot readily cover.

4) When we apply sunscreen, we apply mineral-based sunscreen rated a 2 or  lower by the  Environmental Working Group with no exceptions.  Mineral-based sunscreens are typically considered safer, and contain far fewer synthetic chemicals.  EWG recommends conducting a small skin test on a spot of skin before applying liberally, to ensure there is no reaction.

5) When we apply mineral-based sunscreen, we apply it as directed.  If it says apply every 2 hours, and/or after water play, we do exactly that.  We do our best to not get overconfident that sunscreen will keep the harmful UV rays away indefinitely.

Again, these are our opinions based in the research we have conducted for our family; we do not expect anyone else to do as we do, and we don't even recommend people do exactly as we do.  Everyone's skin and comfort levels are different. 

We strongly believe that this world is an amazing and beautiful place, and that any thing you do to be a part of it is important and wonderful.  Our daughter will be raised in the outdoors with a healthy respect for all the wonder and harm it can create.  For us, these are both significant lessons that we hope will help her make informed and thoughtful decisions for herself and the planet. 

What do you do for sun protection?  Do you have general rules you or your family follows for sunscreen?