Missing Work Because of Heat

Title

Missing Work Because of Heat

Subject

extreme heat

Creator

Misty Mallar

Date

July 20, 2021

Text

The hot days have been so awful this summer! Usually I'm OK gardening or mowing in the heat, and I'm always careful with sunscreen, hat, shade breaks and drinking water.

I had a weird thing happen during one of the hot days in July. I was weeding and putting hay mulch on the garden for less than an hour. Came inside and looked in the mirror... my face was shockingly red and hot. I laid down in front of a fan, drank more water, and put an ice pack on my neck. I called work and told them I'd be an hour late. My face was beet red for FOUR hours. I went to work, and my boss realized how much I'd been impacted by the heat... she said my eyes looked glassy and I seemed out of it. She sent me back home. I kept icing my neck and resting. It took a full 10 hours for my face to finally cool down! Was this heat exhaustion? Heat stress? Nothing like this had ever happened to me before.

I found out later that there was an air quality alert that day with the smoke particulates from the western wildfires. With the extra factor of poor air quality, it turns out that working in 80+ degree heat and very high humidity was not something my body could deal with.

I'm trying to switch gears on these extreme heat days, and work indoors instead. It's a challenge since I love being out gardening.

Has anyone else had an experience like this? What things are you doing to be more resilient and deal with the extreme heat?

Citation

Misty Mallar, “Missing Work Because of Heat,” All of Belfast: Climate Dialogues, accessed March 29, 2024, https://abcdbelfast.omeka.net/items/show/35.

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