When will I ever adjust to the climate?

[flyingsaucersarereal]

So I am a American in my early 30's in pretty good shape but when I go outside I sweat so much its crazy I am like Shaq at the foul line.

What is it with Thai people that they don't sweat are they more adjusted to the climate then us farang's are?

I have lived here for 5 years so you would think I would have built up some tolerance for the heat but I guess not.

Edited May 2, 2016 by flyingsaucersarereal

[sipi]

I am an old Australian living in the tropics. This 40 degree Australian heat and 90% humidity doesn't bother me.

In Thailand I feel like I am dying 10 months of the year.

[Stradavarius37]

Air conditioning makes it harder. Dont use it and you will adjust faster

[andrew55]

If the only problem is sweating then a prescription medication is available ie.from a doctor to reduce this.

After surviving 5 years you are obviously aware of hydration and potassium/magnesium importance - drink water before you're thirsty.. Use a sachet a day of a pharmaceutical grade electrolyte mix which covers it.

If you take any other medication check if 'profuse sweating' is a recognized side-effect. If yes there may be an alternative.

Edited May 2, 2016 by andrew55

[chrisinth]

OP, real good advice from Stradavarius37 in post #3.

If you rely on AC all the time, you will never aclimitize properly.

Proper hydration is also very important as well as ensuring your body's salt content stays good.

Not sure where you are in Thailand, but the attached below is from Phitsanulok, similar reading everyday since before Song Kran through the afternoons.

Book yourself a holiday, not much problem with sweating up here.............

[dbrenn]

Try to walk as slowly as the locals. You'll stay cooler.

[Merylhighground]

Some excellent advice here.

Try not to be too reliant on cooling aids, especially AC.

Wear loose fitting clothing. Even if you do sweat up, you will soon 'dry out'. My oldest Thai pal, taught me the art of 'shooting the breeze', simply the knack finding the best, coolest place to sit in a restaurant or bar.

Always carry a wet towel thing (Thai: Pah Yen - available at all convenience stores for a few baht) for mopping the brow.

My uncle used to get more flustered the more he sweated and work himself into a state of dishevelment so being able to mop his brow and eliminate people's amusement/revulsion at his dripping brow helped him.

Possibly the best advice is just to 'slow down' a little. If we Westerners have some fault it is our tendency to rush around far too much. Allow yourself an extra twenty minutes to get somewhere so you can just amble along 'Thai style' if you will. You rarely see them rushing anywhere. There is much to be said for the advice 'when in Rome...."

Edited May 2, 2016 by Merylhighground

[SoiBiker]

Took me a few months. I agree with the AC thing. You'll never get used to the heat if you rely on it too much.

[SoiBiker]

Try to walk as slowly as the locals. You'll stay cooler.

I tried that, but I got annoyed with the weeds growing around my ankles.

[kannot]

Couldnt live without aircon here have never adjusted at all to the climate, too sticky for me, work everyday out doors in +40c heat and humidity, worst time morning with no wind changing

5 t- shirts everyday at the moment.

Got a lad works for me hes 32 Burmese, he also sweats like a pig and jumps into the lake everyday after about 3 hours work to cool off

Edited May 2, 2016 by kannot

[optad]

Went from a luxury townhouse to a rustic five story house centre of of town down south, no mod cons. It could seriously get hot but losing the A/C was a blessing. Fans and good air circulation the key and never looked back whilst we had that property.

[jadee]

Some great advice on this thread, especially #3 about the air conditioning. Instead of stopping AC completely, use an overhead ceiling fan when you sleep. Use the AC to cool your bedroom down and then turn it off and just use the fan at night. This helps a lot compared with sleeping with the AC on all night. I lived in Thailand for years and felt the same as the OP about never acclimatizing.

[mgjackson69]

If the only problem is sweating then a prescription medication is available ie.from a doctor to reduce this.

After surviving 5 years you are obviously aware of hydration and potassium/magnesium importance - drink water before you're thirsty.. Use a sachet a day of a pharmaceutical grade electrolyte mix which covers it.

If you take any other medication check if 'profuse sweating' is a recognized side-effect. If yes there may be an alternative.

Some blood-pressure meds are diuretics...they will definitely make you sweat.

[andrew55]

Try to walk as slowly as the locals. You'll stay cooler.

I tried that, but I got annoyed with the weeds growing around my ankles.

Had to squish a snail a few days ago. Little bugger wouldn't stop following me around.

[Saastrajaa]

Eventually you will adjust...especially if you don't rely too much on air con, as others have pointed out. You'll probably never LIKE it--especially March to May--but you'll be able to tolerate it. The body really does adjust over time (several years).

