NEW ORLEANS — Nobody knows more about how to cool your body temperature down rapidly than men who are on an asphalt crew – at noon.
“The asphalt itself is about 400 degrees coming out of the truck. Then you gotta deal with the temperature,” said one workman.
So what do they do when there is no comfort of AC?
“We wet the towel, wrap it on our neck, towel or whatchacallem, or take the hard hat off, and sit it on top our head. We open a bottle of cold water from out the cooler. Dump it on both of our arms. That pretty much, yeah, cool off your whole body,” said another worker.
“Pour cold water on your wrists. Put cold towels around your neck,” said one man.
“You see what I have on my head, right? I'll wear that up. Keep me cool. Keep my head cool. Wet my arms up with the water bottled water,” said another construction worker.
As it turns out, out science backs them up.
“And if we have to cool somebody rapidly, we'll use that technique,” said Dr. Jim Diaz of the LSUHSC School of Public Health.
Dr. Diaz says you can do what doctors do. You need ice gel packs that are pliable. Those are better than the ones frozen solid. Wrap them in a towel, if they are too cold so you don't hurt your skin with frost bite. Even a baggie with ice, or a water balloon will work.
“One of the quickest ways to cool yourself is to put cool compresses, not ice cold, on areas where large arteries are close to the skin,” explained Dr. Diaz.
That's under the arms, on the sides of the neck, and on the upper thighs in the groin area. The top of the head is good because it is filled with blood vessels. In fact, the military and industry use cooling packs made to go inside helmets and hard hats. The wrists are an OK spot, but they don't work as well since the arteries there are smaller.
“So, if you want to cool yourself quickly, you can put a cool rag on yourself and turn a fan on,” said Dr. Diaz.
And this method is not only for people. Dogs overheat faster. Gels packs are put in the same spots, the front legs pits, upper inner thighs, and neck. You can also wet a towel and put it over their backs.
One man invented the Nano Ice Cooling Necklace that lasts a long time around the neck.
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