Today I wanted to write about the subject of heat exhaustion since it is something that those of us living in the north don't always take as seriously. I know I didn't recently. My garden is a ways away from my house so usually when we drive over I pack a thermos of cooling herbal iced tea and some kind of healthy snacks. Well this day we had plans to go the zoo after we got home and I wanted to hurry so we could get back. When I am in hurry mode sometimes I work non-stop instead of listening to my body.
It was already beastly hot and humid when we got to the garden and we had stopped on the way to shovel up a carload of mulch first too. We just went right to work and two hours later I felt kind of dizzy so I told my husband I better stop .Usually we go inside and wash up ,get a drink and cool down a little before we head home. Not today, I had a one track mind, get home to the kids so we can take them to the zoo. I remember that I was actually losing my sense of thirst by now. My husband was drinking a mountain dew but I hate the stuff and said I could wait till we got to a gas station and get some Gatorade or water. The whole drive home I felt like I was being smothered and and was very light headed . I also felt extremely hungry all of a sudden and my head hurt. By the time a gas station was on the scene I was to weak to go in and our house was a block away so we decided it was better to just go home.
When we got home my husband got me in the house ,and took me to the sink and started running cold water over my wrists and getting me to drink. I was shaking violently by now and hyperventilating. He started some cool bath water and I had him bring me some honey and sea salt. I put a god pinch of the salt under my tongue and a teaspoon of honey in my mouth. My heart rate was out of control so I put motherwort tincture under my tongue for that. It ended up taking two dropperfulls but within minutes I could feel it working. My husband got me in the tub and I had him bring me a potassium pill too. Normally I would have eaten a banana with peanut butter but we were out. After a few minutes ,the shaking stopped and I could breathe normally. The rest of the day I was wiped out and focus on drinking nourishing and cooling herbal teas and took licorice root to get my adrenals back to health. I say this story even though I feel kind of embarrassed I wasn't more careful because I got to thinking about what if someone couldn't get to the hospital or get IV's. There are things we want to make sure we always have on hand. For me these were the herbs I used to cool myself and support my adrenals afterward.
licorice root(boosts adrenals and gets some of those hormones back up)
elderflower or catnip(both are good for reducing heat in the body)
nettle (nourishing and boosts adrenal health)
oatstraw (calms and strengthens nervous system and nourishing)
During heat exhaustion some important tips.: call a doctor if you can or go the hospital,don't take chances. I was asking my husband to call 911 but he said to try the bath first and let my supplements kick in.(he trusted me more than I did at the time)
Get some sugar in your system, preferably a healthy source. Salt is important and so is a potassium source. Ideally bananas or orange juice would be better than pills. Never take potassium pills without medical approval. Get cooled down. Cold water over the wrist calms down adrenalin ,take a lukewarm bath if you can. NOT cold. It will shock your system and make you worse.
Dealing with shock and heart irregularities; motherwort tincture is very fast and effective. It is cheap and I carry it in my purse. It gets rid of panic attacks too. Also it strengthens the heart too.
Some final thoughts : over the next few days make sure to get lots of nourishing foods ,some extra protein and extra b-vitamins. Anytime your body goes in shock it pulls a lot out of you.
These are just my opinion and worked for me . I am not a doctor and am not accountable if something I wrote doesn't work for you. Do the research and be safe. God bless your day!
