August 28, 2025 • 32 mins
Heat stress affects four out of five Americans with many unaware they're experiencing it, and over a quarter don't know how to react in an emergency situation. Lexi Engelbart from Ergodyne joins us to discuss Project Heat, an educational initiative aimed at helping people recognize and respond to heat-related illnesses before they become life-threatening.
• Heat stress is highly personal – medications, hydration, alcohol consumption, and fitness level all affect how individuals respond
• Signs of heat-related illness progress from heat rash to heat cramps to heat exhaustion to heat stroke, with cognitive decline being a serious warning sign
• The "taco method" (Tarp Assisted Cooling Oscillation) can save lives in remote locations by creating a makeshift ice bath
• Acclimatization is crucial – gradually expose yourself to heat over 1-2 weeks rather than jumping straight into hot conditions
• Cooling products range from evaporative cooling vests and sleeves to phase change technology designed for different environments
• Proper cooling not only prevents heat illness but also improves performance by allowing better nutrient absorption
• The time-tested formula for heat stress prevention remains "water, rest, and shade"
• Looking out for signs of heat stress in friends, family members, and teammates can prevent serious medical emergencies
Learn more about heat stress prevention and products at Ergodyne.com/heat-stress.
Here's the products we discussed in the episode that Lexi recommended:
Arm Sleeves
Cooling Towel (their most popular item)
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Chris (01:01):
All right, welcome back to the Find your Edge podcast.
I'm excited to have a specialguest here today talking all
about heat stress, which y'allknow.
We are located in NorthCarolina and no matter really
where you are in the country orin the Northern Hemisphere, it's
hot right now, so I feel likethis is a really relevant topic,
(01:21):
so I'm excited to have you.
Welcome, lexi.
Lexi (01:25):
Thank you so much for having me.
Chris (01:27):
Yeah, so she is from Ergo Dine.
I would love to just dive rightin, get into it.
What and we were just talkingbefore we started the crossover
between your industry and ourtarget market, which is a lot of
endurance athletes or peoplewho are out in the heat, getting
outside and doing all theseamazing things, but, oh my gosh,
(01:48):
now they're getting hot.
So tell us a little bit aboutErgodyne, as well as this
project Heat that you've gotgoing.
Lexi (01:58):
Absolutely so.
Ergodyne has been around forover 40 years, founded in 1983.
It's been around for over 40years, founded in 1983.
So we primarily serve anindustrial market.
So we cover about 15 categoriesof PPE, personal protective
equipment.
So that can range, you know,from hard hats, head protection,
(02:19):
eye protection, gloves, kneepads.
I focus specifically on heatstress.
So basically every categorythat we have here we're working
to try to mitigate a risk.
So in my case I'm trying tomitigate heat stress.
Primarily I'm looking atconstruction workers, people in
(02:40):
manufacturing, civil engineers.
But there's so much crossoverbetween industrial markets.
And then these enduranceathletes.
Both parties are working inextreme conditions.
They are putting out massamounts of metabolic load on
their body.
They're working hard, there's alot of output.
So there's so much crossoverbetween these two markets.
(03:03):
I'm really really excited tokind of get everybody trained up
a little bit today, hopefully,on what heat stress is, what it
looks like, and really theproject Heat that we're doing
this summer is really for thatpurpose.
It's about education andawareness.
You know, obviously I make PPE,I design PPE, but ultimately
it's not about just PPE, right,it's about the crossover between
(03:27):
.
You know, it might be aconstruction worker dealing with
heat stress on the job, butthen they go to their kid's
soccer game.
Their kids may be dealing withheat stress on the field, or you
know, they have a neighborthat's mowing the lawn and then
they get overheated.
So you know as much.
As we serve an industrialmarket, this topic and this risk
specifically hits a massaudience and is a worldwide
(03:50):
audience for people at riskTotally.
Chris (03:53):
And I'm glad that you mentioned, like you know, going
out and mowing your lawn,because it doesn't matter
whether you are an enduranceathlete or not.
You are probably going to yourkid's soccer game, you're
probably mowing your lawn,you're probably going to a
concert and you know outside.
So this is really relevant foranyone, not just endurance
(04:16):
athletes, exactly.
So, yeah, dig into this ProjectHeat and the educational piece
and what we should start to beaware of when it comes to heat
stress.
Lexi (04:27):
Definitely so.
We did some surveying.
We found that four out of fiveAmericans have experienced some
form of heat stress, and a lotof times they don't even know
that they're experiencing it,and over a quarter of them don't
know how to react in anemergency situation.
So that's really what our goalis is to just work to get out.
You know what is heat stress.
(04:47):
What does that look like in me?
What does that look like in mycoworker, in my child, in my
neighbor?
It's really a personal issue.
It's not the same type of riskas wearing a helmet.
If an object falls on my head,it's probably going to bounce
the same off my head as yourhead.
But if we're both in 95 degreeweather you're in North Carolina
(05:09):
, I'm in Minnesota your body'sused to that, my body is not.
So that's what we're reallyaiming to do is understand
there's so many differentfactors that are super personal
about heat stress.
So there's differentmedications that you can take
that can actually make heatstress worse.
It's a really a big lifestylething too.
Are you properly hydrated?
(05:29):
Did you drink last night?
Do you exercise regularly?
Clearly, your audience doesthat.
So that's a great.
That's a great foundation tobuild.
But there's so many differentpersonal things that wrap into
heat stress.
That's why it is kind of acomplicated topic and there
hasn't been, you know,overarching regulation, at least
in the safety world, for heatstress, because it is so
(05:50):
personal.
But there is a lot of momentumgoing towards that, which is
really, really exciting.
So it feels like, you know, theculmination of all of these
people talking about this superimportant topic 2024 was named
the world's warmest year onrecord Before that, 2023 was
this year is tracking to be inthe top five, ranking like
number three right now.
(06:11):
The point being this risk isnot going anywhere and we have a
lot of people that don't getthe option to hop into an
air-conditioned room or take offall of their PPE whenever they
feel hot and endurance.
You know athletes, they don'twant to stop, they want to
finish, they want to set a PR.
So there's a lot ofsimilarities with people pushing
(06:34):
their bodies to an extreme andpushing them too far in some
cases.
Chris (06:39):
Interesting that you talked about how, yeah, we're
all a little bit different, andwe see that quite a bit here.
We also see people like, yeah,we're all a little bit different
, and we see that quite a bithere.
We also see people like, youknow, they're in Minnesota and
they're like, okay, I'm going togo do a race in Florida or I'm
going to go do a race in Texas,and how do I not melt?
I mean, certainly there aresome methods that we can do to
(07:01):
increase our um or acclimate alittle bit better, but y'all's
folks don't necessarily havethat option.
It's like go to work, get apaycheck, you've got to do these
things.
So what are some of the thingsthat you guys are looking at
that we can also embrace to helpus get to that?
