Summer. It’s hot. One of the main effects of LSD, MDMA and/or other stimulants is that you can get very hot very quickly as the drug kicks in. Hot environment + hot person = potential for heat stroke, especially if you’re indoors, in the sun, or in the thick of a packed dance floor. Here’s some tips on how to stay out of the medics’ tent this summer.
Hydration
Monitoring your water intake is important, especially if you’ve taken MDMA. You should drink the right amount – not too much, not too little. There have been cases of people drinking too much water after taking MDMA, overhydrating, and winding up in hospital with hyponatremia. Hyponatremia has killed partygoers before, so please be careful. We like it when you don’t die.
Ideal ways to stay safely hydrated are:
- Limit your alcohol intake. It’s a diuretic (makes you pee lots) and you want to keep your fluids on your inside, not your outside.
- Limit your water intake to one big cup per hour. This is a safe amount of water for your body to process. You can measure time by DJ sets if you don’t have a watch. Grab a drink every time the DJ changes and you’ll be right. If you have extra water, you can always pour it over your head to keep cool.
- Electrolyte drinks such as Powerade and coconut water can help replenish what you’re sweating out. Keep your tent stocked if you’re at a festival, or grab one on your way home at the end of the night.
- Keep the one big cup of fluid per hour going for at least two hours after you get home from your adventures.
Read more about staying safely hydrated on MDMA at the Psychedelic Times website.
A good way to avoid the dry-mouth that goes along with jaw clenching without overhydrating is to suck on an ice cube or lollipop, or chew gum.
Take breaks and dress for the occasion.
Take regular breaks if you’re on the dance floor. If you can go out onto a balcony or chill out by a window and get some fresh air, do it. If you’re at a festival, spend some time in the chill space. Regular rest breaks will keep you cool and out of the medic’s tent.
If you start feeling too hot and you have ice on hand, don’t be afraid to rub it on your hands and face for a bit of instant relief. If you’re at a venue, duck into the toilets and hold your hands under the cold tap in the hand basin.
Wearing layers that you can take off and on as you need to is also advisable, especially at night if you’re at an outdoor gig. Remember to bring a jacket to wear on your way home. While overheating is a concern, you can also get too cold at night while travelling.
Check in with yourself and your friends
Listen to your body. If you think you might be overheating, check in with your friends, take a break and have some water. If you’re too warm, chances are your mates might be too and you’ll have a better night if you don’t have to go to A&E.
Don’t listen to your brain. Drugs can interfere with your decision-making, and heat stroke definitely makes you confused. The two together can lead to terrible decisions. Check in with your friends or sober people about what state you are in and be willing to take their advice, even if you think you feel fine.
Heat-related problems
If you start feeling any of these, seek medical help immediately. If you are with someone who experiences these, help them to get medical help.
Heat cramps
This is the least severe of the three. The major muscle groups in your body will start involuntarily spasming. They generally happen if you’ve been doing a lot of physical exercise in a hot or humid environment, like dancing on a packed dance floor. You sweat profusely and your legs, core muscles, and arms cramp up. Heat cramps can hit both while you’re dancing, and after you’ve gone home, so make sure you hydrate properly for the entire time you’re adventuring.
Heat exhaustion
You get heat exhaustion if you’re in a hot environment and don’t hydrate well. The symptoms of heat exhaustion are:
- profuse sweating,
- weakness,
- nausea,
- vomiting,
- headache,
- lightheadedness, and
- muscle cramps.
Learn more about heat exhaustion
Heat stroke
This is the worst of the heat-related problems that can happen as it can kill. It comes with being severely dehydrated.
You get dizzy, confused, and disoriented. You stop sweating because your body doesn’t have any more fluid for you to sweat out. In extreme cases you can pass out or go into a coma. At worst, you can die.
Read more about self care in our post about the problems with mixing drugs with other substances.
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