The heatwave is in full blast and we can't repeat it enough: hydration is key!
As a nice refreshment or as a festive drink if you want to stay away from alcohol, these fruity mocktails can be enjoyed at any time of the day.
Sláinte!
Most of us are more than aware that we need to leave our vaginas alone. Whatever goes up there can cause some serious problems for your foof, so be a bit careful.
However, it seems a certain part of the population has to be told not to put a certain cold treat up there during scorching hot heatwave temperatures…
The UK is set to be hit with the hottest temperature on record today, with highs of 39 degrees Celsius expected. Medical advice online has now released tips on how to cool down, and ice lollies aren't on the list.
One suggestion out there is literally something that should never have been said, but apparently some women are this desperate for some chilly relief.
I'm not quite sure who would consider putting ice lollies up their vagina, but there must be at least one person out there who's doing it if doctors have released a warning against the act.
Speaking to Metro, Dr Sarah Welsh, co-founder of condom brand HANX, warned women not to put ice lollies anywhere near their genitals.
She commented:
"The vagina is composed of very delicate and sensitive skin, hence things that may seem innocent to other areas of the body, if they come in contact with the vagina, can cause infections, irritations and damage.
"There are many things that should never go near a vagina and ice lollies are up there. The ice can stick to the delicate skin of the vagina and cause real trauma and damage."
The sugar in the lolly can also disrupt the natural pH of the vagina, and the lolly is also likely to break inside you. This could honestly be the plot of a horror movie, there's so many things wrong here.
A nurse in June warned women not to try and vacuum their periods after two young women were hospitalised for trying the absurd task.
The 29 and 23-year-old women had used a Hoove to attempt to suck up their menstrual blood, and this was the point where we felt the bile rise at the back of our throats. Dear God.
In a now-deleted tweet, the nurse emphasised the dangers of trying the Hoover method:
"Your period has a steady flow of its own that for all intents and purposes your body can tolerate. A vacuum increases the flow over 1,000 times which your body can't tolerate, therefore sending you into shock."
Over the last few months, women have also been urged not to put garlic, parsley, bath bombs and cucumbers inside their vaginas. Honestly, it just shows how sexual health education is really lacking.
Leave your lady-business alone gals, or you won't be feeling so fanny-astic in the nurse's office.
Get the suncream out everyone, we look set to have a scorcher on our hands.
Ireland will be getting some rays from the Europe-wide heatwave as temperatures will inch towards highs of 28C.
A Status Yellow heat warning has been issued by Met Éireann for Galway, Mayo, Clare, Cork, Kerry, and Limerick.
With lots of sunshine forecast over the next few days remember to protect your skin.#ProtectYourSkin pic.twitter.com/JSegXKHfNM
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) June 26, 2019
If you want to avoid the heat, stay indoors between 1pm to 7pm tonight.
Met Eireann forecaster Dr. Clara Finkele said, ''It will reach those temperatures of 27, 28 in those counties along the west coast, generally we're looking at 22, 24, 25, 26 degrees nationwide, maybe a few degrees lower in the east coast.''
She continued, ''Early next week, the temperatures will return to more normal temperatures in high teens, low 20s, mainly 21, 22, degrees by midweek next week.”
Pride parade attendees will be in for a stunning day this Sunday with 25 degrees expected in some parts of the country.
Dr. Finkele. said, ''Saturday is still a warm day, 20 to 25 degrees but then the winds will turn westerly for Sunday and it will be actually quite breezy. And then, temperatures will return to 17 to 20 degrees.''
It might not be a fab as 2018's summer, but we'll happily take it.
Holidaymakers heading to Spain or Portugal this week are being told to expect record-breaking temperatures, especially inland.
Met Éireann have said that temperatures could reach a stifling 48°C in inland parts of the Algarve.
The last time Europe saw such extreme heat was in Athens in 1977.
Extreme heat for Spain and Portugal confirmed – up to 50°C possible in some areas!https://t.co/oULhcWu9pY pic.twitter.com/28ghUxneUi
— severe-weather.EU (@severeweatherEU) July 31, 2018
"The temperatures will be highest for inland parts of Portugal and Spain," forecaster Harm Luijkx said.