Lexi (07:22):
Definitely.
So, the number one thing I willalways recommend is staying
hydrated water and electrolytes.
So people ask me sometimes areelectrolytes necessary?
I will say I'm not anelectrolyte expert but if you
are getting the nutrition fromyour regular diet, your food and
vegetables and that sort ofthing, you don't always need
(07:42):
electrolyte replenishment.
However, keeping an eye on yourbody, how much you're sweating,
how much you're replenishing,it's always a good idea just to
kind of have that stocked.
And you mentioned the wordacclimatization.
We talk about that a lotactually.
So typically what we see when wesee incidents and fatalities
happening from heat stress, thatis within the first one to two
(08:04):
weeks on the job.
So these are new people.
Maybe they're returning workers, migrant workers.
Their bodies are not used tothese conditions, so we actually
do have a way of slowlyintroducing their bodies to get
used to that environment.
Typically, you know, you'llstart on day one, 20% of a work
day.
Maybe you'll work a coupledifferent stations that aren't
(08:26):
as putting out as much hardmanual labor.
Then day two or day threeyou're going up to 40%, up to 60
, up to 80.
Those are just arbitrarynumbers I'm throwing out, but
that's kind of how we get aworker used to the environment
Because, again, I'm fromMinnesota.
If I were to go down to Floridanext week I would not make it
through a shift and we don'twant anybody to be doing that.
(08:49):
So acclimatization andhydration, I would say, are
super, super critical.
You know, what we kind ofprescribe to workers is water,
rest and shade.
You know, endurance athletesmaybe don't have all of those
options given to them whenthey're running in these remote
settings, biking in these remotesettings, swimming, doing all
of these things that you knowyou don't have the opportunity
(09:12):
to just go hop in an airconditioned spot.
So really prepping your bodyahead of time is going to set
you up for the best success.
And I'd love to talk throughmaybe some of the HRIs,
heat-related illnesses, the mostcommon ones to look for.
So signs and symptoms, are youcool with me going into that?
Chris (09:31):
Yes, and I love that you noted about the taking workers
and slowly integrating them intothe job.
So that acclimatization,because so many of our athletes
are like, oh, it's now hot and Iwill be doing a half Ironman
running at one o'clock in theafternoon in the heat.
Therefore, I'm just going to goout for a run at one o'clock in
(09:52):
the afternoon on the first daythat it's super hot, and then
they're shocked with, like I hada heat stress incident, right.
So not a good idea.
We got to bring yourself up,gently, acclimatize as best as
you can, and I love that you'regoing to start talking about
like what are those heat-relatedillnesses?
And then hopefully getting intolike how can we mitigate some
(10:15):
of that?
Definitely yeah, so go for it.
Lexi (10:18):
Okay, yeah.
So from least severe to mostsevere, and these are good
things to look out for againbefore we get to like the final
stage of heat stroke, which is amedical emergency.
So heat rash, that's a reallyobvious one to be able to see
the signs of.
So kind of how it sounds.
Your skin will start to getblisters, it might look like
(10:39):
it's burnt almost.
So that happens because oursweat ducts can get clogged and
then we stop sweating.
There's a ton of moisturesitting on our skin.
It's not evaporating.
So a lot of times we maybedon't have the benefit of
airflow, or maybe we're in asuper hot, humid condition.
It's harder for evaporativecooling basically our body
(11:00):
sweating and that sweatevaporating off our body.
It's harder for that to happenwhen there's a ton of moisture
in the air.
So that's a really really goodone to look out for.
So again, some of that itchyskin, red blisters, that sort of
thing.
Next would be heat cramps.
So typically what I hear frompeople is you know, they maybe
don't experience heat crampsduring their workday or when
(11:21):
they're doing the bulk of theirmovement, but they'll actually
feel them at night.
So our body's in a deficit,probably from dehydration.
We're lacking those salt andmoisture levels.
We've sweated a ton over theday.
So we would always say get to acooler area, try to just
replenish those fluids Again.
Cramps, you'll kind of feelthose.
(11:42):
Those are pretty understandableto feel.
The next one would be heatexhaustion.
So that's where we startgetting into some cognitive
decline.
So when heat stress startsaffecting our body, our brain
function actually starts to gotoo.
So we might start feeling alittle sick, a little nauseous,
might have a headache, our moodmight start changing, start
(12:05):
feeling weak, maybe startfeeling dizzy, but there
oftentimes is a sentiment oflike just push through it.
You know we have to beproductive, we have to get to
the end of the race X, y, z, andthere's a lot of factors that
cause people to push throughthose feelings.
However, pushing through those,you can run the risk of then
experiencing heat stroke.
So that is typically.
(12:25):
Your body cannot regulate itstemperature anymore.
There may be, you know, passingout, fainting again, dizziness,
confusion.
So the example I like to use isI don't have my water bottle in
here, but when people startusing things the wrong way so
you know you drink from a waterbottle from the top you have to
maybe flip the cap off.
(12:46):
So if people are, you know, nottaking the cap off and trying
to drink their water or they'reholding it upside down,
confusion is a real, real partof this and sometimes, you know,
a bystander is just like, okay,this person's having a day or
something along those lines.
But truly, the cognitivedecline is one of the final
stages of heat stroke and welike to say react within 30
(13:10):
minutes of somebody going downwith heat stroke.
So when you're in these superremote environments or maybe
doing one of these races orworking on an industrial site
where there is not an airconditioned trailer, my car is
three miles away.
I can't go sit in there torecover.
What do we do?
There's a couple really goodhacks.
I would say so, anywhere thatyou would take a pulse on your
(13:32):
body is going to be a reallygood point to apply cooling, ppe
, ice packs, a cooling towel,anything along those lines.
So that's where our bloodvessels are, towards the top of
the skin, so it's going to befaster to cool that blood down
and recirculate it through ourbody.
So the one kind of catchy thingthat we've been doing this
(13:53):
summer is we've gone to a couplejob sites and we've presented
the taco method.
So we'll bring taco lunch andthen we'll kind of do this
demonstration for tarp assistedcooling oscillation.
So essentially we're makingsomeone into a taco.
So if somebody goes down fromheat stroke, basically, what do
we do in the super remoteenvironment?
(14:14):
How do we act quickly?
A lot of people will have theirlunch box cooler meant.
How do we act quickly?
A lot of people will have theirlunchbox cooler.
Some ice, some water, somethingalong those lines.
So what we say is lay a tarpdown, get that person into the
tarp.
It's really kind of simulatingan ice bath or a cold plunge.
(14:34):
So then we'll put that water,that ice on them, oscillate them
in that tarp.
We're trying to get that coreof the body cool as quickly as
possible.
So where those vital organs are, that's what we want to cool
down as quickly as possible.
So we've had some fun with theeducation portion of this.
To get a taco, make a taco ofyour coworker.
