Drink plenty of water
• Drink plenty of water even if you do not feel thirsty
• 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
• 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 3pm.
• 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).
• Know which room in your house is the coolest and 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.
• Take particular care to keep children cool and get them to drink lots and make sure they play the shade 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.
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.
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.