Proper Hydration, Heat Stroke, Cramp Prevention

[vanursepaul]

i use a16 oz water bottle in my back pocket,,,,,as i drink it i squeeze the air out and it fits better as i go along,,,

 

most if you know that it takes a long time for fluids to replenish in your body----it takes a while to get into your cells, so it is most important to be well hydrated before you go out.

 

When i lived in AZ I would always drink a lot of water or gatorade on friday night and skip the alcohol------ alcohol is a bIG cause of dehydration....so load up with good water the night before and you will last longer in the high desert with out having to continually milk one of them nasty bladders....lol

 

Remember when you finally feel like you are overdoing it in desert heat---it may be too late,,,,it is a very rapid process that goes from dehydration to cardiac arrhythmia and death..

 

Don't you love a nurse/medic!!! hahaha

 free tip of the day...

 

Ask Rob Allison how it feels....

[tvanwho]

I have been poisoned a bit by my permanent drinking water bottle from the car. I like low calorie Gatorade to ward off cramps, BUT so do the bacterias apparently. If you look in your water bottle after a week or so and see black stuff in there or it tastes kinda funny,time for a dishwasher cleaning...er..past time....I got rid of the built in straw version of this bottle cause it was so hard to clean when the black stuff showed there too. Now, I just have a flip open cap.

   For exploring, hand tools and gold pan in knapsack and 2 small bottles of Low calorie Gatorade in the side pockets and 2 more in the pack. Regular Gatorade is PACKED with sugar and I ended up gaining 5 pounds in a week despite 100 degree heat and dredging/highbanking all that week. But I was drinking regular Gatorade by the quart every day too...no more doing that. Only low calorie Gatorade from now on.

  Ps, VaNurse, is Gatorade the only thing for muscle cramps? My toes and foot arches cramp up at night while sleeping and boy does that hurt? I tried some electrolyte capsules but they made my ears ring really bad so went back to a swallow of Gatorade before bedtime...

 Thanks.

 

  Hmm, I think we need to start a new thread about treasure hunters aches ,pains, and relief specially now that so many of us are over the 45-50 years old hill.

 

-Tom

[vanursepaul]

Try straight potassium pills

 

--i have to take them because i take a pill to  get rid of water---(which makes this whole equation even weirder for me)

 

Ask your pharmacist which potassium caps to buy and don't take more than you are supposed to..... if you still have those cramps in your calves,,,and foot arches you will need to take more,

 

If i sweat too much and don't drink some of that O sugar gatorade or something like that , i will get cramps that start from my groin and go all the way to my arches---- i don't know of anything that is worse to wake up to....man they hurt!!!!

 

And don't forget the old bananas.....

[Steve Herschbach]

I have been fighting cramping in my legs that no amount of water or bananas seems to alleviate so I may have to give the potassium pills a go.

[~LARGO~]

Hello all,
 
Having spend some time laying in my tiny camper for several days dealing with heat stroke in the northern Nevada desert, I can tell you it isn't fun, and can happen more than once, very easily. 
 
I told my doctor I was going to be in the desert metal detecting, he comment to me was "drink plenty of water, and rest when your body tells you to."  O.K. fine, that is kind of right, makes sense, but what he didn't say, was to replenish your sweating body with chemicals lost to the process of sweating.  
 
As an aside, when you get to the point if and when you cease to sweat, you are already in trouble, and need to get cooled off, and hydrated, whatever that takes...
 
I had found a patch of gold nuggets, and was busying looking for the next one, the temperature on this day was over 102 degrees, just for conversations sake, I don't really remember, but it was very hot. 
 
I felt I couldn't stop looking..  I had come to the point I almost dreaded hearing another signal of a nugget in my headphones, I didn't want to get down on the ground and dig another target, I was in trouble, and didn't know it... 
 
My thought process was to the point I was now virtually unable to make a decision.  Something I can only describe, thinking back to that instance, was something in my head felt almost like a shock had occurred in my brain.  I am no doctor, nor do I know the symptoms of heat stroke even now.  I had come to the place I felt I needed to get to the shade of my little Casita r.v. if I could.
 
Long story shorter, I spent the next several days laying in the trailer exhausted, as my dad might have said, "weak as a cat"...  I guess I drank some water, not sure what I ate, but probably not much, but obviously, I did make it.  When I felt I could get out and hook the trailer to my truck, I left for home, a 5 hour drive, by myself.
 
What I do now when I go to a hot environment,  after having had a deep "why didn't you tell me" talk with my doctor, I learned that he should have included in his talk about hydration, was that just water alone just doesn't do it, you need to include the other things, sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, the electrolytes your body loses in it's heated condition.  I know some of those things, cause I just read it off the bottle of the stuff that I use every time I go to the desert, and it hasn't let me down, thus far.  Kind of like the Gatorade you see the football athletes drink, when taking a break between plays, but having no sugar.   
 