I think just sometimes safetytraining can be a little boring.
(14:57):
So what we try to do is make itas engaging as possible and
really kind of have these thingsthat you know cross over into
your life that you can remembera little bit more.
So everybody eats tacos, or alot of people eat tacos,
probably.
So, trying to just, you know,pinpoint these things that can
cross over outside of just thework site and into life in
(15:18):
general, outside of just thework site and into life in
general.
Chris (15:28):
So cool, I love those tips.
And similarly, as you may know,ice baths are very popular in
the athletic community.
Whether you're an enduranceathlete or CrossFit or whatever
and I'm thinking as you'retelling me this taco method
anybody can have a tarp in theircar and pour some ice and water
and have some fun with it.
Literally, it's like it'salmost like a slip and slide,
but like you wrap people up, andthat is a that seems to me to
(15:52):
be a much more cost effectiveand easy to carry method than
like I bought this ice bath,that now I have to figure out
where I'm going to fill it upand where I'm going to get the
ice.
It's like you know I'm out in,you know we've got races all
over the place that are on allkinds of random places and, yeah
, you're probably not carryingall this information, but
(16:13):
anybody can have a tarp.
Lexi (16:15):
Exactly, you know.
Chris (16:16):
and then you've got a little cooler of stuff and then
(16:45):
yeah, you can cool down, so okay, the facilities may be.
Lexi (16:46):
So that's really what we aim to do is kind of have, you
know, range of options fromsuper down and dirty, like a low
price point, something you canwear for one race, two races and
then throw it away.
And then we have stuff that youknow can be worn during a rest
break so you can actually coolyour body down.
We really try to serve as manymarkets as possible and there is
so much crossover betweenathletic wear and then some of
the stuff that we're doing, andthen we range to some crazier
(17:10):
technologies like phase changecooling that maybe isn't used as
much in industrial or, excuseme, in endurance sports, but
again, in industrial or, excuseme, in endurance sports, but
again, these same principles andpractices cross over very
easily.
So you can take a proactiveapproach, which is what I would
always recommend, versus areactive approach.
But we have a ton of optionswithin our Ergonine line that
(17:33):
would actually help and, I think, be really suitable for
athletes as well.
Chris (17:38):
So cool.
So I would love to hear aboutsome of the proactive approaches
and then talk a little bitabout what types of, like you
said differences in price ranges.
My guess is that they'reprobably all not that bad from a
price range perspective and Ithink that that should not be a
barrier.
(17:58):
I'm hoping it's not a barrierfor a lot of folks Maybe it's a
comfort issue, Like, but I'm I'msure that y'all are also
considering how things aresitting on the body, Like you
guys are moving a lot.
Lexi (18:11):
Yes.
So, so I would say, um, you knowthe principle of evaporation,
evaporative cooling, so that'sour body's built-in way of
cooling itself down to sweating.
So anytime we can be choosingfabrics that are lightweight,
moisture wicking, hopefully UPFrated ultraviolet protective
(18:32):
factor.
So we talk about SPF, which issunscreen, upf, which is
typically in textiles andclothing.
Anytime we can protect our bodyfrom those rays of the sun.
That's really important and Iwill just plug, we also do
sunscreen as well.
So SPF 50, it's really reallygreat.
Would highly recommend it.
But not everybody likes to wearsunscreen.
(18:53):
I know that's a verypreference-based thing.
So, yeah, if we can be choosingthese textiles that are working
for us already, we don't haveto apply sunscreen.
So, yeah, if we can be choosingthese textiles that are working
for us already, we don't haveto apply sunscreen.
So one that's really popular isour cooling sleeve.
So it's basically from bicep tothe wrist.
It's just giving more surfacearea with that fabric to contact
with the skin, grab thatmoisture, repel it away.
(19:16):
It's going to basically enhanceour body's natural way of
cooling itself down.
So those are really really easy.
Opening price point optionAgain, those can be worn
multiple times.
Nothing washes out.
The cooling effect doesn't washout.
You can wear them wet or dry.
We use that fabric all acrossmy line.
So I've got t-shirts, I've gotlong sleeve.
(19:39):
You know we have people whowear hard hats.
A lot of those people have tendto have, you know, shaved heads
, bald heads, a small amount ofhair, so there's a lot of sweat
rolling down underneath thathard hat.
You know we have cyclistswearing helmets, that sort of
thing.
We do skull caps that are, youknow, kind of kind of as they're
, as they're named, you know, asmall cap that just sits on the
(20:03):
base of your head, again,getting that sweat, getting that
moisture off of our skin.
And we really do design withworkers in mind.
So, like you had kind ofmentioned, comfortability,
durability and lasting a fullshift is really important to
these workers.
Durability and lasting a fullshift is really important to
these workers.
So we range from things thatyou know you can swap out every
(20:24):
hour, every couple hours, tothings that will last a little
bit longer, more like your wholeworkday.
So it kind of just depends on,you know, what are the
activities that you're doing.
Do you have the ability to beswapping things out?
Maybe put something back in thefridge to recharge it,
reactivate it, get it cold again, basically.
So there's so many options and,to your point, we actually
(20:45):
specifically like to bring inworkers to our office.
Hey, try this on, can you movein this?
What are the pain points?
What do you feel like would bebetter about this?
And we really open it up to theworker.
So we call it voice of thecustomer.
I am not a frontline worker, Iam also not an endurance athlete
, but these are the people thatare out there every day
(21:08):
experiencing the realenvironment.
So who would know better aboutwhat their needs are than them?
So we love bringing people into talk specifically about fit,
people in to talk specificallyabout fit, performance, comfort,
because if you feel like a dorkand it's not comfortable to
wear your PPE, people aren'tgoing to wear their PPE.
And that is a fact of thematter, which is, you know, I'm
(21:31):
the dork of the neighborhood.
I will wear my vest while I'mout lawn doing the lawn or
gardening and stuff.
But you know, all jokes aside,making stuff that people
actually want to wear and feelcool, wearing is really really
an important part of it, becauseit is so preference based too.
Actually.
Chris (21:49):
Yeah, totally, and I love that you mentioned vests,
because this is definitelymaking its way into the
endurance world, so tell us alittle bit more about cooling
vests.
Lexi (22:00):
Yeah.
So there are a ton of differentoptions.
I will say there are differenttechnologies that are suited for
certain environments, sodepending on where you are so
like let's take Phoenix for anexample super dry, not a ton of
humidity we have some dryevaporative vests that perform
(22:21):
really, really well there.
So it's basically a vest.
You fill it with cold water.
There's a few holes all overthe vest.
It's again that principle ofevaporation.
As water evaporates off thebody, it takes some of the heat
from the surrounding air andthat cools the body down.
Then we have people who aremaybe suited up in a tight attic
(22:42):
.
They have to wear coveralls,they have to wear all this
protective stuff.
They do not have the benefit ofairflow.
