Your job requires you to be constantly kitted in heavy, hot gear, and you regularly find yourself working in hot conditions. You find yourself constantly worrying about heat stress and are wondering what you can do to make sure that you avoid it rather that have to deal with it. Heat stress is a real threat in the workplace and if you don’t take steps to protect yourself you will find yourself in trouble sooner or later. Here are some tips for making sure that your body doesn’t get overheated:
• Make sure that you are wearing proper clothing. If you are required to wear protective gear you should invest in breathable brands that don’t get overheated.
• Sometimes even the right clothing will not stop you from getting overheated. If you work close to a furnace for example you are regularly exposed to heat and your body temperature will spike anyway. In such cases frequent breaks are important. After every thirty minutes you should move to an area that’s cool and has lots of fresh air for at least 10 minutes. Take off the top half of your gear to allow your body to cool down.
• Hydration is vital if you want to avoid heat stress. You should sip on cold water frequently and make sure to monitor the colour of your urine – if it starts to turn dark yellow it is an indication that you are dehydrated.
• Know the signs of heat stress. They include feeling faint, headaches, tiredness, confusion, body and stomach cramps, nausea and vomiting. If you feel any of these coming on you should take a break right away.
Lastly, you can invest in continuous temperature monitoring equipment. It tells your temperature at all times so that when it spikes beyond the normal range you can take steps to cool your body. Try a device from Equivital – you can see some of them on http://www.equivital.com/.