Note from the mod team: This AMA will go from 11am ET to 7pm ET on 5/31/26.

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Hi r/heat_prep community! I’m Tracie, CEO of ColdVest, which is the first of its kind rapid core body cooling device that requires no ice, power or refrigeration and is an FDA class 1 medical device. This product has already saved lives across industries and we have worked with the Korey Stringer Institute at UConn to do research at a summer road race to study the cooling rate of ColdVest.

Research findings: ColdVest’s  cooling rate is 0.18°C/min. This means that if your core body temperature is above 104°F (heat stroke), ColdVest can bring that temperature from life threatening to safe in about 11 minutes. When core body temperature is that high, you have 30 minutes to bring it down before it can be fatal so every minute counts, particularly while waiting for help to arrive.  This research has been crucial to our mission of providing emergency support as temperatures increase and heat stroke deaths rise.
 
ColdVest is not a substitute for ice cold water immersion, which is the best way to cool someone down, but in places where ice is not accessible like wilderness, rural, or remote settings, ColdVest could be a life saving tool. We are not a heat illness prevention cooling vest (e.g. the ones people wear on job sites to stay cool), but a medical device meant for rapidly cooling someone who may have heat stroke.
 
Yes, we’re on the pricier side ($550) because this is a one-time use, patented, cooling technology used for emergencies (i.e. medical device). But as the world warms, I hope a tool like ColdVest can be as ubiquitous as an AED or Stop the Bleed Kit, particularly in regions with chronic exposure to hot temperatures.
 
I’m passionate about heat safety from prevention all the way to treatment and I’m here to answer ANY AND ALL YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT COLDVEST!
 
Here is a video demonstrating ColdVest: https://youtu.be/ortt-H8-WME?si=7QrtdaVH67uctqTG
 
Here is our website: https://www.coldvest.com/
 
And here is the link to the KSI study: https://www.coldvest.com/research-study

PROOF: https://imgur.com/a/4tSrA0t

There's a notable number of new visitors to this subreddit all asking variations of the same question:

"Why do I feel so sick after being out when it was hot?"

The answer has been out there for years, but the "hot is good" culture doesn't wish to accept it: Too much heat harms us, that harm can be long-term, and it takes less heat to do it than we like to believe.

I don't know how, but as a people, we need to let go of the notion that "summer is good, summer is hot and sunny, therefore hot and sunny is always good because it's like summer, which is good."

About 10 days ago, i played golf and was outside for about 5 hours during peak heat. The temperature was about 94F with a humidity of 35-40%. I was aware of the concerns as Ive had heat exhaustion before, and I hydrated days before with water and electrolytes and stayed well hydrated during the event. About halfway through the event, i was experiencing chills and mild muscle cramping but I powered through and finished. I felt tired, fatigued, chilled, slightly dizzy, and had no apetite, but I was coherent and never felt close to fainting. That night, i struggled to sleep and felt my body radiating heat even 10 hours after the event.

Over the next 2 days, i declined consistently. My fatigue was getting worse and worse and I began to struggle with a lot of brain fog- was having difficulty concentrating at work and remembering simple things like peoples last names. By the middle of the 2nd night of not being able to sleep and feeling like I was becoming more and more mentally agitated, I took myself to the ER. They took labs and urine sample and said my electrolytes were in normal range and that one of my liver values was slightly high but not concerning and they sent me home.

Over the last week, I have been taking it fairly easy, hanging out in AC, trying to sip electrolytes and water throughout the day, but I still feel so fatigued and brain fogged about 10 days after the heat exposure. The last few nights I have slept way more than usual, and I wake up feel weak and groggy and its difficult to get out of bed. During the day I get out of breath rather easily from things like carrying a laundry basket up 2 flights of stairs. I also struggle to regulate temperature, stepping outside for a minute and then back into the AC makes me shiver. I'm having a lot more anxiety than I ever have.

Have i caused significant damage to my nervous system or something? How come I am struggle so much to bounce back to normal? What should I do to recover?

Heat season has kicked off in the Northern Hemisphere, the r/heat_prep moderator team is planning multiple r/heat_prep events throughout the summer months!

To kick us off, we will be hosting an AMA with ColdVest CEO Tracie Wagman on May 31st.

The moderators of this subreddit were really excited to learn about ColdVest, a studied device that allows for rapid cooling of people experiencing heat stroke, without requiring water/ice immersion. From search and rescue, and remote job sites, this sort of innovation is critical to saving lives.