I am a borderline diabetic, so I try to avoid a lot of sugar, not to say I don't use sugar, as one of the "must have" things I carry with me, are good quality energy bars, maybe some jerky, which will give some protein as well as a little salt, when I am on a multi-mile hike, far from where I left my transportation. 
 
When I prepare for my day, just before I leave my camp site, I "top off", with water, knowing that I can't carry all the liquids that I will need during my hike, drinking maybe nearly a bottle of water, whatever amount that is,  to the  point I can't drink any more.  Just beforehand, I have already put 2- 32 oz. bottles of PowerAde ZERO calorie sports drink in my hip pouch.  Then I head out, and try to have a great day, stopping to think about things once in a while, taking a break as needed.  Surprisingly, these two bottles of PowerAde ZERO  (64 ounces) will only last me less than half a day.  
 
Learning to pace yourself, and realize your own capabilities is key.  No use in kidding yourself, or trying to impress your buddies, about what you can physically do, either.  Doing so, you become a liability, maybe even worse!
 
Others will have their own ideas, even some I would like to employ, but this is pretty much what I do. 
 
Thanks!
 
Gary/Largo

[russ]

I have been fighting cramping in my legs that no amount of water or bananas seems to alleviate so I may have to give the potassium pills a go.

 

Try cayenne pepper

 

http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2014/12/15/cayenne-to-combat-leg-cramps/

[azblackbird]

I drink a gallon and a half of tea flavored water (5 bags to a gallon) each day. Two or more gallons if I'm out in the heat. I also flavor my tea with approx. 3 fresh lemons per day. I take a multi-vitamin, a couple B-12 pills, and an aspirin each day also. I don't do drugs, and will have an occasional drink of alcohol (mostly wine) every now and then. I very rarely get sick. If I do, I usually sweat it out for a few hours and then I'm back to normal. I never get cramps, muscle spasms, or have sore or aching joints. I haven't been to a doctor in 30 years, except for a few chiropractic visits to my riding buddy when I get out of whack every now and then, mostly due to rough motorcycle riding mixed with a few crashes here and there.

 

I'm no health expert, but I firmly believe that keeping your body constantly hydrated is the equivalent to keeping the oil and fluids changed in your car. I look at the body as a machine that needs fuel (food), lubrication (water), and regular maintenance (exercise) if you plan on lasting a decent amount of time on this planet.  Exercising is my weak point. I don't do enough of it. I'm not in bad shape, but yet I'm not in great shape. I'm working on it though...

[tvanwho]

I had to stop drinking tea as my fave Arizona Green Tea apparently had caffeine in it. I would drink a small cup of tea, go to work, get this pounding sensation in my head, and next thing ya know an OCULAR Migraine. The first one I had, I thought was  a stroke as I was seeing rainbows in the center of my vision. After I quit drinking my fave tea, these episodes stopped. So, no tea, coffee, or Dr Pepper either and even some chocolates. Life can be so unfair at times but you have to learn to adapt I guess?

  VaNurse, why does my doctor always tell me all my vitals, minerals, and vitamins, etc are all normal even when I am feeling like crap so much of the time? I am positive about 1/2 my issues are with these Electrolytes as I seem to improve quite a bit when using the low calorie Gatorade. Even my IBS symptoms of 50 years almost disappeared once I started taking extra calcium and magnesium pills which I discovered on my own. Potassium? It does have a metallic taste which I don't like, but maybe I can find it in a capsule?

 Heat stroke sounds like something I don't want. I had an incident myself 2 years ago.  It was a HOT, humid day, and I was sipping liquid to conserve it, BIG MISTAKE.And then I accidentally walked into a bush full of bugs, NOT !!  They were some sort of bees, maybe wasps. And guess who they came after? I had one stuck in my hair and he musta nailed me 10 times over. I was really lite headed afterwards ,felt like keeling over. So, my buddy got me back to the car and drove to the hotel. We all jumped in the pool and then these horrible toe cramps started up for the next 5 hours.My toes would all bunch up together and I had to pry them apart. Talk about agony !!!

  And here I thought Steve was the pillar of good health?

[deathray]

I know all about heat stroke, leg cramps,etc being that I roofed 25 years now in pretty hot area. Got where anytime I hiked out a real gruelling canyon,I could look forward to some rather severe leg cramps. Tried gatorade by the galllons,pickle juice,bananas,etc. The one electrolyte stuff I found that works is this powdered coconut stuff I bought at REI.Put it in your water. Taste like a$$,but really works. Course I still drink tons of water too.. Try it tvanhoe...my leg cramps are brutal...I deal with my hands n feet cramping all the time while working, the legs feel like electricity shooting and cant move for like 15 min. Keeps the wifen kids enertained though,lol

[gambler]

you guys need to eat big. we get minerals from food not water. eat regularly, and drink water even if you are not thirsty. take a lunch or a complete energy bar with you(or several) and snack often. dont wait until you feel weak. and drink lots of water.