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I'm a 58 yr old male and summer heat drives me crazy

Is there any meds I can take to help?

Thyroid?

Thanks

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1 
 This is in no way a paleo related question. – greymouser May 4 2012 at 17:53
Try an ice bath or maybe some air conditioning (not very paleo, though). – Dave S. May 4 2012 at 18:09
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 No no, heat intolerance is a real thing, and indicative of several vitamin deficiencies or hyperthyroidism. – Happy Now May 4 2012 at 19:17
I recommend strong alcoholic beverages OR valerian tincture to cope, but those are purely symptomatic relief, and won't improve your baseline intolerance. – Happy Now May 5 2012 at 1:22

closed as off topic by greymouser, Beth-WeightMaven, Dave S., none, Ed♦ May 5 2012 at 20:04

5 Answers

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Heat intolerance can be a sign of:

  • vitamin D deficiency
  • lupus
  • MS
  • overactive thyroid
  • B12 deficiency
  • adrenal insufficiency

Things that make it worse are caffeine and amphetamines (like diet pills)

Talk to your doctor about this, they can do the blood work to hopefully determine the cause.

I used to get it quite badly, even though I was hypothyroid at the time, I was also vegetarian, didn't go out in the sun or supplement vitamin D....ever, and practically lived on coffee. My sun shunning boyfriends from that time seemed to suffer from it too, and one would even get hives and prickly heat if he went out in the sun for just a few minutes.

I managed to get over it by going on really long walk one dry heat summer day (humid is still hell, and only remedied by tequila based beverages) and pushing myself through the discomfort (which only lasted the first half hour), at the time I thought it was just getting over a mental hurdle, but now I'm wondering if it was the vitamin D mixed with the relaxation of a nice long walk.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003094.htm

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1 
 I actually had no idea that heat intolerance was a real thing, I've been telling my husband for years I'm intolerant to the heat and always get itchy and hivy, yet we vacation in heat all the time (actually it more heat and humidity that bothers me, even struggle to breath....but I tolerate dry heat well)....my thyroid is ok though – Kelly May 4 2012 at 20:11
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 It's never lupus. – Kasra May 5 2012 at 0:02
Really? Because lupus and photo-sensitivity kept coming up during google searches for heat intolerance. Seems to be a pretty common symptom with further googling: voices.yahoo.com/…, cure4lupus.org/store/…, angelfire.com/mo/nut2oak/index8.html – Happy Now May 5 2012 at 0:52
Or...were you saying lupus isn't real? – Happy Now May 5 2012 at 1:19
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Uh...drink a tall glass of ice water? I don't think the Paleoverlords have banned that yet.

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Who are the Paleooverlords? LOL - I like that term! – Lady_Arwen May 5 2012 at 1:34
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Assuming that your doctor verifies that you have no medical conditions, you can acclimatize yourself to hot weather through exercise:

http://www.sportsci.org/encyc/heataccl/heataccl.html

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  1. Air conditioner?

  2. If your windows open to two opposite sides, keep them wide open - nice breeze.

  3. Wet a sheet with cold water and post it over the door frame. It cools of the air.

  4. Close the blinds. Don't let the sun in.

  5. Take a cool shower every now and then.

Good luck and remember:

You are not alone - I HATE IT WHEN IT IS HOT!!! Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

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More info needed:

Where do you live? Humidity is huge for heat. There's something to the "dry heat" thing in my experience.

How much do you weigh? I've never had problems with heat at closer to normal weight, usually have trouble with very warm weather.

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Sweating is less effective when there is high humidity. The sweat doesn't evaporate as much. When there is less evaporation, there is less cooling. – Dangph May 4 2012 at 21:51

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