"If you can't stand the heat in the dressing room, get out of the kitchen."
--Terry Venables
By Alex P. Vidal
AS local candidates prepare for a full-court press campaign sortie in the May elections, the searing heat brought by El Nino phenomenon threatens to cause some of them a terrible inconvenience, especially those with a bad history in hypertension and other physical symptoms brought by so much heat exposure.
What happened to entertainer Chokoleit, who died shortly after a performance in Abra recently, could happen to any candidate who will hit the campaign period with a poor health and lack of adequate preparations to tackle the summer heat. Over fatigue and heat stroke could dash to pieces their dreams of serving the public. If a candidate is sickly, it's better to avoid an extended heat exposure during the campaign period. Better still, he or she must quit before it's too late. After all, health is still wealth. A form of hyperthermia or heat-related illness, heat stroke is an abnormally elevated body temperature with accompanying physical symptoms including changes in the nervous system function.
-o0o-
Leading medical author, Dr. Mellisa Conrad Stoppler, said unlike heat cramps and heat exhaustion, two other forms of hyperthermia that are less severe, heat stroke is a true medical emergency that is often fatal if not properly and promptly treated.
She said heat stroke is also sometimes referred to as heatstroke or sun stroke. Severe hyperthermia is defined as a body temperature of 104 F (40 C) or higher. Dr. Stoppler explained that the body normally generates heat as a result of metabolism, and is usually able to dissipate the heat by radiation of heat through the skin or by evaporation of sweat. However, she pointed out, in extreme heat, high humidity, or vigorous physical exertion under the sun, the body may not be able to sufficiently dissipate the heat and the body temperature rises, sometimes up to 106 F (41.1 C) or higher.
-o0o-
Another cause of heat stroke is dehydration.
A dehydrated person may not be able to sweat fast enough to dissipate heat, which causes the body temperature to rise. Dr. Stoppler stressed that heat stroke is not the same as a stroke. "Stroke" is the general term used to describe decreased oxygen flow to an area of the brain. She said those most susceptible (at risk) individuals to heat stroke include: Infants; the elderly (often with associated heart diseases, lung diseases, kidney diseases, or who are taking medications that make them vulnerable to dehydration and heat strokes); athletes; individuals who work outside and physically exert themselves under the sun; infants, children, or pets left in cars. Dr. Stoppler added that heat stroke is sometimes classified as exertional heat stroke (EHS, which is due to overexertion in hot weather) or non-exertional heat stroke (NEHS, which occurs in climactic extremes and affects the elderly, infants, and chronically ill. Symptoms of heat stroke can sometimes mimic those of heart attack or other conditions. Sometimes a person experiences symptoms of heat exhaustion before progressing to heat strokes.
-o0o-
Signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion include: nausea, vomiting, fatigue, weakness, headache, muscle cramps and aches, and dizziness, explained Dr. Stoppler.
However, some individuals can develop symptoms of heat stroke suddenly and rapidly without warning. Dr. Stoppler said different people may have different symptoms and signs of heatstroke. Common symptoms and signs of heat stroke include: high body temperature, the absence of sweating, with hot red or flushed dry skin, rapid pulse, difficulty breathing, strange behavior, hallucinations, confusion, agitation, disorientation, seizure, and/or coma. According to Dr. Stoppler, victims of heat stroke must receive immediate treatment to avoid permanent organ damage. First and foremost, cool the victim. --Get the victim to a shady area, remove clothing, apply cool or tepid water to the skin (for example, you may spray the person with cool water from a garden hose), fan the victim to promote sweating and evaporation, and place ice packs under the armpits and groin. --If the person is able to drink liquids, have them drink cool water or other cool beverages that do not contain alcohol or caffeine. --Monitor body temperature with a thermometer and continue cooling efforts until the body temperature drops to 101 to 102 F (38.3 to 38.8 C). --Always notify emergency services (911) immediately. If their arrival is delayed, they can give you further instructions for treatment of the victim.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo).
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Showing posts with label #ElNino. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #ElNino. Show all posts
Thursday, March 28, 2019
Important warning to all feeble candidates
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
We can help solve water shortage
"My fake plants died because I did not pretend to water them."
--Mitch Hedberg
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- We should pay attention to what the authorities in charge of our water supply are saying now that El Niño phenomenon is again wreaking havoc in many areas in the Philippines.
