[Loch-Ruadh] [Fwd: [Steppes] Not meaning to add more "heat" to the fire]

Pádraig Ruad Ó Maolagáin padraig_ruad at irishbard.org
Fri Aug 17 10:44:29 PDT 2007


Cross-posting from the Steppes list, Count Gunthar's cross-post from
Adenveldt.  Good info.

Padraig
-- 
Nunc est bibendum.
******************
******************
Politicians prefer unarmed peasants.


---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: [Steppes] Not meaning to add more "heat" to the fire
From:    "Michael Gunter" <countgunthar at hotmail.com>
Date:    Fri, August 17, 2007 11:09 am
To:      steppes at lists.ansteorra.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

But there is a discussion on fighting in the heat on the
Kingdom of Atenveldt list. I thought this was a rather
interesting post.

Gunthar
........................................................
Greetings! Back when I was taking about two years
worth of sports medicine training, I had a great
textbook (which is currently in a box among 40 others
in my apartment or I would give you the complete
source) that had a wonderful chapter on heat injury.

Heat Injury is the number one injury among athletes of
any kind.

The book explained that the average Track athlete
loses TWO LITERS OF WATER PER HOUR and those with
heavier uniforms and helmets lose even more....

I'm sure the authors never considered our kind of
helmets and heavy uniforms!!!

How many of us can actually say we drink 6 liters of
water in a three hour fighter practice???? Most of us
are chronically dehydrated to begin with, the average
American doesn't drink enough water during the day.

The book went on to explain that even if the athlete
drinks sufficiently as to not feel thirsty, they are
likely only replacing 50% of the fluids they are
losing. Consequently, rehydration must continue well
after the activity stops. If you are thirsty, you are
already dehydrated.

It is highly recommended to drink at least a full
quart of water about an hour before activity begins.

Also, if one drinks only water, one may flush all the
salts and electrolytes from the system and can
actually pass out from it. It can also lead to water
intoxication, where especially the sodium levels tank
and you can become nauseated, vomit, become delirious,
behave in a drunken manner, become light-headed or
dizzy, lose consciousness, convulse, and possibly even
die.

Eat some salty foods, and those high in potassium
(oranges, kiwi, bananas, papaya, grapefruit,
cantalope, honeydew, strawberries, milk, yogurt,
orange juice, tomato or vegetable juice, and raisins
to name a few) and magnesium (Almonds, cashews, Brazil
nuts, pumpkin seeds, soybeans, sunflower seeds).
Calcium can also help absorb lactic acid, buildup of
which in the muscle tissues causes cramps...

Many of us drink Gatorade and other sports drinks to
help replenish some of these lost salts, but most of
you probably don't know that you should not drink the
stuff straight, it should be cut by half with water.
The stuff sits in your stomach, and the body will
actually pull water from other parts of the body to
dilute the stuff in your stomach, temporarily further
dehydrating the rest of the body.

A good rule of thumb for hydration is that if you
actually LIKE the taste of your sports drink during or
after activity...YOU NEED MORE WATER!

Likewise, you should be hydrating sufficiently to
maintain normal urine elimination. If you don't have
to go...YOU NEED MORE WATER! If urine is dark or
heavily colored, or smells very strong....YOU NEED
MORE WATER! 16-20 oz of fluid intake per hour is
generally considered appropriate for most activities.

I've actually seen people pass out at some of our
events from drinking too much water and not taking in
enough salts...I've also seen an occasional fighter
refuse water no matter how many times a waterbearer
tries to get them to drink, and even seen some of them
become irritated when it is suggested they need more
fluids. This is a sign YOU NEED MORE WATER!

Higher altitude requires even more fluid intake. The
first symptom of Acute Mountain Sickness is
dehydration, accompanied by refusal to acknowledge
that one needs to drink, and irritable and or
belligerent behavior when people ask the person to
drink more. People who guide for hikers, pack trains,
and hunters in higher altitude are warned in some
texts to be on the look-out for this kind of behavior,
and head it off accordingly.

How many of you yakked during or after fighting at
Highlands War last year????

Everyone needs to look up and be familiar with the
symptoms of heat injury. Here is one site which has
them
http://www.medtrng.com/blackboard/heat_injury.htm
Scroll down to Identifying and manage heat injuries

Right now we have many, many people moving to our
desert from other places who have no understanding of
heat injury.

Keep an eye on each other. Play safe.

In service, Dona Maestra Angela,
(the Arizona Desert Lizard, who positively revels in
heat above 110 degrees F!)





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