Playing it Cool: Keeping Our Health and Essentials Safe this Summer
Summer in Northern California doesn't mess around. When the valley heat hits triple digits, those long, sunny days go from beautiful to brutal real quick. For those of us in the SCI community, dealing with a massive heatwave isn't just about sweating it out or turning up the AC. It’s a legitimate safety issue.
Most of us know the drill with poikilothermia—our bodies basically act like a thermometer for the room we are in. If the nervous system isn't sending the right signals, you aren't sweating below your injury level, and your blood vessels aren't dilating to dump that extra heat. You trap everything inside, and boom—heat exhaustion kicks in before you even realize what happened.
But look, we don't have to stay cooped up inside until October. We just need to be smarter than the weather. That means protecting our bodies, our medical supplies, and our mobility tech all at the same time. Here is how we play it cool when the temperature spikes.
1. Maintain - Don’t Abstain - When it Comes to Hydration
You've heard it a million times: drink water. But when you have an SCI, standard hydration rules change.
Don't skimp to save a bathroom trip: We all know how tempting it is to cut back on fluids so you don't have to deal with extra catheterization while out and about. Don't do it. Skimping on water when it's 105 degrees outside is a fast track to the ER. Plus, concentrated urine and an unflushed bladder create the perfect breeding ground for bacteria, increasing your risk of a summer UTI.
Plain water isn't always enough: If you’re out in the heat, you’re losing minerals even if you don't see sweat. Dump an electrolyte packet into your water bottle, or keep snacks like watermelon and salted cucumbers in your bag. Just keep an eye on the sodium content if you have to monitor your blood pressure, and check with your doctor to find a balance that works for you.
The drink traps: Iced coffee, sugary sodas, and cold beers feel great in the moment 😋 but caffeine and alcohol are diuretics. They literally pull fluid out of your system. Do your best to drink water (with electrolytes), caffeine-free iced tea, or even some homemade lemonade!
2. Fake the Sweat
Since our bodies don't always sweat automatically, we have to do the job manually.
Hit the reset button: If you feel your face flushing, grab an ice pack or a freezing wet towel and hit your pulse points immediately. The back of the neck, the wrists, and the temples are your best bet because the blood vessels run right against the skin. Cool the blood there, and it circulates down to drop your core temp. Cooling towels—the ones you wet and wrap around your neck—are great for this purpose.
The spray bottle hack: Carry a misting bottle everywhere. Spritzing your skin while sitting in front of a fan or a natural breeze mimics real sweat. The moving air evaporates the water and pulls the heat right off your skin. Misting bottles with battery-operated fans attached for a quick, portable breeze are a perfect solution.
Load up on gear: Battery-operated fans, cooling vests, and chilled gel inserts for your wheelchair backrest aren't luxury items—they are survival tools for July. You might also check out cooling blankets - they are designed to pull heat away from your body, and they seem to work!
3. Your Power Chair Hates the Heat Too
We talk a lot about body temperature, but what about your ride? Extreme heat ruins electronics and batteries faster than almost anything else. Be sure to stay in the shade or, better yet, in the air conditioning!
Don't fry the joystick: The computer brains of a power wheelchair live inside that joystick controller. Leave it baking in direct sunlight for an hour, and it will overheat. Best case scenario? It throws an error code and shuts down into "safe mode," leaving you completely stranded until the plastic cools off.
Battery drain is real: Extreme heat messes with the chemical reactions inside both lead-acid and lithium batteries. They will drain much faster in 100-degree weather, and prolonged heat can permanently shorten their overall lifespan.
Tire pressure warnings: Heat makes air expand. If you have pneumatic tires on your power or manual chair, they can overinflate in the sun, changing how your chair rolls or causing an unexpected blowout.
4. Supplies, Adhesives, and Skin Safety
Your gear bag and your seating system are highly vulnerable to the sun, and failure there causes a domino effect of problems.
The melted car trap: Never, ever leave your backup medical supplies or medications in the car. Prescriptions like baclofen or gabapentin break down and lose their potency if they get hot. Suppositories turn into liquid soup 🤢 and the medical-grade glue on catheters and skin barriers melts, meaning they won't stick when you need them.
Watch the gel and air cushions: If you use a Roho or another air-filled cushion, that air expands in the heat. It makes the cushion rock hard, meaning you don't sink into it properly, which causes dangerous pressure points on your skin. Gel cushions can also thin out and lose their cushion factor when baked.
Moisture vs. Skin: Misting fans and cooling vests are great, but if that water pools on your cushion, it softens your skin. Soft skin plus friction equals pressure sores. Do extra skin checks when it's hot, and watch out for burning-hot metal rims or armrests.
5. Switch Up the Clock
The easiest way to handle the heat? Avoid it entirely. Shift your routine so you aren't fighting the sun at its worst.
Hide from 11 to 4: Knock out your errands, workouts, or rolling routines before 11:00 AM or after 5:00 PM.
Know your specific warning signs: Since you might not get the standard "dripping sweat" warning, listen to your body's alternative signals. A sudden headache, nausea, feeling dizzy, a racing pulse, a bright red face, or a massive, random spike in muscle spasms are all signs that your body is cooking.
If you or your caregiver notice any of those flags, get inside immediately, start sipping cool water, and get ice on your neck. Summer is meant for getting out and living life—we just have to play it cool to stay in the game.