If they are saying that water level in our dams like the Maasin Dam in Maasin, Iloilo has dipped below critical level, let's do our part as water consumers to help arrest the situation in one way or the other.
We can afford to have a rice shortage over a certain period of time, but not water; we can live for more than a week without a solid food in the body, but we can't last long if our body can't take a certain amount of water for five to seven days.
Water Use It Wisely tells us that when washing dishes by hand, "don’t let the water run." We need to fill one basin with wash water and the other with rinse water.
Dishwashers typically use less water than washing dishes by hand.
-o0o-
If our dishwasher is new, let's cut back on rinsing. Newer models clean more thoroughly than older ones. Let's designate one glass for our drinking water each day, or refill a water bottle. This will cut down on the number of glasses to wash.
Let's soak pots and pans instead of letting the water run while you scrape them clean. Let's use the garbage disposal sparingly. Instead, compost vegetable food waste and save gallons every time.
Also let's wash your fruits and vegetables in a pan of water instead of running water from the tap. We shouldn't use running water to thaw food. For water efficiency and food safety, defrost food in the refrigerator.
Let's install an instant water heater near our kitchen sink so we don’t have to run the water while it heats up. This also reduces energy costs.
Keep a pitcher of drinking water in the refrigerator instead of running the tap. This way, every drop goes down you and not the drain.
Let's reuse leftover water from cooked or steamed foods to start a nutritious soup, it’s one more way to get eight glasses of water a day.
Let's cook food in as little water as possible. This also helps it retain more nutrients.
-o0o-
In the laundry room, when doing laundry, let's match the water level to the size of the load. Washing dark clothes in cold water saves water and energy, and helps our clothes retain their color.
In the bathroom, let's shorten our shower by a minute or two and we’ll save up to 150 gallons per month.
Let's time our shower to keep it under five minutes. We’ll save up to 1,000 gallons per month.
Toilet leaks can be silent! Let's be sure to test our toilet for leaks at least once a year.
Let's put food coloring in our toilet tank. If it seeps into the bowl without flushing, there’s a leak. Fix it and start saving gallons.
When running a bath, plug the bathtub before turning on the water. Adjust the temperature as the tub fills.
If our toilet flapper doesn’t close properly after flushing, let's replace it.
Turn off the water while we brush your teeth and save up to four gallons a minute. That’s up to 200 gallons a week for a family of four.
-o0o-
We may consider buying a dual-flush toilet. It has two flush options: a half-flush for liquid waste and a full-flush for solid waste.
Let's plug the sink instead of running the water to rinse our razor and save up to 300 gallons a month.
We may turn off the water while washing our hair and save up to 150 gallons a month. When washing our hands, let's turn the water off while you lather.
Let's take five-minute showers instead of baths. A full bathtub requires up to 70 gallons of water. Let's install water-saving aerators on all of our faucets.
Drop tissues in the trash instead of flushing them and save water every time. One drip every second adds up to five gallons per day. Let's check our faucets and showerheads for leaks.
While we wait for hot water, let's collect the running water and use it to water plants. Let' also teach children to turn off faucets tightly after each use. When the kids want to cool off, let's use the sprinkler in an area where our lawn needs it most.
Let's encourage your school system and local government to develop and promote water conservation among children and adults.
-o0o-
Let's monitor our water bill for unusually high use. Our bill and water meter are tools that can help us discover leaks. Let's Learn how to use our water meter to check for leaks. Reward kids for the water-saving tips they follow.
Avoid recreational water toys that require a constant flow of water and grab a wrench and fix that leaky faucet. It’s simple, inexpensive, and we can save 140 gallons a week.
Let's be leak detectives by checking all hoses, connectors, and faucets regularly for leaks.
We’re more likely to notice leaky faucets indoors, but let's not forget to check outdoor faucets, pipes, and hoses.
See a leak we can’t fix? Let's tell a parent, teacher, employer, or property manager, or call a handyman. At home or while staying in a hotel, let's reuse our towels.
Let's make suggestions to our employer or school about ways to save water and money. Run our washer and dishwasher only when they are full. We can save up to 1,000 gallons a month.
Let's see how our water use stacks up to others by calculating our daily water use.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)
--Mitch Hedberg
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- We should pay attention to what the authorities in charge of our water supply are saying now that El Niño phenomenon is again wreaking havoc in many areas in the Philippines.
