Whether you’re in the midst of the summer season, living closer to the Equator, or traveling to warm tropical places, you may notice that when the temperature spikes, so do your symptoms. For the histamine intolerant, heat can act as a trigger, setting off symptoms. And if you get too much sun or overdo certain foods, you may find yourself in trouble. One of the best things you can do in especially warm environments is to stay cool. Here some ideas –including some quite unconventional– for “taking the heat” and staying cool this summer.
COOL BATHS OR SHOWERS
A cool bath or shower will bring your temperature down fast. And it’s pretty inexpensive and effective fix –with side benefits. Ever heard of the “Ice Man” (the living one), Wim Hof? He swears by daily cold showers and science is now being to uncover the many benefits of cold water and cryotherapy for health. What’s especially helpful for histamine sufferers? Cool showers and other forms of cryotherapy (cold therapy) have been shown to bring down inflammation. Not only that, but cryotherapy has also been shown to raise your body’s levels of antioxidants (especially glutathione), helping you to fight damaging (and aging) free radicals. Why not try it? Cool baths or showers are a great way to address histamine inflammation and stay calm, cool, and collected this summer.
A WRIST WATCH THAT COOLS YOU DOWN
Say what? Yes, believe it or not, there is now a wristwatch you can wear to not only LOOK cool but to KEEP cool. Embr Labs, founded by MIT students, has come up with a wristwatch that works like an AC thermostat (or heater) for your body. The way it works is somewhat the way holding an ice-cold beverage in your hands makes you feel cool all over. It turns out, your wrist, in particular, has a bunch of heat-sensitive nerve endings. So a wristwatch sits in just the right place to have maximum impact. You can control the temp to your sense of comfort by using the temperature control bar on the watch. Then it works with those nerves endings in your wrist to trigger your body’s natural default to homeostasis, so that it cools the whole rest of your body. Pretty cool…
AC IS ALSO A TRIGGER — TRY A DYSON FAN INSTEAD
A lot of people deal with the rising temperatures by turning on the Air Conditioner. However, AC can also be a trigger for us, increasing symptoms rather than simply cooling us down. That’s because the AC can just circulate all kinds of allergens like pollen, animal dander, dust mites, and the like. Contaminants just build up in the HVAC system, particularly if there’s a lot of humidity, and then they just get spewed into your indoor air. Fans are of course an option, but having them turned up is so noisy that it can be a sound trigger and aggravate us in a different way.
So what’s another alternative? I came across Dyson fans and was instantly intrigued. Not only are these fans super quiet, but they are also sleek and compact, and they are artistic in design. Most importantly, they can also act as air purifiers, capturing 99.97% of all allergens and pollutants — even as small as 0.3 microns, which would even cover mold and mold spores. So rather than building up contaminants and recirculating them, they actually filter them out and improve your air quality. They’re a bit of an investment, but well worth it, in my book.
JUST A COOL SPLASH
Of course, if you need a quick cool-down, nothing beats a cool splash of water on your face. Somehow that simple action just cools me down instantly and makes me feel refreshed. A quick step into the loo or a stop by a drinking fountain does the trick. You can even just keep some distilled water in a little spritzer to carry along. If you tolerate it, you can even add a drop or two of lavender essential oil for some extra calm.
KEEP COOLING THE HISTAMINE INFLAMMATION
If just keeping your body cool isn’t cutting it and you’re still suffering a myriad of wacky symptoms, you’ll likely need to do more. As you know, there are more contributors to histamine flares than just fluctuations in temperatures. Cooling inflammation and getting the body into healing mode is the most important change you can make. I know firsthand that it’s not easy. That’s why I’ve put together a guide to help get you there: the 28-Day Histamine Reset. Stay cool and get started healing histamine.
———REFERENCES———
Gagnon DD, Gagnon SS, Rintamäki H, Törmäkangas T, Puukka K, et al. (2014) The Effects of Cold Exposure on Leukocytes, Hormones and Cytokines during Acute Exercise in Humans. PLOS ONE 9(10): e110774. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0110774
Malanga, G. A., Yan, N. & Stark, J. (2015) Mechanisms and efficacy of heat and cold therapies for musculoskeletal injury, Postgraduate Medicine, 127:1, 57-65, DOI: 10.1080/00325481.2015.992719