So the vest I just talked aboutfor Phoenix we need airflow, we
need low humidity levels.
So what do we do with somebodywho's stuck in this tight,
confined space, has no benefitof all these other things?
Then we look to othertechnologies like phase change,
(23:03):
so that one is formulated in ourline at 64 degrees, about 30
degrees below our bodytemperature, so you can just
throw it in the fridge freezer,or the fastest way is just in a
cooler of ice water.
Actually it's just going toslowly pull the radiant heat
from our body and provide aprolonged cooling period.
So those are a couple of ourprobably best-selling vests
(23:25):
Another one that people really,really love, and we do it in a
few different formats.
People love a cooling towel, soyou maybe have seen like a
chamois before.
They start out kind of dry andcrunchy.
Once you get them wet theysoften up and it's basically
like a giant sponge.
So it's holding onto water fora long amount of time and again
(23:46):
going to slowly take that warmair from around us as it's
evaporating and remove it fromour body.
So that one.
People love the PVA vest.
Polyvinyl alcohol is the nameof that chemical structure.
So that's a really, reallypopular super lightweight.
I think that one would be greatfor endurance athletes too.
It doesn't require a ton offacilities.
(24:07):
What we see typically is peoplejust dumping a bottle of water
all over their body and thatactivates it.
Chris (24:14):
Oh, so cool.
As you're saying all thesethings, I'm thinking of all the
different opportunities forwhere these can be inserted.
Right, like you mentioned, thedry heat in Phoenix versus you
know more of a confined space,which I feel like I'm in a
confined space anytime I walkoutside in the humidity here.
Lexi (24:34):
Seriously.
Chris (24:35):
And then like the sleeves and the skull cap, I mean.
And then you also mentionedsunscreen.
So just you know quick reminderfor people that if you get
burned, you cannot effectivelyrelease heat, you can't
effectively sweat.
So it's really important ifyou're not wearing sunscreen and
having some type of you knowsleeve or that type of thing.
(24:56):
And then also, as you'rementioning some of these cooling
vests and cooling opportunities, there's not just things that
you can be doing during exercise, but also in between.
Say, you're a soccer player andyou're in between games.
I get that question a lot,especially for youth athletes
how do I cool my kid in between?
(25:16):
There's a perfect opportunity?
Yeah, absolutely.
And what are what are likeprice points that you know or
more high end things that youwould be wanting to use?
Lexi (25:46):
like on a recovery break, maybe $200 for that sort of
thing.
So they're not, you know, superout of out of whack, price wise
, and pretty much all of theseare reusable If you're taking
care of them.
You know laundering themproperly.
You know we work inconstruction primarily, so we
got a lot of people gettingthese things very, very, very
(26:08):
dirty.
Um, the conditions that they'reworking in definitely not clean
, super dusty.
So I would say, you knowendurance athletes probably have
a step up because you're notworking in some of these same
conditions.
But yeah, if you're taking careof you know these pieces, they
can last you several years.
So it's really worth theinvestment, especially if you
(26:30):
can take the opportunity to coolyour child down over, you know,
over halftime or, you know,while you are taking a break to
get water and all this stuff.
If you can take five minutes tocool your body down, that's
going to just set your body upfor more success.
Chris (26:49):
And sometimes people don't realize, since you know
I'm really deep into the fuelingand hydration part.
If you are cool you can betterdigest and assimilate nutrients
and get all those electrolytesthat you're trying to put in.
You know, because one of theside effects, if you're too hot
you might be nauseous, you mightbe vomiting and then we're in a
(27:09):
pickle, exactly Because thenyou can't get anything actually
down the hatch.
So if you can cool yourselfphysically, that's much easier
to be able to take in thosefluids, take in those
electrolytes.
So really crucial things.
Love this.
Pickles are a great way to getelectrolytes as well.
Which?
What is pickles?
(27:29):
Pickles, oh my gosh, you'respeaking my language.
Now let's see my favorites.
Yes, that that addition ofacetic acid, interestingly,
which is?
Which is vinegar.
So a lot of people will thinkof like mustard packets too.
So they're you know, and a lotof people will think of like
mustard packets too.
So they're you know, and a lotof people think they're tasty.
So bonus there, yeah, cool.
So we talked aboutacclimatization, we talked about
(27:52):
different products, we talkedabout the different levels of
heat stress, which also got methinking.
If you are someone who's asupporter of an athlete, you
know, if you really know yourathlete really well, you're
going to know if they're introuble.
Oh yes, so you know.
You're not just ringing thecowbell and holding up the sign
(28:13):
that says go daddy, or whateverthe sign says.
Like you know, you're in it tomake sure that they're being
safe.
Lexi (28:22):
Exactly, and that's something we will always say too
.
You know, a lot of industrialwork sites have a buddy system.
We have that maybe built inwhen it's a family member or a
friend but seriously looking outfor each other.
While heat stress is extremelypersonal and you might be the
only one to feel the nausea orthe dizziness we know our family
members and our friends verywell that we should be looking
(28:44):
out for those signs, especiallyif you are coming up on a race
or one of these events, likeadrenaline is pumping.
You know, maybe you didn'tsleep as well because you were
too excited last night.
So just really looking out forour people around us is going to
be a huge part of this too, andthat's again really why we're
trying to aim to get all thiseducation out there, so you know
(29:05):
what it feels like in you, butyou can also look for those
signs in your friends, familiesand coworkers.
Chris (29:12):
So cool.
All right, lexi, did we missanything that you want to make
sure that we're getting from aneducation perspective, from like
a where to look or anyresources that you have, and
I'll make sure to linkeverything in the show notes.
So, what you got, what you got.
Lexi (29:28):
Yeah, so we have an amazing marketing team here and
they work to take what's all inmy brain and put it into a
digestible format for people.
So we have a really greatwebsite and if you're concerned
about any other risks, like coldstress or ergonomics or
anything else like that, we havea ton of understanding the risk
(29:49):
, understanding the hazard.
We have a lot of resources onour website that would be really
great to read up on.
If you're interested in thatsort of thing.
Specifically for heat stress,it's going to be Ergodynecom
slash heat dash stress.
So it'll talk through thetechnologies that we use, kind
of what I talked about a littlebit today.
Again, those signs and symptoms, stats, quotes from you know,
(30:13):
people at OSHA, people atresearch institutes, data that
we are trying to prove and showto people.
This is a real risk and wecan't keep ignoring it and we
can't keep pushing through it.
Chris (30:27):
Yeah, that's really great information to have.
So if you, if the listener,walks away with maybe two or
three tips that you absolutelywant them to absorb and take
home, what would those things be?
Lexi (30:49):
what would those things be ?
I would say water, rest andshade.
That's been the prescriptivemethod for preventing heat
stress for decades.