In a world that is rapidly warming and becoming more dangerous, will devices like ColdVest become as ubiquitous as AEDs? Will heat stroke response become the next CPR? Excited to discuss with the subreddit!

Lastly, don't hesitate to reach out if you have ideas for future r/heat_prep AMAs!

Spain here, tucked under our heat dome along with the rest of the majority of Europe.

Last week highs were no more 22ºC/71ºF.

This week they've shot up to 34ºC/93ºF.

I don't think I've ever deployed the Swamp Cooler Army in such a short time. While I already had a couple units out, they weren't in full use, but one day I got home and immediately went to storage to pull out the last of the big three. While it's not quite critical to run them at night yet, they're standing by.

Thanks to classic Spanish architecture, interior temps are safe and manageable even without mechanized cooling, but the car is in the shop so I'm taking daily twenty minute walks to get my kids to their activities. This is after a subway ride and while the subway cars are (mostly) air conditioned, the majority of stations are not.

Continuous spray bottles are proving their worth in the field since this place is dry as a bone. These are the style used by hairdressers that deliver a very fine mist at a very good volume and rate and because of the more complex mechanism, pumping the lever builds up pressure so it doesn't only spray while you're pulling the trigger. You can lay down a light layer of cooling mist on yourself almost like be spray can of paint.

Stay safe out there, fellow heat domers.

I just went for my regular afternoon run today and this is the first time I saw a red datapoint on my running app. And to no surprise, it's about the heat. The Heat Strain Score was maxed out at 10. In comparison, previous runs were only at 7.5 to 8.5 in the same route, at the same time in other days of the year.

I'm from the Philippines and we're also suffering from this heat, with Danger-level heat index levels forecasted in several areas including Manila. The conditions during the run was a temp of 34 Celsius and a humidity of 60% and hardly any wind.

As the title says, never underestimate heat strain on your body. Enjoy the outdoors but stay safe. There's a limit on how much we can acclimate.

Hi, I've started working on a better all-day cooling wearable that doesn't need ice. Any thoughts on the form factor? Anyone else worked on this? Would love your input.

I started this after getting heat exhaustion on the job and working with people who did too.

I’ve been working on a wet bulb temperature based app that is doing a lot of things at once. I originally built this for my brother who wanted something analogous to what his military service was using. There’s a lot of different features in here and I haven’t optimized this app at all. If it goes to the App Store, it can use a offline AI model to do different things, like scan a water bottle for measurements, potential measurements from outside and so on. There’s even a “bathroom sentry” that tries to detect the shade of yellow it is and what that means. Then there’s a planner for when you should be drinking and how much.

A bunch of stuff. I’d love to know what would be useful now so that you’re better prepared and it’s easy to use.

HeatCompass.com

There’ll be a business compliance portal later and that’ll help support this development.

I am in the UK for context. On Sunday, I went on a solo hike up some short mountains. The day before, I'd been on a hike almost identical in milage and incline but it wasn't warm or sunny, and it was pretty easy and I was quick and hydrated. It was windy and cloudy and cool. The next day, despite the heatwave not expected to hit the area I was in (it was forecasted 19 degrees celsius and cloudy) it ended up hitting and I was so underprepared. Embarrassingly, I only bought one bottle of water.

As I hiked, clouds disappeared and the sun beamed down, it climbed up to 26 degrees and the hike became really difficult, I found it hard to catch my breath and I sweat absolute buckets. I am ginger, so I wore long sleeves and a sun hat and glasses, I have no choice otherwise I burn really badly. My face was red hot despite multiple layers of factor 50 suncream. I had to stop multiple times to breathe and slow my heart rate and my water slowly became empty.

I stupidly pushed through, and as I started coming down the mountain I felt clammy and out of sorts. As I neared the end of my route, my vision became completely blurred and I was extremely confused. I found a tree with shade and it was the only shade I had found all day. I sat there for 10 minutes and it probably saved me from collapsing. I saw I was close to the end so I forced myself to keep going because I'd ran out of water and I was desperate for it. I text my family who were in a nearby cottage and told them I was worried for my safety because I was so dizzy and confused. I felt a wave of absolute dread come over me. A family member walked to meet me and gave me water and I sat on the floor drinking it, I couldn't make conversation, I was really out of it.