"Most people who go on holidays will go to coastal areas and temperatures will be a bit less hot there – between 30°C and 35°C.
"It might be best to avoid inland areas of Portugal and Spain for the next week or so."
Extreme heat is expected to build across western Europe during the beginning of August
Temperatures up to 5-10C above normal Be aware of heat exhaustion and possibility of fire danger
More details: https://t.co/tzqZwPJCT6 #TuesdayThoughts #Heatwave pic.twitter.com/hSKPnO7R4O
— The Weather Channel UK (@weather_UK) July 31, 2018
The weather will be slightly different for those of us who are staying at home though.
According to Met Éireann, we should expect temperatures of between 20°C and 26°C with a "mix of showers and sunshine."
Following the national hosepipe ban which came into effect on Friday, the Irish Independent reports that Irish Water has said it will take a number of days to gauge any difference it may have made.
Irish water has said they expect the nationwide hosepipe ban will have improved improve water conservation, but that it was too soon to tell exactly how much at this point.
The national ban was due to remain in place until the end of July, but reports are saying that this could be extended further, depending on the amount of rain due to fall in the coming weeks.
A high-level meeting of senior management will take place today to discuss if further restrictions are required with more updates expected this afternoon, according to Independent.ie.
Irish Water said it is looking at the issue on a "day-to-day" basis with demand still at a critical level with high temperatures set to continue.
A national ban on using hosepipes for watering gardens, washing cars or filling paddling pools or ponds will help conserve the supplies we currently have.
Legally Irish water can introduce the ban under section 56 (16) of the Water Services Act 2007.
Anyone found ignoring the regulation could face a €125 fine. While most have complied with it so far, the utility reports around 40 complaints have been made so far of those not complying with it.
We are really grateful for the measures that people have taken to conserve water so far. As Met Éireann has forecast that high temperatures will remain for the foreseeable future, please continue to conserve water wherever possible at home and at work. #ConserveWater
— Irish Water (@IrishWater) July 7, 2018
Irish water has said they are "really grateful" to those that have complied with the ban so far and urged people to continue to do so.
Ireland has been enjoying plenty of sunshine and high temperatures over the past week. The public has certainly been making the most of this heatwave with thousands flocking to their local park and beach to soak up the sun.
Unfortunately, a group of beach-goers ruined one of Ireland’s most-loved beaches – Brittas Bay-over the weekend, leaving the local community disgusted.
Brittas Bay Beach Care shared a shocking video of the beach which has been covered in empty beer bottles, cans, plastic bags an, wrappers.
The video has already accumulated over 2,000 views and people are truly horrified by the state the beach was left in.
One user said: “People are disgusting. Bring your rubbish home or to the nearest bin if the bin is full bring it home. This is just shameful.”
“Lazy, dirty people,” another added.
The team had no choice but to organise a Beach Sweep, which will run from 7 pm to 8 pm this evening. They’re seeking the public’s help in tidying up the beach and one generous citizen has already kicked off the cleaning spree.
The Brittas Bay Beach Care team explained: “We just popped down to see how our beach is doing this morning at 9.30am, to find a beach visitor cleaning up the sand at the South Beach entrance. They had seen the news stories about beachgoers littering and wanted to do their bit, so bought some bags down!”
“They said they wanted their children to see this is unacceptable behaviour,” they added.
The team shared a vital message that everyone needs to remember when heading along to the beach during the heatwave: Leave only your footprints.
Don't think for a minute that we are going to complain about this heatwave.
The weather is absolutely glorious, we get to wear all the summer clothes we usually only get to put on during our summer holidays (away from Ireland it is) and we are actually starting to get a tan (a real one).
While a cold beer is definitely our beverage of choice at the moment, food wise, all we really want to eat is a tasty ice pop. Good thing is, they are super easy to make, and if you don't go crazy on the sugar, they are usually quite healthy!
Try some of the recipes below, they will make for a delicious frozen snack!
While the glorious weather is definitely having a positive impact on our moods, the same can not be said for our water levels.