At this point, so, making sureyour body is properly fueled,
making sure you are taking arest break and listening to your
body when you start feelingsome of these symptoms, and then
, ideally, if you can get out ofthe direct sun, if you're
outside, or if you can get intoa more climate controlled, ac
(31:10):
environment, those are going tobe just the best ways to get
your body in a better spot.
Because you know, ultimately Iwant people to buy PPE, but,
first and foremost, the PPEwon't work if their bodies
aren't, you know, properly setup for their race, for their
workday.
So I would always say make sureyou're taking care of your body
(31:32):
, first and foremost.
Chris (31:35):
Such great tips.
Love it All right.
Lexi Engelbart from Ergodyne.
Thank you so much for joiningus today and for teaching us all
about heat stress.
Lexi (31:43):
Thank you so much for having me.
All right, welcome back to the Find your Edge podcast.
I'm excited to have a specialguest here today talking all
about heat stress, which y'allknow.
We are located in NorthCarolina and no matter really
where you are in the country orin the Northern Hemisphere, it's
hot right now, so I feel likethis is a really relevant topic,
(01:21):
so I'm excited to have you.
Welcome, lexi.
Lexi (01:25):
Thank you so much for having me.
Chris (01:27):
Yeah, so she is from Ergo Dine.
I would love to just dive rightin, get into it.
What and we were just talkingbefore we started the crossover
between your industry and ourtarget market, which is a lot of
endurance athletes or peoplewho are out in the heat, getting
outside and doing all theseamazing things, but, oh my gosh,
(01:48):
now they're getting hot.
So tell us a little bit aboutErgodyne, as well as this
project Heat that you've gotgoing.
Lexi (01:58):
Absolutely so.
Ergodyne has been around forover 40 years, founded in 1983.
It's been around for over 40years, founded in 1983.
So we primarily serve anindustrial market.
So we cover about 15 categoriesof PPE, personal protective
equipment.
So that can range, you know,from hard hats, head protection,
(02:19):
eye protection, gloves, kneepads.
I focus specifically on heatstress.
So basically every categorythat we have here we're working
to try to mitigate a risk.
So in my case I'm trying tomitigate heat stress.
Primarily I'm looking atconstruction workers, people in
(02:40):
manufacturing, civil engineers.
But there's so much crossoverbetween industrial markets.
And then these enduranceathletes.
Both parties are working inextreme conditions.
They are putting out massamounts of metabolic load on
their body.
They're working hard, there's alot of output.
So there's so much crossoverbetween these two markets.
(03:03):
I'm really really excited tokind of get everybody trained up
a little bit today, hopefully,on what heat stress is, what it
looks like, and really theproject Heat that we're doing
this summer is really for thatpurpose.
It's about education andawareness.
You know, obviously I make PPE,I design PPE, but ultimately
it's not about just PPE, right,it's about the crossover between
(03:27):
.
You know, it might be aconstruction worker dealing with
heat stress on the job, butthen they go to their kid's
soccer game.
Their kids may be dealing withheat stress on the field, or you
know, they have a neighborthat's mowing the lawn and then
they get overheated.
So you know as much.
As we serve an industrialmarket, this topic and this risk
specifically hits a massaudience and is a worldwide
(03:50):
audience for people at riskTotally.
Chris (03:53):
And I'm glad that you mentioned, like you know, going
out and mowing your lawn,because it doesn't matter
whether you are an enduranceathlete or not.
You are probably going to yourkid's soccer game, you're
probably mowing your lawn,you're probably going to a
concert and you know outside.
So this is really relevant foranyone, not just endurance
(04:16):
athletes, exactly.
So, yeah, dig into this ProjectHeat and the educational piece
and what we should start to beaware of when it comes to heat
stress.
Lexi (04:27):
Definitely so.
We did some surveying.
We found that four out of fiveAmericans have experienced some
form of heat stress, and a lotof times they don't even know
that they're experiencing it,and over a quarter of them don't
know how to react in anemergency situation.
So that's really what our goalis is to just work to get out.
You know what is heat stress.
(04:47):
What does that look like in me?
What does that look like in mycoworker, in my child, in my
neighbor?
It's really a personal issue.
It's not the same type of riskas wearing a helmet.
If an object falls on my head,it's probably going to bounce
the same off my head as yourhead.
But if we're both in 95 degreeweather you're in North Carolina
(05:09):
, I'm in Minnesota your body'sused to that, my body is not.
So that's what we're reallyaiming to do is understand
there's so many differentfactors that are super personal
about heat stress.
So there's differentmedications that you can take
that can actually make heatstress worse.
It's a really a big lifestylething too.
Are you properly hydrated?
(05:29):
Did you drink last night?
Do you exercise regularly?
Clearly, your audience doesthat.
So that's a great.
That's a great foundation tobuild.
But there's so many differentpersonal things that wrap into
heat stress.
That's why it is kind of acomplicated topic and there
hasn't been, you know,overarching regulation, at least
in the safety world, for heatstress, because it is so
(05:50):
personal.
But there is a lot of momentumgoing towards that, which is
really, really exciting.
So it feels like, you know, theculmination of all of these
people talking about this superimportant topic 2024 was named
the world's warmest year onrecord Before that, 2023 was
this year is tracking to be inthe top five, ranking like
number three right now.
(06:11):
The point being this risk isnot going anywhere and we have a
lot of people that don't getthe option to hop into an
air-conditioned room or take offall of their PPE whenever they
feel hot and endurance.
You know athletes, they don'twant to stop, they want to
finish, they want to set a PR.
So there's a lot ofsimilarities with people pushing
(06:34):
their bodies to an extreme andpushing them too far in some
cases.
Chris (06:39):
Interesting that you talked about how, yeah, we're
all a little bit different, andwe see that quite a bit here.
We also see people like, yeah,we're all a little bit different
, and we see that quite a bithere.
We also see people like, youknow, they're in Minnesota and
they're like, okay, I'm going togo do a race in Florida or I'm
going to go do a race in Texas,and how do I not melt?
I mean, certainly there aresome methods that we can do to
(07:01):
increase our um or acclimate alittle bit better, but y'all's
folks don't necessarily havethat option.
It's like go to work, get apaycheck, you've got to do these
things.
So what are some of the thingsthat you guys are looking at
that we can also embrace to helpus get to that?
Lexi (07:22):
Definitely.
So, the number one thing I willalways recommend is staying
hydrated water and electrolytes.
So people ask me sometimes areelectrolytes necessary?
I will say I'm not anelectrolyte expert but if you
are getting the nutrition fromyour regular diet, your food and
vegetables and that sort ofthing, you don't always need
(07:42):
electrolyte replenishment.
However, keeping an eye on yourbody, how much you're sweating,
how much you're replenishing,it's always a good idea just to
kind of have that stocked.
And you mentioned the wordacclimatization.
We talk about that a lotactually.
So typically what we see when wesee incidents and fatalities
happening from heat stress, thatis within the first one to two
(08:04):
weeks on the job.
