OUR SERVICES | TEAM FUTURE MATTERS

ON A HOTTY DAY

ON A RAINY DAY

Drink plenty of water

Drink plenty of water even if you do not feel thirsty – check the colour of your wee – if it’s pale you’re drinking enough (check out theurine colour chart).
If your doctor normally limits your fluids, check how much to drink during hot weather.
Avoid alcoholic, hot or sugary drinks including tea and coffee (they can make dehydration worse).
If you go outside, carry a bottle of water with you.
Stock your fridge with cold water and freezer with ice.

Keep cool

Keep your body cool

Drink cold drinks and eat smaller cold meals such as salads and fruit.
Wear light coloured, loose fitting clothes made from natural fibres like cotton.
Stay out of the sun.
If you must go outside, apply sunscreen, wear a hat.
Plan your day around the heat – avoid being outdoors between 11am and 5pm.
Put wet towels or cool packs on your arms or neck or put your feet in cool water.
Take cool showers or baths.
Minimise physical activity, do all household chores early in the morning when it is coolest.

Keep your house cool

Cool your house by closing windows, shutting curtains and blinds, opening windows at night if you can to let in cool air.
Use air-conditioning if you have it (make sure it’s set to cool).
If you don’t have air-conditioning, spend time in a cool place like a library, shopping centre or cinema.
Know which room in your house is the coolest (this will often be on the ground floor on the south side).
If there is no power or you can’t get to an air-conditioned space, spend time in the coolest part of your house.
Use your stove and oven as little as possible.

Take care of others

Visit or telephone elderly friends, neighbours and relatives, at least once a day.
Check that they have water in the fridge.
Encourage them to drink.
Help them to find the coolest room in the house.
Consider taking them to a cool place (e.g. shopping centre, library or cinema).
Take particular care to keep children cool and get them to drink lots as they won’t often do this by themselves.
Never leave babies, children or animals alone in a car even if the air-conditioner is on.

Have a plan

Know who to call if you need help.
Follow your doctor’s advice if you have any medical conditions.
If you feel unwell, seek medical advice from your doctor or nearest hospital.
Know where to find your emergency kit in case of a power failure.
Keep an eye on the weather forecast.
Know what to do in case of a bushfire. Information on bushfire preparedness is available from the NSW Rural Fire Service.

Keep your food safe

Make sure food that needs refrigeration is properly stored (the temperature in the fridge should be between 0°C and 5°C). Defrost foods in the fridge, not on the kitchen bench. For more information about keeping food safe please refer to the NSW Food Authority.
If your fridge and freezer is affected by a power failure, please refer to the NSW Food Authority.

After the heat has passed

Continue to drink plenty of fluids so your body can get back in balance.
Take time to rest and recover as coping with extremely hot weather can be very tiring.
Go to your doctor if you feel unwell after the heat has passed.
Open windows and doors to let your house cool down but make sure you don’t compromise the security of your home.
Contact family and friends to see if they have coped during the heat and if they now need help with anything.
Think about how well you coped during this time of extreme heat and what, if anything, you would do differently next time.
Make any changes in your home so it will be more comfortable for you during another time of extreme heat (see How to prepare for a heat wave).

There are so many fun things that you can do on a rainy day. But a rainy day can be extremely dangerous for you, speaking health wise. Due to consistent spells of rain, humidity settles in and that allows infectious bacteria and viruses to spread faster than ever. So while you’re out there, enjoying a rainy day, be sure to take certain precautions. The following tips will arm you against ‘raining’ infections on and after a rainy day. Go ahead, take a look!

Extra Clothing, Extra Care

It is so easy to get soaked on a rainy day. Some light to moderate rain, a torrential downpour, or a short and sweet passing shower, they all have one thing in common: they leave your clothes wet! Walking around in wet clothes is like begging to fall sick. It is highly recommended that you carry an extra pair of clothing with you at all times during a rainy day. You can at least have a life-saving towel in your bag. A phase of incessant shivering is usually followed by a fever and common cold. Congrats! You just invited virus into your body.

Rain-Repulsive Gear

Avoid getting wet in the rain! This may sound redundant yet many people forget to carry an umbrella or proper rain gear. Carry rain-repulsive items and lower the chances of any disease catching you by surprise. In case your feet get wet, wipe dry with a towel immediately as moisture can lead to fungal infections.

Wash Your Hands

You can ignore this very basic directive a hundred times and yet it’ll come back to haunt you. So washing your hands remains at the top of the list when it comes to taking precautions during any season. Now during monsoon, bacteria and viruses become pro-active (read: they work overtime to make life hell for us) and there are countless ways in which you can come in contact with these microscopic monsters! So go ahead, tap that liquid soap, carry a sanitizer, and act ‘hygienic’ before every meal.

Face Touching Is A Big No

Did you know? Handkerchiefs are in fact utility based. Yes, they’re not about manners or filling pockets, they serve a purpose. Flu virus can enter your body through the mouth, eyes, and even your nose. So try not to touch your face very often. So resist the urge to scratch (nigh impossible, we know!), use the handkerchief to wipe your face, don’t dig your nose (eurgh! You do that?), and try to keep your hands off your face.

Street Food Should Stay On the Streets

Now this one is a little difficult to ‘digest’ but so is the food on the streets these days. The oily, tempting, unhygienic load of everything spicy and tangy isn't fit for a rainy day folks. Your favorite street food items are prepared in open air, out on the streets, and are carriers of waterborne diseases and ‘Delhi Belly’ inspired stomach infections. Pack your lunch, switch to healthy (yes boring) alternatives, and stop looking at those roadside stalls with such hungry eyes.

Herbal Dosage

Herbal tea has a therapeutic effect on your body and can do wonders to your overall health. If you somehow ended up getting drenched in the rain, quickly prepare some herbal tea for yourself. Just add cloves, cinnamon, basil, pepper, and ginger to that brewing beauty and gulp it down. These are body warming ingredients which have other benefits too.

‘Shoe’ Those Infections Away

A rainy day clogs gutters and fills road craters with dirty water thereby leaving behind a dirt cocktail. Now your feet, if left exposed to all this poison, can cause unwanted, ugly, and irritating skin infections. Moreover, exposed areas of your body are a platform for water-borne diseases as well. So keep yourself covered and be sure to ‘shoe’ those bacteria and viruses away!