Most people aren’t used to tropical climates and are unprepared when they get of the plane. The human body gets used to a certain type of climate and becomes sluggish when faced with a sudden change. It takes some time getting used to it and there are some useful tips for dealing with a tropical climate.
Tropical 101
Tropical climates can be found along the equatorial belt and their temperatures are above at least 18 °C (64 °F) during the whole year. These areas are very humid and have frequent thunderstorms so naturally (along with an abundance of sunshine) they have very lush vegetation often resulting in rainforest. The temperatures go beyond 35 °C (95 °F) and have two dry and wet seasons.
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Dealing with the Heat
If you haven’t lived in tropical climates your body will find it hard to adjust. Prepare to feel hot and sweat even with air conditioning because your body is trying to adjust to the sudden change. Since you will be perspiring a lot make sure to keep a bottle of water on you at all times if you don’t it could happen that you’ll pass out. Any type of liquid will do but try to avoid coffee and heavy fattening foods since they will dehydrate you even more. Since everybody is different, pay attention to how your body react to foods and liquids and just go with what makes you feel better.
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Always fear a hat to keep you cool and to avoid heat stroke. Avoid any heavy garments and non-natural fibres, so go with cotton, linen or even rayon (though chemically treated) is a good choice. Even though silk is a natural fibre it retains moisture and is damaged by sunlight. Men should choose light cotton T-shirts and shorts, while women should go for cotton summer dresses. Make sure to have your sunglasses on at all time and use a sunblock with a high SPF. Even if you didn’t get a sunburn apply aloe vera to rehydrate your skin.
Prepare for Sleep Difficulties
You might be jetlagged so you could end up being tired a lot and when you go to bed you’ll realise everything is keeping you awake. Accommodations in tropic countries aren’t always the best and the noises will bother you. Many creatures will keep you up during the night so think about getting earplugs or an ambience noise maker to block them out. The mosquitos will attack you from every corner so find a bug netting to place around your bed and get repellents. Also hot climates tend to have dangerous wildlife so researching online can’t hurt also ask the locals what to watch out for.
Image by David Jones via Flickr
Listen to Your Body
Often travellers experience stomach troubles when they travel so it’s best to be prepared and bring medicine to keep your stomach’s under control until it adapts. Eating coconut water and papaya will soothe your stomach. If you start feeling under the weather go straight to the doctor, your body might not be used to some diseases and you could fall ill very easily.