So these are new people.
Maybe they're returning workers, migrant workers.
Their bodies are not used tothese conditions, so we actually
do have a way of slowlyintroducing their bodies to get
used to that environment.
Typically, you know, you'llstart on day one, 20% of a work
day.
Maybe you'll work a coupledifferent stations that aren't
(08:26):
as putting out as much hardmanual labor.
Then day two or day threeyou're going up to 40%, up to 60
, up to 80.
Those are just arbitrarynumbers I'm throwing out, but
that's kind of how we get aworker used to the environment
Because, again, I'm fromMinnesota.
If I were to go down to Floridanext week I would not make it
through a shift and we don'twant anybody to be doing that.
(08:49):
So acclimatization andhydration, I would say, are
super, super critical.
You know, what we kind ofprescribe to workers is water,
rest and shade.
You know, endurance athletesmaybe don't have all of those
options given to them whenthey're running in these remote
settings, biking in these remotesettings, swimming, doing all
of these things that you knowyou don't have the opportunity
(09:12):
to just go hop in an airconditioned spot.
So really prepping your bodyahead of time is going to set
you up for the best success.
And I'd love to talk throughmaybe some of the HRIs,
heat-related illnesses, the mostcommon ones to look for.
So signs and symptoms, are youcool with me going into that?
Chris (09:31):
Yes, and I love that you noted about the taking workers
and slowly integrating them intothe job.
So that acclimatization,because so many of our athletes
are like, oh, it's now hot and Iwill be doing a half Ironman
running at one o'clock in theafternoon in the heat.
Therefore, I'm just going to goout for a run at one o'clock in
(09:52):
the afternoon on the first daythat it's super hot, and then
they're shocked with, like I hada heat stress incident, right.
So not a good idea.
We got to bring yourself up,gently, acclimatize as best as
you can, and I love that you'regoing to start talking about
like what are those heat-relatedillnesses?
And then hopefully getting intolike how can we mitigate some
(10:15):
of that?
Definitely yeah, so go for it.
Lexi (10:18):
Okay, yeah.
So from least severe to mostsevere, and these are good
things to look out for againbefore we get to like the final
stage of heat stroke, which is amedical emergency.
So heat rash, that's a reallyobvious one to be able to see
the signs of.
So kind of how it sounds.
Your skin will start to getblisters, it might look like
(10:39):
it's burnt almost.
So that happens because oursweat ducts can get clogged and
then we stop sweating.
There's a ton of moisturesitting on our skin.
It's not evaporating.
So a lot of times we maybedon't have the benefit of
airflow, or maybe we're in asuper hot, humid condition.
It's harder for evaporativecooling basically our body
(11:00):
sweating and that sweatevaporating off our body.
It's harder for that to happenwhen there's a ton of moisture
in the air.
So that's a really really goodone to look out for.
So again, some of that itchyskin, red blisters, that sort of
thing.
Next would be heat cramps.
So typically what I hear frompeople is you know, they maybe
don't experience heat crampsduring their workday or when
(11:21):
they're doing the bulk of theirmovement, but they'll actually
feel them at night.
So our body's in a deficit,probably from dehydration.
We're lacking those salt andmoisture levels.
We've sweated a ton over theday.
So we would always say get to acooler area, try to just
replenish those fluids Again.
Cramps, you'll kind of feelthose.
(11:42):
Those are pretty understandableto feel.
The next one would be heatexhaustion.
So that's where we startgetting into some cognitive
decline.
So when heat stress startsaffecting our body, our brain
function actually starts to gotoo.
So we might start feeling alittle sick, a little nauseous,
might have a headache, our moodmight start changing, start
(12:05):
feeling weak, maybe startfeeling dizzy, but there
oftentimes is a sentiment oflike just push through it.
You know we have to beproductive, we have to get to
the end of the race X, y, z, andthere's a lot of factors that
cause people to push throughthose feelings.
However, pushing through those,you can run the risk of then
experiencing heat stroke.
So that is typically.
(12:25):
Your body cannot regulate itstemperature anymore.
There may be, you know, passingout, fainting again, dizziness,
confusion.
So the example I like to use isI don't have my water bottle in
here, but when people startusing things the wrong way so
you know you drink from a waterbottle from the top you have to
maybe flip the cap off.
(12:46):
So if people are, you know, nottaking the cap off and trying
to drink their water or they'reholding it upside down,
confusion is a real, real partof this and sometimes, you know,
a bystander is just like, okay,this person's having a day or
something along those lines.
But truly, the cognitivedecline is one of the final
stages of heat stroke and welike to say react within 30
(13:10):
minutes of somebody going downwith heat stroke.
So when you're in these superremote environments or maybe
doing one of these races orworking on an industrial site
where there is not an airconditioned trailer, my car is
three miles away.
I can't go sit in there torecover.
What do we do?
There's a couple really goodhacks.
I would say so, anywhere thatyou would take a pulse on your
(13:32):
body is going to be a reallygood point to apply cooling, ppe
, ice packs, a cooling towel,anything along those lines.
So that's where our bloodvessels are, towards the top of
the skin, so it's going to befaster to cool that blood down
and recirculate it through ourbody.
So the one kind of catchy thingthat we've been doing this
(13:53):
summer is we've gone to a couplejob sites and we've presented
the taco method.
So we'll bring taco lunch andthen we'll kind of do this
demonstration for tarp assistedcooling oscillation.
So essentially we're makingsomeone into a taco.
So if somebody goes down fromheat stroke, basically, what do
we do in the super remoteenvironment?
(14:14):
How do we act quickly?
A lot of people will have theirlunch box cooler meant.
How do we act quickly?
A lot of people will have theirlunchbox cooler.
Some ice, some water, somethingalong those lines.
So what we say is lay a tarpdown, get that person into the
tarp.
It's really kind of simulatingan ice bath or a cold plunge.
(14:34):
So then we'll put that water,that ice on them, oscillate them
in that tarp.
We're trying to get that coreof the body cool as quickly as
possible.
So where those vital organs are, that's what we want to cool
down as quickly as possible.
So we've had some fun with theeducation portion of this.
To get a taco, make a taco ofyour coworker.
I think just sometimes safetytraining can be a little boring.
(14:57):
So what we try to do is make itas engaging as possible and
really kind of have these thingsthat you know cross over into
your life that you can remembera little bit more.
So everybody eats tacos, or alot of people eat tacos,
probably.
So, trying to just, you know,pinpoint these things that can
cross over outside of just thework site and into life in
(15:18):
general, outside of just thework site and into life in
general.
Chris (15:28):
So cool, I love those tips.
And similarly, as you may know,ice baths are very popular in
the athletic community.
Whether you're an enduranceathlete or CrossFit or whatever
and I'm thinking as you'retelling me this taco method
anybody can have a tarp in theircar and pour some ice and water
and have some fun with it.
