My husband and I spend many weekends on our property; feeding plants and making improvements at our homestead in Florida. At our respective jobs during the week, we sit in front of computers in an air conditioned office. I never expected to get exhausted from heat working outside. We headed out to our property on a Sunday morning. Florida summers can be wet, so a dry day is needed to do yard work.
Handling Brush from Cut Trees
Earlier that year, we had paid to have the trees in our future driveway and area of the house cut down. That left us with seven piles of brush and branches to handle.
We bought a used chipper to break down the branches. It went to a repair shop for some needed maintenance and we found out it was 27 years old! If that wasn’t enough, the company that originally built it went out of business, years earlier. We searched the internet for parts with difficulty. Luckily, the repair shop had two expert mechanics and were able to get it running.
We took the chipper and a rental stump grinder to our property and arrived at about 11 AM. That day it would reach 94 degrees.
Working Hard
We were getting a lot done for the first hour and a half. My husband used the stump grinder and took care of four or five stumps that ranged in size from 1 inch to about 7 inches across. With the stumps gone, the driveway was cleared. At the same time, I was using the chipper. It was able to shred small branches, but anything over 1-1/2 inches was too much. I lopped smaller branches off the larger ones to feed into the chipper. Anything that was too big was put aside for the dead hedge.
After working for two hours straight, we took a break for some water and rest. Ten minutes later, we were working again. This time we only lasted about half as long. A longer break, with more to drink followed. Then we tried to get some more work done. Each time we started, the amount of work shortened, and the breaks lengthened.
Exhausted from Heat
I was feeling really hot and my heart beat was much faster than usual, even while sitting in the shade. By 3 PM we were both completely worn out.
Somehow, we managed to put everything in the truck, including the stump grinder. My husband was soaked with sweat and dirty, so he changed clothes before we left. I was sweaty too, and changed into a clean shirt. I had worn a long sleeve shirt and hat, but my arms and face were both red—a sure sign of being overheated!
We headed to a restaurant and sat in the air conditioning, sipping water with lemon to help our bodies cool down. It took me over an hour to feel like myself again. We had a light lunch with fruit and vegetables and then drove home.
How It Happens
According to the WebMD website, getting exhausted from heat comes from exposure to high temperatures and is usually a result of dehydration. Heat exhaustion can include headaches, losing consciousness, feeling nauseous, vomiting and having muscle cramps. Even though our experience was not that severe, it could have gotten much worse if we hadn’t stopped. The website recommends the actions we took – get out of the heat and into an area that is cooler to rest.
How to Avoid a Repeat
We have worked many days doing yard work and other activities on our property, but we now do shorter amounts and get air-conditioned breaks when we need them. To prevent dehydration, we take lots of water in a cooler each time we go, no matter what time of year we are working.
After summer work, cold watermelon is a nice reward that is also good for replenishing mineral salts that are lost due to sweating. You can take salt and potassium tablets or homeopathic mineral salts as an alternative remedy, but the most important thing is to drink lots of water.
Sounds like you had quite a day, guess you have to learn the hard way sometimes.