5 Ways to Keep Cool When It’s Horribly Hot

There are pulse points you probably know about—on your inner wrists and near the carotid arteries in your neck—where the blood vessels are closer to the surface of the skin. Putting an ice pack or a cold, wet towel—anything cooler than the air temperature—on those points will lower your blood temperature. Then the blood circulates to the rest of your body and cools it down. Lesser-known pulse points are the tops of your feet. These might not be as accessible outside, when you have shoes on, but if you’re in bed on a hot summer night, kick off the covers to cool down. And skip the body lotion. It creates a barrier that traps body heat. Use gel or spray moisturizers instead. They evaporate quickly off the skin, removing heat. Even better if the gel is mentholated or made with peppermint oil, which makes your skin feel even cooler.
— Dendy Engelman, dermatologist and the director of dermatologic surgery at Metropolitan Hospital, in New York

Excerpted from realsimple.com

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