OT--Cooling Vests, Hats, etc. for small child?

[BeccaGrace]

My DD-3 continues to have overheating issues on her medications and while we were able to successfully hibernate enough last summer so she wasn't outside in mid-day heat we can't this summer since she is in extended school year and because we have to pick her sister up from camp and her dad up from work in the afternoon. This past week has been brutal and the frozen/wet washcloths on the neck & head just aren't cutting it

I've been doing a random internet search looking for cooling items: vests, hats, etc. but I'm having trouble finding items for little kids. She is 26 pounds and the smallest vest I found was for kids over 50 pounds. Does anyone have any ideas or know of any websites I could check out? Thanks for any help!

 

[SueM in MN]

Are these mechanical or made with gel that you get wet?
I know people have made the neck coolers themselves. You use gel that is meant to keep plants longer between watering as the gel inside the neck cooler. If you (or someone you kn ow) sews, it would not be hard to make a vest the same way.

Another option might be to contact one of the companies that has larger ones and ask if you might be able to special order (like have made to order) a smaller one. Many of the companies making specialized products for people with disabilities are very small companies and might be able to do this.

If you can't figure out any other way, PM me and I may be able to help you makes some.

 

[tw1nsmom]

It may be too late for this year(or maybe not), but you may want to talk to your Dr. about writing a letter saying that your DD has to be in air conditioning. Call a new CPSE meeting and they are supposed to provide medically necessary equipment, which an air conditioner or cooling vest might qualify as. It might not work, but it's worth a shot.

 

[BeccaGrace]

It may be too late for this year(or maybe not), but you may want to talk to your Dr. about writing a letter saying that your DD has to be in air conditioning. Call a new CPSE meeting and they are supposed to provide medically necessary equipment, which an air conditioner or cooling vest might qualify as. It might not work, but it's worth a shot.

Thank you!--We actually got the air conditioning for school (and I was prepared for a fight on that one!)...it's just a matter of getting her there It was mid-90s here today and even with the air conditioning on in the car and the window shades she started getting all flushed.

Sue--THANK YOU! My mom is retiring next week and was a sewing/Home Ec teacher for 38 years and now that she won't be working I've been telling her that she must teach me to sew (really, how awful that the Home Ec teacher's own kid can't sew!) AND I am getting a sewing machine because her school is discontinuing sewing...what an awesome project for us to tackle. I'll check online for patterns, etc.--if we could master this we could do all sorts of cute ones to match her outfits. Ooh, and Disney themed ones Thanks!

 

[tw1nsmom]

Until you can find a cooling vest, maybe you could improvise. We have a big flat ice pack...sort of a heating pad size. You could put something like that on the back of your DD's seat with a towel for her to sit back against.

They have those cold packs that don't get cold until you squeeze them. You could keep a box with you and if she gets overheated she could stick one on under a hat, or put one under her arms or at the small of her back.

Many sporting goods stores have these things that go around the head or neck and have a cooling pack in them.

Make sure your car air conditioning is charged to the maximum. I know I have an older car and need to get it charged at the beginning of the year.

DS gets easily overheated, but nothing like what you're dealing with. Good luck.

 

[BeccaGrace]

Those are great ideas...where were you for me all last summer?
I love the idea for her carseat and forgot about the ice packs that you squeeze...looks like I'll be heading over to the sporting goods store tomorrow.

I really appreciate all the tips...I don't feel like we prepared well enough for this summer as opposed to last because she was supposed to be weaned off the one medicine and then that backfired and the only other one that worked for her also had overheating as a side effect and it feels like we're back at square one again because I had that mindset that we were done. And it's harder this year because she's gotten more social with school and she wants to do everything the other kids do and hates being kept separate (i.e. not being able to play outside, not lining up to wait outside with her class) and when she gets upset it makes the overheating even worse. So it definitely helps to get other tips and a new perspective because I tend to lose sight of the bigger picture sometimes

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond (twice!).

 

[graygables]

just a note about the gel-filled neck coolers...they have to be wet to work, then the air has to be low humidity to evaporate the water for the cooling effect. I had one I took to WDW in Sept '04 and it didn't work at all, just stayed soggy and gooshy. Not a happy thing on my neck! It took DAYS for it to dry back out again.

I was going to suggest a vest with pockets sewn in at the neck and the lower back that you could just slip one of those 3m ice packs or the squeezy ones. It would be lightweight, easy to wash, and could be made from cute fabrics.

 

[SueM in MN]

I was going to suggest a vest with pockets sewn in at the neck and the lower back that you could just slip one of those 3m ice packs or the squeezy ones. It would be lightweight, easy to wash, and could be made from cute fabrics.

That's what I was going to suggest too. It would be pretty easy to make a vest with pockets and the best thing about that would be you could bring a cooler with some extra cold packs in your car. If they get too warm, just put a cool one in the pocket.
If you need smaller size packs than they sell, you could make some packs out of the plant gel that is in the cooling neck things. Once you get them wet, you can refrigerate or freeze them (we tried that with ones we bought and they don't rely on evaporation to cool that way).

Target had some of the instant squeeze cold packs in their $1 section earlier this month.

 

[barkley]

there are also 2 over the counter items available "keep cool" and "migrane ice". they are sticky strips that can be applied to any part of the body to reduce body temp and provide a cooling feeling.

i've used them for migranes, but moreso under costumes as a performer. they thankfully do not unstick due to perspiration and are neither painful to apply or pull off.

i take them on vacations to hot destinations (i don't do well with heat) and apply one to the back of my neck and the small of my back.

they are inexpensive and might be a good item to use until you find a more permanant solution.

 

[loadsapixiedust]

We visited WDW last July with DS who also has problems regulating his body temperature. The heat was hard for him and made him sweaty and uncomfortable in his wheelchair. We found the neck cooling gel filled bandanas in Walmart and those were great. We also made him more comfortable in the chair by using a gel ice pack wrapped in a towel behind him. With those things he coped really well.