The heatwave and continuous sunshine has caused our reservoir levels to deplete, and Irish Water is urging everyone to conserve water at home.
Lights, camera, conservation!
Kate will also be on @rtenews from 1 o'clock on the ongoing need for people to conserve water in their homes and businesses. You can check out https://t.co/UuDeGOlXSf for advice on simple measures we all can take to #ConserveWater & #BeWaterSmart pic.twitter.com/W1XoNUilQF— Irish Water (@IrishWater) June 28, 2018
There are already restrictions in place for around 10,000 homes nationwide, and now the Greater Dublin Area is facing outages as demand exceeds supply.
"Our operational teams are meeting on the ground at the moment, and they are looking at all available options such as reconfiguring the network and looking at different ways to supply people," Kate Gannon from Irish Water said.
"However, with the existing excessive demand, we are looking at a significant increase in the risk of restrictions and outages in the coming days unless things change."
Irish Water took to Twitter to highlight the number of restrictions currently in place.
In order to allow water levels to recover at the Wolfhill Reservoir in Co. Laois, water restrictions will be in place for customers in The Swan, Wolfhill, Mayo & Doonane tonight and tomorrow night. See https://t.co/RsjWFb8hzo for more. #ConserveWater #irishWater
— Irish Water (@IrishWater) June 28, 2018
Water restrictions in place in Kinnegad to allow reservoir levels recover following a major burst earlier in the week. For more see https://t.co/KGnanPzEg4. #ConserveWater #IrishWater #BeWaterSmart pic.twitter.com/4DUlZL1Nlf
— Irish Water (@IrishWater) June 27, 2018
Overnight water restrictions are in place for customers on the Bennetsbridge Water Supply Scheme as pump replacement works are underway at the moment. For more see https://t.co/QwLxFvhMCo. #ConserveWater #IrishWater pic.twitter.com/8ypGkxjGnv
— Irish Water (@IrishWater) June 27, 2018
Water outages will be in place each evening between 10.30pm and 7.00am until Monday 2 July for those on the Granard and Smear Water Supply Zones in Co. Longford. For more see https://t.co/JqGxejU31q. Customers are asked to continue to #ConserveWater where possible. #IrishWater pic.twitter.com/yKq7linepX
— Irish Water (@IrishWater) June 27, 2018
We have a production capacity for the Greater Dublin Area of 610 million litres daily. Last summer saw usage highs of 565m litres/day & yesterday we reached a critically high 602m litres of water used. For more see https://t.co/8urSINd3ns #ConserveWater #BeWaterSmart
— Irish Water (@IrishWater) June 26, 2018
A small, but significant, update to our earlier tweet. Usage of 602 million litres occurred Friday 22 July, with yesterdays usage for the Greater Dublin Area at 609 million litres. #ConserveWater https://t.co/DdLdEklFAK
— Irish Water (@IrishWater) June 26, 2018
Kate, our Corporate Affairs Manager & Water Conservation expert, outlines how the current prolonged dry spell impacts our water supplies. Small measures benefit you, your neighbours & your community. See more on this at https://t.co/2iJ1KfUDGU #BeWaterSmart #ConserveWater pic.twitter.com/ygC555Pp1o
— Irish Water (@IrishWater) June 25, 2018
Describing the situation as "critical", Irish Water are asking the public for their help on this matter.
We won’t be waving goodbye to the warm weather anytime soon as Met Éireann has predicted that the heatwave is to last for 10 days.
They have issued a yellow weather warning for the remainder of the week with temperatures set to reach highs of 30 degrees.
It is understood that the Midlands and West of Ireland will experience the hottest temperatures.
Unfortunately, for hayfever sufferers, the high temperatures mean an increase in pollen so symptoms may worsen in the coming days.
Grass Pollen Levels will be VERY HIGH in the coming days during the warm weather. pic.twitter.com/qYIZau1iHN
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) June 25, 2018
They believe that Thursday will be one of the warmest days of the year, however, the public has been advised to conserve water as the temperatures soar.
Kate Gannon of Irish Water has asked the public to be careful as water levels may be affected by the heatwave: “If the Summer and Autumn continue to be dry and hot they may come under pressure later in the year. If the demand doesn't decrease we're going to start seeing people affected on the edges of our network.”
