Survive The Sunshine

With things getting distinctly scorchio, here are some handy tips for keeping your cool, staying safe and dealing with possible disaster in the sunshine. If you have the choice, we'd suggest either heading out early before things get really hot or waiting till late on when things cool down.

You can find more detailed health and fitness related information in our Health and Fitness section or check out the article links at the bottom of this article.

Working hard in the sunshine, you lose fluid and vital electrolytes and minerals fast. This is a bad thing, as little as five per-cent dehydration can decrease physical performance by as much as 30 per-cent.

The key is to drink little and often - a minimum of half a litre an hour, more if you're working hard is a good starting point. You could use as much as three times that figure. A hydration system works well because you can drink on the move rather than stopping for infrequent glugs.

Make sure you're hydrated before you start - by the time you feel thirsty, it's too late and you're already getting dehydrated as the thirst reflex lags behind your body's needs.

Avoid drinks containing caffeine and alcohol as they're diuretic and will encourage you to urinate losing vital fluids.

Energy drinks containing electrolytes and minerals will help to replace vital trace minerals, deficiencies of which can cause cramp and muscle weakness.

Top Tip - Drink little and often to keep hydration levels up, your pee should be a light straw colour, the darker it is, the more dehydrated you are.

Heat exhaustion is the condition which often leads on to its more serious relation, heat stroke. Symptoms are headache with dizziness and nausea. Cramps in the limbs or stomach areas. Lots of sweating with a pale and clammy skin and shallow, rapid breathing.

You can make it less likely by avoiding the hottest part of the day, dressing correctly and staying hydrated. If someone you're with is hit by the condition, get them into the shade, sponge them down with lukewarm water, not cold, feed them with rehydration solution or water and allow them to rest until recovered.

More severe is heat stroke which can be fatal - the body temperature rises uncontrollably and the body's sweating / cooling mechanism fails. You need to cool the victim as fast as possible, but avoid using ice or very cold water as the shock could kill them. Instead get them out of the sun into a cool, shady place and wrap them in a wet sheet which you should keep damp until the temperature falls back to normal levels, below 38C. Get medical attention as soon as possible.

Top Tip - You're more at risk soon after you arrive in a hot area or at the start of a heat wave because the body takes time to acclimatise to heat, so take it easy to start with. It takes around ten days to get properly acclimatised to high temperatures.

You can improve your comfort a lot by dressing correctly for hot conditions. A wide-brimmed hat or a kepi-style cap with neck protection are an ideal start. Loose, light coloured clothing with long sleeves and collars to protect against the sun work well and shorts will be cooler and more comfortable - watch that exposed skin for sunburn though. Cotton may feel cool initially, but will get damp and uncomfortable with sweat, we prefer poly-cotton mixes, light synthetics and merino wool.

Brands are more aware fo the dangers of UV exposure now, so look for clothing with a high SPF Factor which will block potentially harmful rays which can penetrate some general clothing.

Sun glasses will protect your eyes from harmful radiation too. Virtually all UK sunglasses offer protection from UV, but for outdoors use, it's important that they're optically accurate, which cheap glasses often aren't, and comfortable even when you're hot and sweaty.

Top Tip - Protecting your head makes a big difference. You may think a sun hat looks silly but it could make the difference between staying hot but healthy and risking heat exhaustion.

We're more educated about the use of sun screen than before, but just in case it's not obvious, you should always use the stuff and bear in mind that breezy high mountain tops can make the sun feel less powerful than it really is.

It's even worse at high altitudes where the thinness of the atmosphere makes the sun particularly vicious. The protection factor rating is based on a multiple scale, so cream with a factor of ten should allow you to stay in the sun for ten times longer than you would be able to without protection without burning.

Our advice is to go for a high protection factor, look for sweat resistance and reapply regularly. Follow instructions carefully, some creams need to be used some time before you head out.

The varieties that you apply first thing in the morning and which bond with the skin seem to work well, though you can still burn if you're out too long.

Top Tip - forget vanity and go for a high factor sun screen. Sun burn increases your risk of skin cancer as well as being painful.

Just because it's hot and sunny in the valleys doesn't mean it'll be all plain sailing on the tops tha knows. As you gain height, temperatures fall and you become more exposed to wind.

Weather can change really fast in the mountains and bad weather can move in without warning - hot and humid conditions tend to favour thundery showers as well, so don't forget to pack a lightweight waterproof and possibly a lightweight fleece.

Top Tip - pack a lighweight waterproof. Modern ones pack small and weigh nowt, but can make the difference between misery and a good day on the hill.

That might sound a bit doom and gloomish, but take care and follow the above tips and you can make the most of clear visibility, dry paths and that sunshine feelgood factor - so what are you waiting for?