Posts tagged heat stress
Heat Stress Relief with the ChillOut Neckband
010 months ago
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 4:18 — 4.0MB)
We’re located in Menomonee Falls, WI, a suburb of Milwaukee. A friend of mine had an extra ticket to the Brewers – Marlins game at Miller Park on July 4th and asked me if I wanted to go. I said sure, even though the temperature that day was a scorching 99°F! That’s 99° in the shade!
I thought, “Hey, this is a great opportunity to field test one of these ChillOut™ Evaporative Cooling Neckbands from International Enviroguard. It’s 99°. Let’s see how well this thing works.”
ChillOut Evaporative Cooling Neckband
So we went to the game, and brother, it was hot! Fortunately we were in the shade, so we didn’t die.
I brought a ChillOut Neckband for myself and one for my friend. Before going to our seats, we took them into a men’s restroom and soaked them in cold water, as the instructions say. Then we put them on and headed for our seats.
I discovered something very interesting about how these evaporative cooling products work. Of course, basically they work through the process of evaporation. When water evaporates, it has a cooling effect. That’s why the human body sweats when it gets hot. Your sweat evaporates from your skin and cools you off. So as the water in the ChillOut Neckband evaporates, the neckband will make you feel cooler.
But here’s what happened. When I first put the ChillOut Neckband on, right after soaking it in cold water, it of course felt cold on my neck. I thought, “Wow, that feels great!” But 15 minutes later I noticed that the neckband had warmed up to the ambient temperature – that is, the temperature of my neck and of the day – 99°. It was just as hot as everything else that day! So I thought, “Ah, this thing doesn’t work.”
I was disappointed, but I left it on and promptly forgot about it.
Then about 15 minutes later I reached up and touched the neckband – and it was COOL! It was WORKING! It was then I realized that the evaporation process needs a little time to kick in. In order for the neckband to work, you’ve got to give the water in it a chance to start evaporating. Only then will it feel cool and do the job it was designed to do.
Best of all, once the evaporation process began, the ChillOut Neckband remained cool to the touch for a couple of hours as it continued to cool my neck, and to help cool off the rest of me. Around the fifth inning I went back up to the men’s restroom and resoaked the neckband. That recharged it, and it was still working as we were trying to find our car in the parking lot wilderness after the game.
The ChillOut Neckband is especially effective when worn around the neck because it is laying on the skin right over both of your carotid arteries. These are two of the largest arteries in your circulatory system, major pipelines of blood that pass close to the skin on either side of your neck. The cooling ChillOut Neckband cools your carotid arteries, which in turn cool the blood passing through them at that point. That cool blood continues on and circulates throughout your body, helping to lower your core temperature and just generally make you feel cooler.
So here’s the result of my field test of the ChillOut Evaporative Cooling Neckband. Even though it was 99° in the shade that day, I felt pretty comfortable. I’ve got to say that once the evaporation process got started, the ChillOut Neckband worked exactly as advertised.
Oh, one more result. The Brewers lost.
You can buy the ChillOut Evaporative Cooling Neckband at eSafetyStore.com. Click Here.
To learn more about exactly how evaporation works to cool you off, read my blog “The Science of Evaporation“ at Panda-Pedia.com.
Chill-Its® Evaporative Cooling Bandanas for Heat Stress
010 months ago
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:16 — 2.1MB)
Wow, what a summer! Record heat waves throughout the country, and a spike in cases of heat stress, heat exhaustion, even heat stroke. Fortunately, there’s a product that can help: Chill-Its® Evaporative Cooling Bandanas from Ergodyne®.
These bandanas use The Science of Evaporation to create a cooling effect
Chill-Its® Evaporative Cooling Bandana
that helps to cool off outdoor workers on these hot summer days. Just soak one in cold water for a minute or two. An advanced PVA material built into the bandana absorbs and holds a large amount of water, which then begins to evaporate away, cooling the wearer as it does. This cooling effect lasts for hours, and it can be easily reactivated simply by resoaking the bandana in cold water. In fact, a Chill-Its Bandana can be resoaked and reused hundreds of times.
Chill-Its® Evaporative Cooling Bandana in blue
Chill-Its Evaporative Cooling Bandanas come in a number of different colors and designs, from Cowboy Red and Blue to Hi Vis Lime Green and even the Stars and Stripes of Old GLory. They are indispensible for folks who work outside in the hot summer sun, folks who are at risk for heat stress, heat stroke, even sun stroke.
