Columbia, SC (WLTX) -- Fanning the heat could be doing more harm than good.
"I think that a fan just stirs the air and still air seems a whole lot warmer than moving air," said avid fan user, Susan Boozer.
But, a new study shows that electric fans can increase your body's heat stress when temperatures are over 95 degrees.
"Your body is typically 98.6 degrees, but when people start to have heat exhaustion and heat stroke, it can rapidly approach 100 or higher," said Dr. Todd Crump of Lexington Medical Center.
Although a jump from 98.6 to 100 degrees doesn't seem like much, the body goes into panic mode. Dr. Crump said that when the body is under 104 degrees, it suggests heast exhaustion. And if the body goes past 104 degrees that could cause heat stroke, which people frequently die from.
Dr. Crump suggested an easy way to rapidly cool the body.
"Many years ago people thought that you needed fancy medical equipment to cool people down and we have found that one of the best ways to cool somebody down is to use a spray bottle with water and a cool fan," he said.
If mist is what you need, Riverfront Park in Columbia has it for free. If you're inside and don't have air conditioning the CDC recommends a couple methods.
1) Keep your stove or oven off,
2) Take a cool bath or shower, and
3) Stay hydrated.
But don't be so quick to throw your fan out.
"A fan will help, especially early in the morning before it hits 90 degrees," Dr. Crump said.
For more tips from the CDC go to WLTX.com and click on the "info" tab.