A cold shower during hot weather? It's a bad idea! We explain why

It is becoming increasingly difficult to live in extreme temperatures. They are not easy to get used to, especially when even the night does not bring cooling. The heat is hardest to survive in the city, where a water curtain or a breeze from a fountain can be the only salvation on the scorching sidewalks. The dream of almost every overheated passerby becomes a cold shower or bath. However, in extreme conditions the principle " cold water will add health" does not work at all. A cold bath makes you even hotter and relief is short-lived.

All this is because the large temperature difference between warmed skin and cold water leads to immediate constriction of blood vessels. This is a natural reaction of the body, which thus protects itself from getting cold. Once out of the shower, the vessels quickly relax to re-warm the skin. Therefore, instead of relief, an even greater heat wave and increased sweating is felt. In addition, rapid vasoconstriction can cause dizziness, and too long cooling of the body dangerous hypothermia. Cold showers on hot days are strongly discouraged for those suffering from cardiovascular and heart conditions, hyperthyroidism and varicose veins. Too rapid a change in body temperature can cause thermal shock, the consequences of which are very dangerous to health and even life. A cold shower will not bring relief to people with endocrine diseases, which alter sensitivity to low temperatures. In this case, pouring cool water over the body can be a particularly unpleasant sensation. Even healthy people can catch a cold under the influence of cold water and a runny nose and cough during hot weather are particularly distressing. It is completely inadvisable to soak an overheated head with ice-cold water. Rapid constriction of the brain vessels can cause visual disturbances, dizziness and even unconsciousness.

When the desire to cool off in cold water becomes stronger than common sense, it is worth exercising moderation and in your own bathroom rules similar to those for jumping into the water directly from a hot beach. To minimize the risk and ensure your well-being in a cold shower, you need to start with lukewarm water, the temperature of which can be gradually reduced after a few minutes. We talk about a cold shower when the temperature drops below 20 ° C. It can be lowered to a minimum, usually it is 10°C, but these are already extreme values. You should stay in a cold shower for a short time, first directing the stream to the feet and then slowly towards the upper parts of the body. You should never start from the head. Also, getting you to shiver is completely inadvisable. Slightly different rules apply to hardened people, those who not only take cold showers on hot days for health and beauty, in winter they walrus or train intensively. However, when it is hot they, too, will not be relieved after getting out from under the cool water.

Paradoxically, when tropical heat is pouring from the sky, warm water at a temperature close to body temperature of about 37-38 St.C. or slightly higher is more effective than a cold shower. This way the body does not feel compelled to violently defend itself against heat loss, control and maintain body temperature and naturally begins to regulate the body's temperature thus leading to cooling. After a warm shower, warm drinks are advisable, which, by leading to sweating, promote natural thermoregulation.

During hot weather, doctors recommend a very cautious approach to rapidly cooling the body. A safe and effective way is cold compresses on the nape of the neck, in the hollows of the elbows, on the joints and ankles. Cooling the arteries in this way brings quick relief and does not endanger health or risk thermal shock. Also, bathing the feet in lukewarm water with menthol oil or salt effectively lowers the temperature and reduces any swelling in the legs. Cold face and body mists evenly applied to the skin throughout the day are an effective way to survive the heat.