Literally, it's like it'salmost like a slip and slide,
but like you wrap people up, andthat is a that seems to me to
(15:52):
be a much more cost effectiveand easy to carry method than
like I bought this ice bath,that now I have to figure out
where I'm going to fill it upand where I'm going to get the
ice.
It's like you know I'm out in,you know we've got races all
over the place that are on allkinds of random places and, yeah
, you're probably not carryingall this information, but
(16:13):
anybody can have a tarp.
Lexi (16:15):
Exactly, you know.
Chris (16:16):
and then you've got a little cooler of stuff and then
(16:45):
yeah, you can cool down, so okay, the facilities may be.
Lexi (16:46):
So that's really what we aim to do is kind of have, you
know, range of options fromsuper down and dirty, like a low
price point, something you canwear for one race, two races and
then throw it away.
And then we have stuff that youknow can be worn during a rest
break so you can actually coolyour body down.
We really try to serve as manymarkets as possible and there is
so much crossover betweenathletic wear and then some of
the stuff that we're doing, andthen we range to some crazier
(17:10):
technologies like phase changecooling that maybe isn't used as
much in industrial or, excuseme, in endurance sports, but
again, in industrial or, excuseme, in endurance sports, but
again, these same principles andpractices cross over very
easily.
So you can take a proactiveapproach, which is what I would
always recommend, versus areactive approach.
But we have a ton of optionswithin our Ergonine line that
(17:33):
would actually help and, I think, be really suitable for
athletes as well.
Chris (17:38):
So cool.
So I would love to hear aboutsome of the proactive approaches
and then talk a little bitabout what types of, like you
said differences in price ranges.
My guess is that they'reprobably all not that bad from a
price range perspective and Ithink that that should not be a
barrier.
(17:58):
I'm hoping it's not a barrierfor a lot of folks Maybe it's a
comfort issue, Like, but I'm I'msure that y'all are also
considering how things aresitting on the body, Like you
guys are moving a lot.
Lexi (18:11):
Yes.
So, so I would say, um, you knowthe principle of evaporation,
evaporative cooling, so that'sour body's built-in way of
cooling itself down to sweating.
So anytime we can be choosingfabrics that are lightweight,
moisture wicking, hopefully UPFrated ultraviolet protective
(18:32):
factor.
So we talk about SPF, which issunscreen, upf, which is
typically in textiles andclothing.
Anytime we can protect our bodyfrom those rays of the sun.
That's really important and Iwill just plug, we also do
sunscreen as well.
So SPF 50, it's really reallygreat.
Would highly recommend it.
But not everybody likes to wearsunscreen.
(18:53):
I know that's a verypreference-based thing.
So, yeah, if we can be choosingthese textiles that are working
for us already, we don't haveto apply sunscreen.
So, yeah, if we can be choosingthese textiles that are working
for us already, we don't haveto apply sunscreen.
So one that's really popular isour cooling sleeve.
So it's basically from bicep tothe wrist.
It's just giving more surfacearea with that fabric to contact
with the skin, grab thatmoisture, repel it away.
(19:16):
It's going to basically enhanceour body's natural way of
cooling itself down.
So those are really really easy.
Opening price point optionAgain, those can be worn
multiple times.
Nothing washes out.
The cooling effect doesn't washout.
You can wear them wet or dry.
We use that fabric all acrossmy line.
So I've got t-shirts, I've gotlong sleeve.
(19:39):
You know we have people whowear hard hats.
A lot of those people have tendto have, you know, shaved heads
, bald heads, a small amount ofhair, so there's a lot of sweat
rolling down underneath thathard hat.
You know we have cyclistswearing helmets, that sort of
thing.
We do skull caps that are, youknow, kind of kind of as they're
, as they're named, you know, asmall cap that just sits on the
(20:03):
base of your head, again,getting that sweat, getting that
moisture off of our skin.
And we really do design withworkers in mind.
So, like you had kind ofmentioned, comfortability,
durability and lasting a fullshift is really important to
these workers.
Durability and lasting a fullshift is really important to
these workers.
So we range from things thatyou know you can swap out every
(20:24):
hour, every couple hours, tothings that will last a little
bit longer, more like your wholeworkday.
So it kind of just depends on,you know, what are the
activities that you're doing.
Do you have the ability to beswapping things out?
Maybe put something back in thefridge to recharge it,
reactivate it, get it cold again, basically.
So there's so many options and,to your point, we actually
(20:45):
specifically like to bring inworkers to our office.
Hey, try this on, can you movein this?
What are the pain points?
What do you feel like would bebetter about this?
And we really open it up to theworker.
So we call it voice of thecustomer.
I am not a frontline worker, Iam also not an endurance athlete
, but these are the people thatare out there every day
(21:08):
experiencing the realenvironment.
So who would know better aboutwhat their needs are than them?
So we love bringing people into talk specifically about fit,
people in to talk specificallyabout fit, performance, comfort,
because if you feel like a dorkand it's not comfortable to
wear your PPE, people aren'tgoing to wear their PPE.
And that is a fact of thematter, which is, you know, I'm
(21:31):
the dork of the neighborhood.
I will wear my vest while I'mout lawn doing the lawn or
gardening and stuff.
But you know, all jokes aside,making stuff that people
actually want to wear and feelcool, wearing is really really
an important part of it, becauseit is so preference based too.
Actually.
Chris (21:49):
Yeah, totally, and I love that you mentioned vests,
because this is definitelymaking its way into the
endurance world, so tell us alittle bit more about cooling
vests.
Lexi (22:00):
Yeah.
So there are a ton of differentoptions.
I will say there are differenttechnologies that are suited for
certain environments, sodepending on where you are so
like let's take Phoenix for anexample super dry, not a ton of
humidity we have some dryevaporative vests that perform
(22:21):
really, really well there.
So it's basically a vest.
You fill it with cold water.
There's a few holes all overthe vest.
It's again that principle ofevaporation.
As water evaporates off thebody, it takes some of the heat
from the surrounding air andthat cools the body down.
Then we have people who aremaybe suited up in a tight attic
(22:42):
.
They have to wear coveralls,they have to wear all this
protective stuff.
They do not have the benefit ofairflow.
So the vest I just talked aboutfor Phoenix we need airflow, we
need low humidity levels.
So what do we do with somebodywho's stuck in this tight,
confined space, has no benefitof all these other things?
Then we look to othertechnologies like phase change,
(23:03):
so that one is formulated in ourline at 64 degrees, about 30
degrees below our bodytemperature, so you can just
throw it in the fridge freezer,or the fastest way is just in a
cooler of ice water.
Actually it's just going toslowly pull the radiant heat
from our body and provide aprolonged cooling period.
So those are a couple of ourprobably best-selling vests
(23:25):
Another one that people really,really love, and we do it in a
few different formats.
People love a cooling towel, soyou maybe have seen like a
chamois before.