After almost 6 years in Thailand, I didn't realize how much I had adjusted to the heat until I moved back to the US. Back here, for the first 3 years or so, I was freezing cold all the time...and I live in a very moderate part of the US, where we never have snow and the temperature very rarely gets to its lowest (about 5 C.); most days it's 15-20 C., year-round. Yet, I found those temps intolerably cold after adjusting to Thailand (and I grew up and spent most of my life in the midwest and northeast US, so I'm no stranger to true cold). Now I've adjusted back, though when I go to Thailand once a year and it's almost always in the 30s, I can handle it okay.

[rogeroc]

Sweating may feel unpleasant and can be embarrassing but it means you body is working well against the heat. Wouldn't mind betting those 'super dry' folk maybe struggling in the heat more than you.

[Jingthing]

Try to walk as slowly as the locals. You'll stay cooler.

The locals walk? That I haven't noticed.

[rijit]

Totally agree about losing air con And from my experience speed adjustable ceiling fans are preferable to free standing ones

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Edited May 2, 2016 by rijit

[samsensam]

slow down

lose weight

drink less/no alcohol

drink water to stay hydrated

wear loose fitting natural fiber clothes

as for feeling comfortable in the climate my thai friends who have lived with the climate all their lives complain about it more and are obsessed with ac far more than i am

[chicowoodduck]

When you come back as a cockroach in your next life......sweat is your very own A/C.....just enjoy it and enjoy the short ride.....global warming will be the end of us all sooner than later.....??

[Lannig]

Thais do suffer from heat too. Don't be fooled by people saying "they're used to it / their metabolisms are adapted" etc.

I was in the LOS in the middle of the very unsual heat wave we've had this year and I really noticed the tired looks of the people in my village. Well, those who don't have a/c at home at least.

The talk of the town was sleepless nights.

I don't think any human being can really "adjust" to what the hot season has had for us this year. Be it farang or Thai.

[lemonjelly]

I always wear a thin tight fitting tee shirt under my shirt,it helps keep me dry and evaporates the sweat off.

Edited May 3, 2016 by lemonjelly

[klauskunkel]

After 10 years I had adjusted...., then it got hotter....

[Siamthomas]

Thais are black for a reason they are part of the lands creation. All whites varie pending growing and climate regions

If you have not adjusted you will not. Takes a year or so

[ggt]

They tell me it is cooler...when you are 6' underground...

[Familyonthemove]

It's currently around body heat in most of Thailand - if you didn't sweat you'd die. Try to wear clothes that 'breath' and dry fast*, shower often, use a good deodorant (not anti-perspirant - no point) and sweat away with confidence.

After 10 years in the Tropics I feel OK in the heat, use AC very little, and go for runs at midday in the local park at weekends - but I still sweat like a fountain when I walk outdoors - and so long as I don't smell I'm not bothered - as my shirt dries in about 20 seconds when I get indoors.

*Avoid sports clothing and so-called technical fabrics - they stink! Natural fibers are better.

[sometimewoodworker]

OP, real good advice from Stradavarius37 in post #3.

If you rely on AC all the time, you will never aclimitize properly.

Proper hydration is also very important as well as ensuring your body's salt content stays good.

Not sure where you are in Thailand, but the attached below is from Phitsanulok, similar reading everyday since before Song Kran through the afternoons.

Phit_Temps_Average Afternoon.jpg

Book yourself a holiday, not much problem with sweating up here.............

Your humidity metre is broken.

There is no chance of getting a humidity reading of 10% in Thailand unless you have a very unusual air conditioning system.

It occasionally gets down to that kind of reading in the Japanese winter and it is painful. You will desperately be looking for a humidifier at much less than 20% to 30%.

The genuine reading is probably around 50%

[bazza40]

Sweating is normal. It would be more of a concern if you were not sweating. Thais sweat, it's just not as profuse and hence visible.

Go for the lightest, loosest cotton fabrics you can buy.

Only use the aircon to aid sleeping. Switch to fans at every opportunity.

Blood is thicker in temperate and cold climates. It takes your body about six months for the blood to thin out to tropical levels.

[bazza40]

Try to walk as slowly as the locals. You'll stay cooler.

I tried that, but I got annoyed with the weeds growing around my ankles.

Must be some interesting plant hybrids that grow that fast in Bangkok bitumen.

[gemguy]

Right...you are that other sweaty foreigner I have seen out and about ...and I thought I was the only one.

You will never get used to it ...it just gets slightly worse all the time.

Carry a bottle of cologne with you to mask the sweaty smell...lol

I have never adjusted to the climate and as I get older I sweat more and more easily.

But it beats the hell out of -40 degree Celsius weather were I came from... a long time ago in a frozen wasteland.... far, far away.....and just a memory now.....

Cheers