Drink Water Beat The Heat

Everyone has at some time experienced some form of dehydration, whether it is due to a few to many cold beers or a few too many miles on the trail. Heck even simply sitting on the couch you can dehydrate. These are the basic tried and true signs and symptoms of dehydration:

1. Craving Fluids (already 2% dehydrated)

2. Fatigue

3. Unstable emotions

4. Diminished production of urine

5. Dark, smelly urine

6. Taught skin

7. Delay in return of pink color after pressing your fingernail

8. Deepened groove on the center line of your tongue.

If out of water look to these recommendations to prolong your survival:

1. Decrease the amount of food that you eat.

2. Limit physical activity.

3. Wear light-colored clothing.

4. Walk during the morning and during the evening when it is the coolest.

5. Find shade to rest in during the hottest part of the day.

The reason hydration is so important is the fact that we are basically a big bag of fluid and with out replenishing our internal fluids we will dry out and well plain and simply die!

There are 3 categories of heat related issues:

Heat Cramps: brief but painful involuntary muscle spasms. They usually occur in the muscles being used during the exercise, and are a result of insufficient liquid intake.

Heat Exhaustion: difficulty breathing, headache, feeling hot on head and neck, dizziness, heat cramps, chills, nausea, irritability, vomiting, extreme weakness or fatigue.

Heatstroke: rapid and shallow breathing, rapid heartbeat, unusually high or low blood pressure, lack of sweating, mental confusion and disorientation, unconsciousness, physical collapse.

These will often progress rapidly from one to the other and often times the victim does not realize what is going on until there are well on their way to heatstroke which is basically one and a half feet in the grave!!

Most people think that drinking water will help them avoid these issues and for the most part it will, however drinking only water leave you open to Hyponatremia which is the result of not replenishing your salts and electrolytes, with out replinishing these you are killing yourself as well. So remember water is GOOD but you need to take in electrolytes as well to maintain a healty balance.

Another point I want to make is that just because you are not drenched in sweat does not mean you are not losing water! You will dehydrate in any and all environments from desert to rain forests and from the concrete jungles to alpine summits.

Remember BEAT THE HEAT DRINK WATER!!