The public has also been warned about an increase in jellyfish this summer.
It is believed that the Lion’s Mane jellyfish is larger in size this year, so swimmers have been asked to take extra caution.
Numerous people have been stung by the venomous creatures across the country. If you’re stung by a jellyfish the symptoms range from vomiting to cardiac arrest in severe cases.
The warm weather may be a joy, but it is vital to stay safe during the heatwave.
We are LOVING the scorcher that is heading our way this week.
As temperatures are set to rise, we are starting to contemplate how to get our pale skin to go brown, rather than red.
However, there is another hazard that the unfamiliar summer heat is bringing and you probably have it in your room.
The Dublin Fire Brigade took to Twitter to highlight the danger of mirrors, crystals and glasses kept beside windows.
Mirrors, crystals & glasses left on a window sill can cause fires if the sun is reflected on to flammable surfaces. Aerosol cans can explode! This fire was caused by a vanity mirror left in a window. Make sure yours are in the shade & remember the sunshine moves during the day pic.twitter.com/imdJe8k790
— Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) June 25, 2018
Time to move the aerosols away as they can explode if exposed to the heat.
The video shows the damage caused as a result of a vanity mirror left in a window.
They issued a reminder to move everything into the shade and to keep in mind that the sun moves around as the day draws on.
Our standard fire appliances can pump 3,000 litres a minute. That's enough to keep 1,200 people hydrated for a day in the #heatwave. You should drink at least 2.5 litres of water in these temperatures, more if you are working outside. pic.twitter.com/VJPLjqAqH8
— Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) June 25, 2018
The firefighters highlighted the need to stay well hydrated during the heatwave.
We should be gulping down at least 2.5 litres a day!
Excuse us while we run home, grab a bottle of water and make sure everything is in the shade!
The sun has finally returned to Ireland and the temperatures are soaring. Rumour has it we could experience temperatures of 27 degrees next week. We rarely get treated to sunny weather here on the Emerald Isle, which means we certainly revel in every ounce of sun we can get.
Once the sun comes out we’ll have barbeques every other day and dust off our holiday clothes that have been hidden away in a suitcase since we got back from Spain.
The warm weather may be wonderful, but we must remember that animals may find it extremely difficult to deal with the heat.
Thankfully, the ISPCA has reminded us pet owners of the importance of minding our furry friends during the summer.
The charity stressed the importance of leaving out cold water for your dogs and cats. Make sure to put the bowl in an accessible and shaded part of your house or garden.
They also urged pet owners to provide shelter for their pets where they can take a break from the heat if they need to. Remember that animals need to cool down too, so supplying a spot in the shade from them is vital.
The ISPCA added that leaving your dog in the car is extremely dangerous.
Temperatures could reach 28 degrees this weekend. The ISPCA would like to remind pet owners that leaving their dogs in the car in hot weather can be fatal in minutes, even with the windows down. Please remember to give your pet fresh water and access to shade! #dogsdieinhotcars pic.twitter.com/zn5j6YAxrI
— ISPCA (@ISPCA1) June 23, 2018
They tweeted: “Temperatures could reach 28 degrees this weekend. The ISPCA would like to remind pet owners that leaving their dogs in the car in hot weather can be fatal in minutes, even with the windows down #dogsdieinhotcars”
While other countries are guaranteed a consistent supply of Vitamin D during the summer months, those of us in Ireland have to wait with fingers crossed for the sun to reveal itself.
So we’re sure you’ll be delighted to hear that this weekend we’re in for some sun.
According to the Independent, Ireland’s temperature will begin to rise today with those in the sunny South East benefitting the most.
Between Sunday and Tuesday temperatures in the west of the country are expected to reach 25 degrees, while the rest of us should be prepared for 21 degrees.
Unfortunately you’ll have to make the most of the weekend sunshine as Mr Sun will be dashing off late on Tuesday, only to be replaced by a thunderstorm. From there temperatures will drop to around 10 degrees.
Well, you can’t accuse an Irish summer of being boring!
Feat image: wallpaperswide.com