Chill-Its® Evaporative Cooling Bandana in Stars and Stripes
So don’t take any chances in this heat. Get yourself a Chill-Its Evaporative Cooling Bandana from Ergodyne and be cool. You can find them at eSafetyStore.com. Click Here to go right to the page.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Science of Evaporation, Click Here to read my blog at PandaPedia.
Boonie Hat with Neck Shade and Classic Bucket Flap for Sun Protection
011 months ago
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:33 — 2.4MB)
Heat stress, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, sun stroke – these are all bad things. And if you’re an outdoor worker, if you work outdoors in the summer sun, you know how dangerous these conditions can be. You know that you need sun protection. And a great place to start your search for sun protection is with a sun protection hat.
Bucket Flap Sun Protection Boonie Hat with Neck Shade
We suggest the classic wide-brim Bucket Boonie Sun Hat with Neck Shade. It’s made of a blend of 65% cotton and 35% nylon that looks and wears like canvas. The attached 8” neck shade hangs down in back to provide the back of your neck with protection from the sun, so that’s one place you won’t need sunscreen protection.
The crown features a built-in sweatband to help keep the sweat out of your eyes. Four metal screened ventilation ports in the crown allow hot-air buildup to escape, which helps to keep your head cool, and that helps prevent heat stress.
Snaps on either side of the crown correspond with snaps on the brim, allowing the brim to be folded up and snapped against the crown. Snap up one side of the brim for that Australian Military look, or snap up both sides to create the classic ranger hat.
Don’t worry about windy days blowing your boonie hat off. Just tighten up the adjustable chin string snugly under your chin. The small barrel lock on the string will hold it in place.
Yes, working outside in the hot summer sun can be risky business. So be sure to practice sun safety. Stay hydrated, wear light, well-ventilated clothing, get into the shade when you can, and above all, protect your head from the dangerous effects of direct sunlight with a proper sun protection hat, and we recommend the Bucket Flap Sun Protection Boonie Hat with Neck Shade.
You can buy this hat and other hats for outdoor workers, including Ranger Style Sun Hats and Hi Vis Ventilated Mesh Baseball Caps, at eSafetyStore.com. Click Here to go directly to the Boonie Hat.
Cooling and Hydration in an ANSI Class 2 Surveyor’s Vest
0Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:07 — 2.9MB)
Working outside on a hot day near oncoming traffic? This vest from Vinatronics might just be the perfect vest for you.
High Visibility
First of all, it’s a bright green/yellow ANSI Class 2 high visibility polyester safety vest with 3M™ Scotchlite™ silver reflective stripes. If you’re working near oncoming traffic, or anywhere that it’s a good idea to be easily seen, any light source (like a car’s headlights, for example) is going to light you up like a Christmas tree. If you’re wearing this hi vis vest, people are going to see you. And you know, if you’re working near traffic, you definitely want the drivers to be able to see you.
Surveyor’s Vest
Second, it’s a Surveyor’s Vest, so it’s loaded with pockets – seven, to be exact, plenty of places to put your stuff. There’s a pocket for your cell phone, and even a huge zippered pocket across the small of the back where you can stick an entire clipboard.
Vinatronics Cooling Hydration Vests
Cooling Apparel
But here’s where it gets really good. This vest is also Cooling Apparel. To keep you cool and help avoid heat stress, the vest has two large pockets that hold freezer gel packs called Ice Bricks. Put the Ice Bricks in the freezer overnight, then stick them back in their special designated pockets, and they will help to keep you cool all day.
With a Hydration Pack
And last, but certainly not least, this vest has a Camelbak® drinking water reservoir built into the back. Now it’s hot, so you’re going to get thirsty, right? So you carry your own drinking water in the Camelbak reservoir. Just fill up the leakproof 50-oz long neck reservoir and slide it into its pouch on the back of the vest. A long drinking tube runs from the Camelbak reservoir, up over your shoulder and down the front of the vest, where it’s handy to get to. So when you feel thirsty and need some water, just put the end of the drinking tube in your mouth, bite down on the special valve, and rehydrate with a long drink of water. Another good way to help avoid heat stroke.
Four Vests In One
So you can see what a versatile vest this is. It’s high visibility, so oncoming traffic can see you and avoid running you down. It’s loaded with pockets for storing your personal stuff. It’s got the freezer gel packs to help keep you cool on a hot day. And it’s got the drinking water reservoir so you can keep yourself hydrated. Oh, and one more thing. It’s made in the U.S.A. So like I said, if you’re working outside near oncoming traffic on a hot day, this is the vest for you! You can find it at eSafetyStore.com. Click here.