They start out kind of dry andcrunchy.
Once you get them wet theysoften up and it's basically
like a giant sponge.
So it's holding onto water fora long amount of time and again
(23:46):
going to slowly take that warmair from around us as it's
evaporating and remove it fromour body.
So that one.
People love the PVA vest.
Polyvinyl alcohol is the nameof that chemical structure.
So that's a really, reallypopular super lightweight.
I think that one would be greatfor endurance athletes too.
It doesn't require a ton offacilities.
(24:07):
What we see typically is peoplejust dumping a bottle of water
all over their body and thatactivates it.
Chris (24:14):
Oh, so cool.
As you're saying all thesethings, I'm thinking of all the
different opportunities forwhere these can be inserted.
Right, like you mentioned, thedry heat in Phoenix versus you
know more of a confined space,which I feel like I'm in a
confined space anytime I walkoutside in the humidity here.
Lexi (24:34):
Seriously.
Chris (24:35):
And then like the sleeves and the skull cap, I mean.
And then you also mentionedsunscreen.
So just you know quick reminderfor people that if you get
burned, you cannot effectivelyrelease heat, you can't
effectively sweat.
So it's really important ifyou're not wearing sunscreen and
having some type of you knowsleeve or that type of thing.
(24:56):
And then also, as you'rementioning some of these cooling
vests and cooling opportunities, there's not just things that
you can be doing during exercise, but also in between.
Say, you're a soccer player andyou're in between games.
I get that question a lot,especially for youth athletes
how do I cool my kid in between?
(25:16):
There's a perfect opportunity?
Yeah, absolutely.
And what are what are likeprice points that you know or
more high end things that youwould be wanting to use?
Lexi (25:46):
like on a recovery break, maybe $200 for that sort of
thing.
So they're not, you know, superout of out of whack, price wise
, and pretty much all of theseare reusable If you're taking
care of them.
You know laundering themproperly.
You know we work inconstruction primarily, so we
got a lot of people gettingthese things very, very, very
(26:08):
dirty.
Um, the conditions that they'reworking in definitely not clean
, super dusty.
So I would say, you knowendurance athletes probably have
a step up because you're notworking in some of these same
conditions.
But yeah, if you're taking careof you know these pieces, they
can last you several years.
So it's really worth theinvestment, especially if you
(26:30):
can take the opportunity to coolyour child down over, you know,
over halftime or, you know,while you are taking a break to
get water and all this stuff.
If you can take five minutes tocool your body down, that's
going to just set your body upfor more success.
Chris (26:49):
And sometimes people don't realize, since you know
I'm really deep into the fuelingand hydration part.
If you are cool you can betterdigest and assimilate nutrients
and get all those electrolytesthat you're trying to put in.
You know, because one of theside effects, if you're too hot
you might be nauseous, you mightbe vomiting and then we're in a
(27:09):
pickle, exactly Because thenyou can't get anything actually
down the hatch.
So if you can cool yourselfphysically, that's much easier
to be able to take in thosefluids, take in those
electrolytes.
So really crucial things.
Love this.
Pickles are a great way to getelectrolytes as well.
Which?
What is pickles?
(27:29):
Pickles, oh my gosh, you'respeaking my language.
Now let's see my favorites.
Yes, that that addition ofacetic acid, interestingly,
which is?
Which is vinegar.
So a lot of people will thinkof like mustard packets too.
So they're you know, and a lotof people will think of like
mustard packets too.
So they're you know, and a lotof people think they're tasty.
So bonus there, yeah, cool.
So we talked aboutacclimatization, we talked about
(27:52):
different products, we talkedabout the different levels of
heat stress, which also got methinking.
If you are someone who's asupporter of an athlete, you
know, if you really know yourathlete really well, you're
going to know if they're introuble.
Oh yes, so you know.
You're not just ringing thecowbell and holding up the sign
(28:13):
that says go daddy, or whateverthe sign says.
Like you know, you're in it tomake sure that they're being
safe.
Lexi (28:22):
Exactly, and that's something we will always say too
.
You know, a lot of industrialwork sites have a buddy system.
We have that maybe built inwhen it's a family member or a
friend but seriously looking outfor each other.
While heat stress is extremelypersonal and you might be the
only one to feel the nausea orthe dizziness we know our family
members and our friends verywell that we should be looking
(28:44):
out for those signs, especiallyif you are coming up on a race
or one of these events, likeadrenaline is pumping.
You know, maybe you didn'tsleep as well because you were
too excited last night.
So just really looking out forour people around us is going to
be a huge part of this too, andthat's again really why we're
trying to aim to get all thiseducation out there, so you know
(29:05):
what it feels like in you, butyou can also look for those
signs in your friends, familiesand coworkers.
Chris (29:12):
So cool.
All right, lexi, did we missanything that you want to make
sure that we're getting from aneducation perspective, from like
a where to look or anyresources that you have, and
I'll make sure to linkeverything in the show notes.
So, what you got, what you got.
Lexi (29:28):
Yeah, so we have an amazing marketing team here and
they work to take what's all inmy brain and put it into a
digestible format for people.
So we have a really greatwebsite and if you're concerned
about any other risks, like coldstress or ergonomics or
anything else like that, we havea ton of understanding the risk
(29:49):
, understanding the hazard.
We have a lot of resources onour website that would be really
great to read up on.
If you're interested in thatsort of thing.
Specifically for heat stress,it's going to be Ergodynecom
slash heat dash stress.
So it'll talk through thetechnologies that we use, kind
of what I talked about a littlebit today.
Again, those signs and symptoms, stats, quotes from you know,
(30:13):
people at OSHA, people atresearch institutes, data that
we are trying to prove and showto people.
This is a real risk and wecan't keep ignoring it and we
can't keep pushing through it.
Chris (30:27):
Yeah, that's really great information to have.
So if you, if the listener,walks away with maybe two or
three tips that you absolutelywant them to absorb and take
home, what would those things be?
Lexi (30:49):
what would those things be ?
I would say water, rest andshade.
That's been the prescriptivemethod for preventing heat
stress for decades.
At this point, so, making sureyour body is properly fueled,
making sure you are taking arest break and listening to your
body when you start feelingsome of these symptoms, and then
, ideally, if you can get out ofthe direct sun, if you're
outside, or if you can get intoa more climate controlled, ac
(31:10):
environment, those are going tobe just the best ways to get
your body in a better spot.
Because you know, ultimately Iwant people to buy PPE, but,
first and foremost, the PPEwon't work if their bodies
aren't, you know, properly setup for their race, for their
workday.
So I would always say make sureyou're taking care of your body
(31:32):
, first and foremost.
Chris (31:35):
Such great tips.
Love it All right.
Lexi Engelbart from Ergodyne.
Thank you so much for joiningus today and for teaching us all
about heat stress.
Lexi (31:43):
Thank you so much for having me.
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