North Texas weather, how to deal?

Question

i grew up in southern california where is got really hot, but because we also had nice days i could stay inside on the really hot ones. now i live in texas and both of these summers have kicked my butt. I'm fourteen and i have a lot of guy friends and they always want me to go outside, even though everytime i hyperventelate, turn bright red [which i'm not sure is a normal reaction to heat] and drown in my own sweat. is it possible that this is because i grew up in cali or am i just not cut out for 109 degree weather?

Answer 1

Dress light.

Drink lots of water.

Make sure you wear sunscreen if you're going to be in the sun.

If you spend a lot of time in the sun and the heat, your body will adapt. It might take a while though. Don't do any exercising in the heat until you're used to it.

Half of the trick to adapting to the heat is not worrying about sweat. You are supposed to sweat, it keeps you cooler, and is A Good Thing. Shower when you get back inside.

Hyperventilating is not good. You may need to take it slow until your body gets used to the heat. Spending less time in the air conditioning may help. Turning down the airconditioning would help. The change between the cool and the heat may be messing your body up.

Flushing is not abnormal. Don't worry about that.

Answer 2

Your body is having difficulty adjusting to the combination of heat and the humidity.  Evaporation is a cooling process, and one way your body cools itself is to sweat and having that sweat evaporate, cooling the skin.  If the humidity is relatively high, evaporation is significantly slowed and thus your body does not lose excess heat as fast.  Thus you must find alternate ways to cool off, such as drinking lots of cool water (you must replace the water you are losing due to the profuse amount of sweating), as well as get indoors out of the direct sun, and limit exertion.  You sound as if you are experiencing symptoms of becoming overheated, which if not stopped, can go on to heat stroke, which can be very serious.

Answer 3

I would be worried about tornadoes, not the heat

Answer 4

I say its a combination of both. I grew up and I still live in New York City. It gets hot here, but not everday and it rarely goes up to 100. Everytime I've been in the south in the summer I feel like I am going to boil alive. I believe your body gets used to the type of climate you grew up in to a certain extent, so if you move to an area with different weather, you will not be used to it. Also,your body may not be able to deal with extreme heat, but everyone is different. I know people that it can be a hundred and it doesn't bother them, but when its 30 degrees, they feel like its minus 20 outside, and I know people that are the other way around.

Personally, I can deal with hot weather to a certain extent, but I prefer colder weather, like in the fall and spring. I have been to New England in the winter (in places that are usually about 15 degrees colder than new york) and it doesn't bother me at all.