时间：2022-10-05 06:19:39
You have taken a shower， put on your suit， your shoes are shining and you are ready to head of to the office. You walk for two minutes and you can feel the heat boiling in your entire body while the drops of perspiration slowly roll down from your face and down to your neck. When you finally get to the office you do not exactly look or feel the same as when you left your home. You look like someone who has been running an entire marathon and there is nothing to do about it. This is the experience a lot of peo-ple and especially a lot of the 210，000 expats living in Shanghai probably have had several days this summer.
Particularly this summer has been special when it comes to the heat. The weather reached 40.6 degrees in July， which is a record in Shanghai. Last time it was this hot was in 1873 where it reached 40.2 degrees. For 24 days in a row Shanghai has had at least 35 degrees every single day and the heat is expected to continue for one more week. About 11 people have unfortunately lost their lives due to the extreme heat. But how can you handle such a hot and humid weather？ Is there any ways you can make it more bearable？
“It was horrible”
William Le Houreou who is a 20-year old business intern in Shanghai expected China to be very hot but he was still surprised when he got here. William Le Houreou is from Paris， France， and is not used to the heat above 30 degrees：
“I felt horrible. I can’t bear temperatures above 30° so it’s been really hard to get use to it. I’m going to stay here for another month and I know it will be hard if it gets warmer. I feel like I’m sweating con-stantly，” William Le Houreou explains.
He clarifies that even though it can get hot in Paris as well it is still different in Shanghai because of the humidity and because of the constant heat： “at least in Paris it cools down at night. Here the heat never stops，” he says.
Even though the heat has been hard on William Le Houreou he believes that his trip to Shanghai has been worth it and he advices foreigners to be prepared for the heat but still enjoy the city despite the sun being too hot：
“Thanks to the air conditioners in the office， the metros， shops and places like that， the heat is bearable. Shanghai is totally worth it though. Even with these temperatures， it’s an amazing city，” he assures.
How too much heat affects the body
If your body is not used to being exposed to the sun and you are out in the sun for too long， the sun will most likely increase your internal temperatures， which means that you will get a fever. Your body will work hard to cool you down. If you are wearing too much clothes your body will react to it by sweating which is your body’s way to cool you down again. If you are in this state for too long your pulse rate will increase as well. But as a foreigner who is not used to the heat your body will sweat inefficiently which means that it will not sweat enough or it will only produce sweat that has a high salt con-tent which can lead to heat exhaustion. But luckily once your body gets used to the heat it will learn how to sweat more efficiently. But before that there are a lot of steps you can do to help yourself survive and bear the heat.
Protein rich food & water
Have more food rich in protein， such as fish， shrimp， chicken and duck. These are rich in protein but have little fat. Beans and nuts are also good choices. This is to recharge your lost stamina during your fight against the heat. Melons and gourds are the best food to defeat the heat， especially the bitter gourd. Mix the sliced bitter gourd with benne oil （or some sugar if you cannot stand the bitterness） and have them with your dinner. Drink water as often as possible and do not wait till you are thirsty. A good rule is to drink at least two cups of water every hour. Gram soup and watermelons are also good choices to keep your body hydrated. If you sweat too much， you should not only drink water， but also eat or drink something with sodium and potassium. Soya milk， banana and mineral drinks are good choices.
Light clothes and stay in
When you go out， wear sunglass and a hat or hold an umbrella. Wear cotton or silk clothes with light colours. Do not expose your skin to the sunshine. Elders， pregnant women and people suffering chronicle disease， especially those with coronary diseases， should stay at home with air conditioners. You should not go out unless necessary. While you are home a cold shower can help cooling you down and give you energy.
“I will never get used to it”
Kim Karolina Stehling is a 21-yearold intern who works as an assistant project manager for the company Summit Asia. She has been in Shanghai for almost two months and is still not used to the hot weather. Her first meeting with the Shanghai sun was not a pleasant one：
“My first experience was at the airport when I arrived. I was amazed how hot and humid it was outside. Since I was wearing a thick hoodie and long trousers， I was not very well prepared for this weather. I was wondering how I would cope for the next 10 weeks with this weather， especially after living in Scot-land for the past two years， where it rarely gets hotter than 20°C.”
Kim Stehling explains that she believes she doesn’t cope with the heat very well：
“I generally feel more tired and less willing to leave the house - I prefer being too cold rather than too hot. You would like to think you get used to it， but that is not really the case. I still don’t feel comfortable in this climate，” she says.
Kim Stehling is from Frankfurt， Germany， and is certainly not used to hot weather like the weather in Shanghai. She believes that it is especially a lot more humid than it is in Frankfurt. Kim Stehling advices anyone who is coming to Shanghai in the summer time to pack light and stay hydrated：
“I would advise anyone coming to spend the summer in Shanghai to leave their warm clothes at home and drink plenty of water during the day. Although it’s tempting to spend a really hot day inside with the air conditioning going， it is a lot nicer to spend the day in in a shady area of one of the parks，” she explains.
Stay cool the Chinese way
When walking around the streets in Shanghai you will certainly see a lot of Chinese people with umbrel-las and with wet fabrics on their heads. These are some of the Chinese ways to protect your self from the heat.
According to Dr. Shen from Changsha People’s Hospital， people can apply medical alcohol onto the rear part of ears， neck， inner arm， inner wrist， inner leg， behind the knee， foot back and so on. Because of the artery in these places where the blood flow is quick， the blood can be cooled quickly and bring the coolness to the whole body. If you do not have medical alcohol， wind medicated oil or toilet water could work as well. Dr. Shen continues：
“And when you go out， you can also wrap wet cloth （thin cotton cloth is the best） around your wrist and ankle. If you do not mind the strange look， you can wrap the cloth on your heard as well. This could help to cool off too.”
When to visit a doctor
Even though there are a lot of tips on how you can handle the heat sometimes you will need to see a doctor instead of trying to “heal” yourself on your own. If you for example get a heat stroke it is a serious problem. Some of the symptoms are dilated pupils， confusion， aggressive behaviour and feeling de-lirium. If you have some of these symptoms you must seek help immediately. The person who gets a heat stroke must get a first aid quickly and get to a hospital afterwards to prevent brain damage or death. The person must be in a cool area and to help him/her the clothes must be soaked with water. Other heat related problems are for example heat rash， which is a more common problem. A heat rash can be treated by washing the problem spots regularly with soap and water. To prevent a rash you should avoid wearing synthetic clothing. Heat cramps， which are painful muscle spasms， can also oc-cur. The heat cramps are usually caused by drinking too little or too much water or for example by to much hard physical exercise. If you have heat cramps you should drink clear juice. If the heat cramps continues for more than an hour you should seek medical help. The heat can also make you faint or have a heat exhaustion. This happens when the brain doesn’t receive enough oxygen， when the heart is too busy pumping blood to keep the body cool. Heat exhaustion can occur if you’re losing a large amount of fluid through sweating. The symptoms can be weakness， nausea， headache or vomiting. If you have any of these symptoms you should try to stay in a cool place and drink lots of water. But if it does not help you should consider seeing a doctor.