[RC] Secrets to Hydration??? help...... - Mary Ann Spencer
Most important for hydration is WATER. AVOID
alcohol and caffeine drinks. HOWEVER, if one is sweating and the salts are
NOT replaced, then one will get weak and can even have seizures. I snack
on potatoe chips. Treatment with SALT TABS is not recommended
anymore. If you can't keep fluids down, you will need IVs. Studies
have shown that when we are thirsty we are already in early dehydration.
Yogurt or yogurt drinks can help if you like those. Needs to be easy on
the stomach.
When not eating, take some sort of sports
drinks. I just use gatorade but NOT cold. That is hard to drink fast
and can give stomach cramps, especially if drinking it fast. One has to
drink fast to take care of horse and yourself in 30 minute hold. I used to
be ok with one qt of Gatorade, one qt of water, one beer and one coke on the way
back to the trail, after each loop. That was before the camel bak.
The hotter the weather the larger the camel bak you need. However, do
remember to clean it out. In the Mid East, we drank all bottled water
which contained no bleach and some got messy camel baks and hence,
gastrointestinal upsets, so becareful with that too.
I had to stop really close to the end of a 50
back in 2002. When help came my daughter rode horse in and it only took
her 30 minutes and that was the last loop. My pulse was 140 and I was over
50yo so I quit. Horse was fine. My daughter's horse had been pulled
at half way.
POINT: Your judgement gets messed up
when you are dehydrated. If you are lucky enough to have friends/crew,
they should notice a change in you.
Learn to take your own pulse. Normal is
between 60 and 100. Anything over 120 should alert you that you are in the
least starting to have a problem.
The easiest way to drink while riding is with the
camel bak. Mine was empty, my horse was tired and it was over 90 degrees
with the same humidity. The combination can be just as deadly for you as
it is for your horse.
IF YOU DON'T TAKE CARE YOUR
DEHYDRATION:
You can have permanent kidney damage.
You can have a stroke or heart attack due to your
blood being too thick.
You can have brain damage from becoming so hot,
usually over 104F.
When your pulse is 30 above your resting normal you
are starting to get dehydrated. You can also get nauseated, weak,
vomit, headache and not necessarily in that order. BUT IT CAN BE
DANGEROUS.
ONCE YOU HAVE HAD ONE EXPERIENCE WITH ANY OF THE
HEAT EXHAUSTION LEVELS, YOU ARE MORE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE IT AGAIN.
With summer heat here, it is really important to
know your early signs.
You must get your body temperature down: move to
shade, lay down, get your clothes wet.
