Heat Injuries Revisited

[Jim Beidle <beidlej@yahoo.com>]

I'm glad this came up again! We have recently been
studying this since we had problems with the heat at
Santiam. One of the best sites I found is
http://www.usariem.army.mil/heatill/tabcon.htm

It's the U.S. Army's field guide to heat injuries. Sue
and Aarene both came up with some good info, too, but
those links are at work :-( If anyone is interested,
shoot me an e-mail at jbeidle@ci.everett.wa.us and
I'll dig them up for you.

Heat injuries, particularly to the exhaustion phase,
are permanent. A person who has experienced heat
illness is more likely to succumb to it in the future,
and because of the increased sensitivity, you may
sustain a greater degree of injury. The cramps and
headaches are associated with salt depletion as well
as dehydration. The Army reccomends drinking a 0.1%
sodium solution as a preventative, and the field guide
describes how to make it up. Other sources have
pointed out that excessive salt can lead to
dehydration, but I don't have my fingers on that data.


I haven't found any documentation on the web, but I
believe that it is also necessary to replace trace
minerals like potassium, zinc and manganese (for
example) to ensure neuromuscular function. That stuff
is pretty easy, though, if you eat a sports bar or
take a mineral supplement. In my "copious spare time"
I'll try to dig up my references on that.

I know for certain that alcoholic and caffeinated
beverages will dehydrate you. Carbonation, for some
reason, is a bad thing too. Those are good things to
avoid until after the ride--but, then, who can
function without their morning cup of coffee or tea?

You might note in the tables from the Army document
that lots of water is required, even for acclimated
"troops". Our medic used say, "If you ain't gotta pee,
you ain't drinkin' enough!" And I remember making
soldiers drink a canteen an hour in Panama for the
first few weeks.

So there's a little more info to ponder.

=====
Jim Beidle


Please reply to beidlej@yahoo.com

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