If they are saying that water level in our dams like the Maasin Dam in Maasin, Iloilo has dipped below critical level, let's do our part as water consumers to help arrest the situation in one way or the other.
We can afford to have a rice shortage over a certain period of time, but not water; we can live for more than a week without a solid food in the body, but we can't last long if our body can't take a certain amount of water for five to seven days.
Water Use It Wisely tells us that when washing dishes by hand, "don’t let the water run." We need to fill one basin with wash water and the other with rinse water.
Dishwashers typically use less water than washing dishes by hand.
-o0o-
If our dishwasher is new, let's cut back on rinsing. Newer models clean more thoroughly than older ones. Let's designate one glass for our drinking water each day, or refill a water bottle. This will cut down on the number of glasses to wash.
Let's soak pots and pans instead of letting the water run while you scrape them clean. Let's use the garbage disposal sparingly. Instead, compost vegetable food waste and save gallons every time.
Also let's wash your fruits and vegetables in a pan of water instead of running water from the tap. We shouldn't use running water to thaw food. For water efficiency and food safety, defrost food in the refrigerator.
Let's install an instant water heater near our kitchen sink so we don’t have to run the water while it heats up. This also reduces energy costs.
Keep a pitcher of drinking water in the refrigerator instead of running the tap. This way, every drop goes down you and not the drain.
Let's reuse leftover water from cooked or steamed foods to start a nutritious soup, it’s one more way to get eight glasses of water a day.
Let's cook food in as little water as possible. This also helps it retain more nutrients.
Select the proper pan size for cooking. Large pans may require more cooking water than necessary. If we accidentally drop ice cubes, let's now throw them in the sink.
Drop them in a house plant instead. Collect the water we use while rinsing fruit and vegetables. Let's use it to water house plants.
-o0o-
In the laundry room, when doing laundry, let's match the water level to the size of the load. Washing dark clothes in cold water saves water and energy, and helps our clothes retain their color.
In the bathroom, let's shorten our shower by a minute or two and we’ll save up to 150 gallons per month.
Let's time our shower to keep it under five minutes. We’ll save up to 1,000 gallons per month.
Toilet leaks can be silent! Let's be sure to test our toilet for leaks at least once a year.
Let's put food coloring in our toilet tank. If it seeps into the bowl without flushing, there’s a leak. Fix it and start saving gallons.
When running a bath, plug the bathtub before turning on the water. Adjust the temperature as the tub fills.
If our toilet flapper doesn’t close properly after flushing, let's replace it.
Turn off the water while we brush your teeth and save up to four gallons a minute. That’s up to 200 gallons a week for a family of four.
-o0o-
We may consider buying a dual-flush toilet. It has two flush options: a half-flush for liquid waste and a full-flush for solid waste.
Let's plug the sink instead of running the water to rinse our razor and save up to 300 gallons a month.
We may turn off the water while washing our hair and save up to 150 gallons a month. When washing our hands, let's turn the water off while you lather.
Let's take five-minute showers instead of baths. A full bathtub requires up to 70 gallons of water. Let's install water-saving aerators on all of our faucets.
Drop tissues in the trash instead of flushing them and save water every time. One drip every second adds up to five gallons per day. Let's check our faucets and showerheads for leaks.
While we wait for hot water, let's collect the running water and use it to water plants. Let' also teach children to turn off faucets tightly after each use. When the kids want to cool off, let's use the sprinkler in an area where our lawn needs it most.
Let's encourage your school system and local government to develop and promote water conservation among children and adults.
-o0o-
Let's monitor our water bill for unusually high use. Our bill and water meter are tools that can help us discover leaks. Let's Learn how to use our water meter to check for leaks. Reward kids for the water-saving tips they follow.
Avoid recreational water toys that require a constant flow of water and grab a wrench and fix that leaky faucet. It’s simple, inexpensive, and we can save 140 gallons a week.
Let's be leak detectives by checking all hoses, connectors, and faucets regularly for leaks.
We’re more likely to notice leaky faucets indoors, but let's not forget to check outdoor faucets, pipes, and hoses.
See a leak we can’t fix? Let's tell a parent, teacher, employer, or property manager, or call a handyman. At home or while staying in a hotel, let's reuse our towels.
Let's make suggestions to our employer or school about ways to save water and money. Run our washer and dishwasher only when they are full. We can save up to 1,000 gallons a month.
Let's see how our water use stacks up to others by calculating our daily water use.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)
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