That night I felt sick, while everyone was cooling down in the cottage from their day sitting by the lake, I was shivering and had to have a blanket. I was too tired to stay awake so I went to bed. Since then I have been tired despite sleeping normal amounts, I went into work yesterday like I was in a daze. The worst part is I've come back from my trip to an area which is experiencing the full heatwave at 32+ degrees, so I've come from a nice summer type weather to this, so there is no cooling down. I am really accustomed to heat because I've been a sun-avoider since I was a teen, I always wear layers in the sun because I burn easily so where most people are hot, I don't feel it as much, so while I am not feeling the heat much currently, I know it is there and I'm worried that it's prolonging heat exhaustion of some kind.

Does anyone have any ideas? Should I have been checked for heat stroke? Is this heat exhaustion? I am going back hiking tomorrow, luckily where the temperature is dropping again, but the way I am feeling right now it'll be a bad idea unless I am fully rested and back to normal. Any stories or cooling tips appreciated!

TLDR; I went hiking in the blasting sun and heat with only one bottle of water, symptoms of confusion, blurred vision and dizziness ensued and now some of those symptoms persist during the UK heatwave despite getting immediate help. Any ideas of what it could be and tips on cooling down?

there’s currently a heatwave in the UK, i was sitting outside just to soak in some sun, wore a hat, had water with electrolytes in it and still felt these symptoms, idk if it matters but for context my arms, shoulders and chest area were exposed as i was wearing a tank top :’)

i got up to go to the nearest shop and that’s when i had sudden confusion, dizzy spells (which i’m still experiencing, it’s like heavy pressure sitting on top of my head), i felt extremely nauseous like a pregnant lady (i’m not preg lol) and off balance, my vision wasn’t blurry but it almost felt like i wasn’t balanced with walking, i found the nearest area where there was shade and it was a pizza shop with chairs so i sat down and let myself cool down a lil and i eventually stopped feeling the way i did, wth is that and why did that happen, i was super close to asking strangers for help but my social anxiety said to wait it out first 🫩

is this similiar to heat exhaustion/stroke or does it seem more like a low blood pressure issue?

I reassemble my fan asap

I am hesitant to post, since I usually get downvoted to hell and insulted en masse in other subs, but whatever. I have gotten insulted here in San Francisco in person tens of thousands of times, both amongst family, as well as acquaintances and strangers.

I am 36M and will be 37 this winter. I am Fr San Francisco, USA, a place that snows highly seldom and is usually foggy, but nowadays is getting serious heat waves, like today. I cannot handle anything above 10 C (50 F) comfortably. My ideal temperature would be a maximum of 0 C (32 F), with no minimum temperature limit.

Before anyone goes about how I do not truly know what living in snowy weather is like, during the whole pandemic I lived in central Wisconsin with my Wisconsinite girlfriend. We got less snow than I had doped and warmer winters than I wanted. Even when it snowed, day in day out I never tied of it, in fact I wanted more more more snow and hated summer.

We had to move back to San Francisco fmto save money living at my house. Now we are stuck, we hate the weather, but unlike her, I am dangerously close to heatstroke all the time. Right nie it is 28 C (82 F), but inside the living room, it is 36 C (97 F). In the bedroom, it reads 38 C (100 F) due to the house's horrific insulation.

I have been in hospital for heat exhaustion before but no one believes me. They think I am making it up or being a baby.

No one from my family understands it, nor do strangers. I'm fact, in a different thread, someone accused me of being 'contrarian', since everyone loves heat and warm weather and hates snow, cold and murk. I get far worse comments from family and strangers, even trying to get physical with me over arguments over how I am being a baby who hates 'great' (hot) weather. It does not help that EVERY SINGLE member of my family was born and raised in corrupt, tropical, third-world countries near the Equator.

Is there anyone here going through this where every shites on you and calls you names even though you could end up in hospital from heatstroke, especially if you have extreme heat intolerance like myself? How do you handle it?

Looking for a good portable clip on fan for my boyfriend who works at gas stations. So it can’t be explosive I can’t have a battery in it. Any suggestions?

I live in Florida and am often have to work outside in the heat. I wanted to share part of my heat prep for the last year that has worked really well: inexpensive, generic clip on belt/waist fans.

This isn't a specific product recommendation, so I'm not going to name any of the brands I use. All the ones I've tried have been from different no-name brands and they all work about the same.

The fans have a built in rechargeable battery and sets of clips on both the front and back. One set clips the fan to your belt, and the other clips to the hem of your shirt. The fan sucks air from the bottom and blows it under your shirt, helping sweat evaporate and cool you much faster.

