Cooling Vests – An MS Cool Vest
Give hot weather the cold shoulder when you put on a cooling vest to prevent heat stress. Whether you're working or playing in high temperatures, ward against overheating and pre-cool with an ice vest.
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A combination of high temperatures and humidity hamper your body's ability to cool itself, so heat-related illness becomes a concern during periods of hot weather. Heat distress can take on the form of cramps, heat exhaustion, disorientation, and develop into life-threatening heat stroke.
About 90 percent of your body's heat is produced in the torso by the major organs and muscle groups. As the body works harder, more heat is generated. A cooling vest, which covers the torso, is a practical means of cooling that area, evens for just a few hours.
Commercially available cooling vests can hold more than 70 ice packets, which can be filled with water or even dry ice. The cooling offered by the packets lasts just a few hours in moderate to high heat, so frequent replacement is necessary. Although they can be heavy, ice vests do not impede motion and compared to more complex cooling devices, are relatively inexpensive.
Water-cooled vests offer partial body cooling, but this protective garment requires a battery-operated pump, liquid ice coolant and a container. Although the system has the advantage of allowing mobility, the weight of the components limits the amount of ice that can be carried and as such, lowers the effective use time. The heat transfer rate in liquid cooling systems may limit their use to low-activity jobs; even in such jobs, their service time is only about 20 minutes per pound of cooling ice. To keep outside heat from melting the ice, an outer insulating jacket should be an integral part of these systems.
Avoid heat stress by taking the following simple precautions:
Condition yourself for working in hot temperatures – allow your body to adjust over several days.
Don't wait till you're thirsty – drink lots of liquids during the day; avoid alcohol and caffeine.
Stop for a break if you feel overheated or get a headache; cool off before returning to your activity.
Wear lightweight, white or light-colored clothing when working in the sun.
When possible, refresh yourself in front of a fan or air conditioner.
Anticipating record high temperatures, many American athletes at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens sported cooling vests as they prepared for their events. The specially designed vests allowed the athletes to maintain a normal core body temperature while the ambient temperatures often rose to more than 100 degrees.
Soldiers stationed at desert locales can wear cooling vests while walking guard duty, or while performing outdoor training exercises, to stave off heat exhaustion and prevent heat stroke. High school and college football players who have pre-season scrimmages in the summer heat are especially prone to heat-related illness - many "suit up" in cooling vests which offer a measure of personal protection they can't get from padding and plastic.
Many medical professionals concur that cooling therapy, including the use of a cooling vest, can help alleviate some symptoms of neurological diseases like Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Whether you're a foot soldier or football player, pipe fitter or pole-vaulter, at your core you run the risk of getting dangerously overheated, so combat heat stress with a cool vest.
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