Far Too Hot, Far Too Soon
I'm still recovering from the excruciating kidney pain I had all last week and through the weekend but I am up and about and accomplishing small things around the house. Although we still do not know for sure the cause of this intense pain, it is good that the pain is waning and I am able to accomplish a few little things again.
What I am now struggling with, however, is unbearably hot weather so early in the year. I had to retreat to inside the house by 11:00 am because the heat was so oppressing. When I retreated to the protection of our home, our little weather station was showing the temperature to be 93 degrees. By the time I had finished lunch, I was wishing we had the air conditioning units installed in our windows.
My health does just fine when the climate is in the 70s. When it is in the 80s, I need to take a lot of breaks to cool off. One of the quickest and effective ways to cool down my body is running cold tap water over the blood vessels in my wrists. This has become a common practice whenever I need to use the bathroom in the summer. I relieve myself, wash my hands, and then run cold water over the inside of my wrists for a few minutes. It feels very much like having a cold IV pack flowing into my arm and spreading out through my body. This little trick of running cold tap water over the insides of my wrists is very effective for cooling down my body. When the climate gets into the 90s, however, the heat really affects my health and very little can avert the inevitable cellular reaction I experience far too often.
Consistently warm environments are a nightmare for those of us suffering from Systemic Mastocytosis. Heat is clearly my kryptonite and my most sensitive trigger causing mast cell degranulation. There are other triggers, but heat is the worst.
Mast cell degranulation causes anaphylaxia. Along with anaphylaxia, I can get slammed with breathing difficulties, palpitations, tachycardia, and a whole assortment of neurological symptoms. The neurological symptoms can include tremors, twitching, loss of strength, loss of coordination, vision problems, and cognitive problems.
Typically, this debilitating heat usually does not become problematic for me here in the northeast until July. Here we are in early May and we have already had a solid week of daytime temperatures hovering around the 90 degree mark! I can't help but wonder where our daytime high temperatures will be hovering come June and July.
All I know right now is that I am still trying to recover from the debilitating kidney pain I've had for more than a week and this recovery is being hampered by unbearable, oppressing heat. In the opinion of this chronically ill person, it is far too hot, far too soon this season.
What I am now struggling with, however, is unbearably hot weather so early in the year. I had to retreat to inside the house by 11:00 am because the heat was so oppressing. When I retreated to the protection of our home, our little weather station was showing the temperature to be 93 degrees. By the time I had finished lunch, I was wishing we had the air conditioning units installed in our windows.
My health does just fine when the climate is in the 70s. When it is in the 80s, I need to take a lot of breaks to cool off. One of the quickest and effective ways to cool down my body is running cold tap water over the blood vessels in my wrists. This has become a common practice whenever I need to use the bathroom in the summer. I relieve myself, wash my hands, and then run cold water over the inside of my wrists for a few minutes. It feels very much like having a cold IV pack flowing into my arm and spreading out through my body. This little trick of running cold tap water over the insides of my wrists is very effective for cooling down my body. When the climate gets into the 90s, however, the heat really affects my health and very little can avert the inevitable cellular reaction I experience far too often.
Consistently warm environments are a nightmare for those of us suffering from Systemic Mastocytosis. Heat is clearly my kryptonite and my most sensitive trigger causing mast cell degranulation. There are other triggers, but heat is the worst.
Mast cell degranulation causes anaphylaxia. Along with anaphylaxia, I can get slammed with breathing difficulties, palpitations, tachycardia, and a whole assortment of neurological symptoms. The neurological symptoms can include tremors, twitching, loss of strength, loss of coordination, vision problems, and cognitive problems.
Typically, this debilitating heat usually does not become problematic for me here in the northeast until July. Here we are in early May and we have already had a solid week of daytime temperatures hovering around the 90 degree mark! I can't help but wonder where our daytime high temperatures will be hovering come June and July.
All I know right now is that I am still trying to recover from the debilitating kidney pain I've had for more than a week and this recovery is being hampered by unbearable, oppressing heat. In the opinion of this chronically ill person, it is far too hot, far too soon this season.
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