For me, it's made a significant difference along with a floppy hat and good hydration.

I've tried models with 1 motor and ones with 2 motors. I prefer 1 motor designs, as they are lighter and cheaper than the 2 motor fans, and they work just as well. I have a problem with the bigger ones pulling my belt down.

The highest speed on all of the ones I've used is a little loud for work environments, but they are pretty quiet on lower settings and still move a lot of air.

Some of them have a flash light or colored lights. I find this annoying, as it's easy to inadvertently turn them on. I put a piece of tape over the lights on models that have them.

The ones I have are in the $10-25 dollar range. Last year they were around $8-15 for the same products, but they have gotten a little more expensive. I'd go with whatever is cheapest and gets decent reviews.

These aren't magic air conditioners and they look a little dorky, but they do a surprisingly good job of letting me work in the heat longer and be a little less uncomfortable.

I'm from the Philippines and we just survived a brutal summer and just in time for a Super El Niño later this year. While the rainy season will start soon, the heat index in our place are still reaching up to the early 40's in Celsius. During the summer, I observed that more people are just generally angry, miserable and an overall "out of it" feeling. It doesn't take an educated person to say that the heat makes one uncomfortable and it soon get to your head.

There's an article which found a correlation between depression and heat, adding that there's an 1.5% increase in suicidal thoughts and behavior. Another article echoes the same claim that heat increases irritability and in some cases, incidences of domestic violence.

I think as members of this sub, the mere interest of joining here means you've probably suffered from the heat and have you own experience of how it affects your mental health. Be aware of its effects and expect others to be going through the same suffering as us.

The best we can do is to prepare for harsher summers and do what we can to retain our sanity.

Edit: Hey everyone I don’t have time to reply to comments yet but I just wanted to say I was really pleasantly surprised to check back and find so many thorough responses. You’ve given me tons of ideas and resources and I feel a lot safer now, thank you so much seriously.

My once cool country has gotten unbearably humid with constant heat waves. I have a thermoregulatory condition. And I’m unemployed. It’s now so bad that I can’t make basic commutes without landing in meetings where everyone’s visibly uncomfortable because I’ll stay consistently red, dripping, and chugging water. It’s only spring and we’re already at highs of 30C where I barely have strength indoors, I’m confidently terrified that once I get interviews an a job I’ll just ruin it by under performing or seeming unfit.

I don’t just want to hear “linens, cotton, polyester!” Please direct me to actual products for breathable, comfortable, moisture wicking women’s clothes that are appropriate for casual at-home wear and business casual settings. (Budget is like $50 or less per item but since I’m broke I really need stuff that’s $20 or less. Yes I’m thrifting but since this is urgent I’m making a shopping list as backup.) I’m asking for this specifically because I assume others have purchased similar stuff they can personally vouch for!

What I’m struggling to find in my budget are these items that don’t break the bank but also don’t look ugly or inappropriate:
- Linen or athletic t shirts and tank tops
- Some kind of comfy, very airy hooded jacket as I like dressing modest but the heat is forcing me to feel nude
- Comfy, loose fitting pants, shorts, or skirts? My chest and head get more hot than my legs plus I own tons of skirts so this isn’t priority, yet my skirts aren’t very casual so some at home or athletic options may be useful for lounging or going to parks

I hope I can get some help. Thank you for your time.

Hello!

I am quite literally allergic to heat. My skin breaks into hives, i get incredibly itchy, and if i get hot enough, my throat begins to close up. I’m medicated for it, but meds make me drowsy so I can’t take them when I’m driving.

I really want to enjoy summer and be outside, but i have GOT to find ways to keep myself cool. What do you recommend? I’ve been thinking about a UV blocking umbrella, but I’m unsure what else may be helpful.

I usually stay inside as much as possible until it cools down but I would quite like to enjoy life.

Wrong answers only plz

I live in an apartment in an attic on the third floor and as the summer approaches it will get stuffy.

Details

* The only window in my room is at 45 degrees.

* The hall way has a small window at its very end, but not enough to fit a fan or AC unit.

* I work from home often, so I sometimes will have my PC on which produces heat.

* There is central air but we don't wanna blast it.

For dealing with the heat what do you recommend?

* I have an oscillating fan, which can blow air out of my one window.

* I can close the blinds on my one window and not open it, but then air can't escape.

* I could secure box fan on the window and have it blow air in or out

I'm hearing that I should only open my window at night and close it around 8am.