Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Medical Realities of "Heat Illness"

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What camelbak would you get if layering and thickness of clothing was a factor? Putting another pack like device over or under a winter ensemble seems a PITA. Thinking a couple of litre bottles would be sufficient.

Bob,
Many of the newer backpacks have a built in 'sleeve' for a Camelbak bladder.
Just put the bladder into the sleeve and route the hose however you prefer and rock on.

Look at "Badlands" stuff, Bob.

I don't have a specific recommendation, but you can buy day-packs from a number of manufacturers that have hydration bladders built in.

The original "Camelbak" has been superseded by many of these. I'd look at Cabela's, Jansport, or my personal favorite, Mountain Equipment Co-op back in my hometown:

http://images.mec.ca/Main/home.jsp

The advantage of hydration packs is that with a "drinking straw" right by your mouth, it's easier than unlimbering a water bottle from your belt or packstrap. I didn't used to think it would make a difference, but in my not inconsiderable back-country and high-altitude experience, it does. It's simpler, faster, more intuitive... I know that as a lawyer the word intuitive makes no sense; but trust me, your kids will get it.

No, I brought my cooler full of ice packed with Gatorade and a few apples. The range provided insulated jugs full of ice water.

Need to design a water cooled hat and tee shirt...

I find that dunking my full Camelbak and booney hat into any open water source and then putting it on my back is an great cooling option!

D.R.,

Thanks for the answers, that validate my position on

1.) I always found the hyper/hypotonic thing BS.

2.) Salt is needed and works

3.) Running the Wishbone would cause Defensive coordinators to wet their pants IF you could find a QB to run it properly.

4.) Fill your tank up with H2O before you go out in the heat is essential.

Might add a special precaution to those on diuretics/htz. You mentioned hypertension meds, but I'm sure there are more than a few around here could use the heads up.

Thanks!

Jeff

Thanks on the equipment advice fellas. Pat, you sounded better. It was good talking to you,buddy!

Bob, Pat sounding better don't tell us much, given where he started from...

Electrolyte-on-the-cheap:

I agree with Doc, one of the toughest things is to get people to drink enough of whatever is supplied. This seems to be more of an issue with girls than with boys. Perhaps because boys see every maple tree as a potential relief station and girls are socialized to not think that way.

I run a little bit. My schedule does not always support my being able to run during the cooler parts of the day. (Great thing about the mid-West is that there ARE cooler parts of the day. My daughter spent the summer in Baton Rouge.). I drink a lot of electrolyte. And I am cheap.

8 oz by volume sugar.
1 level teaspoon; MEASURED in a measuring spoon non-iodized salt.
2 packages Koolaid
1 gallon water.

Approximate content compared to Gatorade G

Homebrew per 8 ounces
145 mg sodium
60 calories from sugar

Gatorade G per 8 ounces
110 mg sodium
30 mg potassium
50 calories from sugar

Notes:
-The hardest thing is to get people to drink enough, so masking the metallic taste of salt is a major goal.
-Iodized salt tastes far more 'metallic' than non-iodized salt.
-Sea salt is non-iodized salt
-Lemonade flavored koolaid masks salt best.
-Koolaid flavors can be combined..Lemonade + Tropical Punch and Lemonade + Lemon-lime are favorites.
-Potassium can be had from bananas, etc. I believe that water and sodium are the major players
-You can train yourself to drink a lot. It is a practice thing.
-Some writers claim that the chlorine in salt can contribute to acid stomach in some people. They advise that you can use half salt/half baking soda if this applies to you. It does not apply to me so I cannot vouch for this advise.

-Joe

That's a good homemade recipe... I'm gonna make some up tomorrow and give it a whirl! Thanks for posting that.

Had the leg cramp thing for the first time after a day of hot but not strenuous pheasant hunting a couple years ago. On the way back everything (almost ) below my waist was trying to cramp (wasn't driving thank God). At the next gas stop I hobbled in and chugged a Gatorade and walked back to the truck after a very few minutes. Struck me that I was an idiot - drank mostly water with a couple sodas all day. Should've had some Gatorade or something like it occasionally during the day. No problems since.

Thought I'd bump this good thread. I've upped the volume on my runs recently and have noticed a marked energy depletion and substantial recovery period postrun. A few days ago, I weighed myself after the run, and despite drinking a lot of fluids all morning prior to the run, and afterward, I was 3 lbs lighter post run. For today's run, I weighed just before and after the run, and accounted for fluid intake in between weigh-ins. I was 3.5 lbs lighter despite drinking 2.24 lbs / 1 qt of fluid in between weigh-ins. It's one thing to hear it, but quite another when you actually do it and see the difference. I'm getting a lot less salt in my diet lately, but I'm making sure to ingest some, just prior to and after the run. It helps.

Thank you DocRocket !

I saw the marathoner you mentioned when it happened on the TV. Wished I had the clip to send you.

Got very angry, just could not accept someone there did not realize what was happening to that woman until too late.

Very good post, Sir. And, you might have very well prevented someone here from dying like that woman.

A salute too you, Sir !

First time seeing this thread, very interesting info from
you guys as usual. In my USArmy days, most of which were in
TX I saw my share of soldiers collapsing in parade formation
from the heat. Also in the field when wearing flak vests and
or MOPP suits and gas masks. A couple of them winding up spending a day or two in the hospital. Most people dont think
its that serious but it is. I have also bailed hay as a teenager
and some guys would come in with hang overs. The boss would
send them home right then and now.

Thanks Doc, I was on a job right near you a few weeks ago and saw a man who worked for BHP Billiton fall out, (you may have treated him) something I never care to see again.

I drink almost exclusively water but I make myself drink 1 Gatorade for every 4 bottles of water (this is what the medic for ElPaso Energy recommends) Does this sound adequate for sodium replacement?

We gots cooler days a commin tonight though. Thank God!!

I know my fingers cramping around a steering wheel are dehydration, but alot of the times my fingers will twitch, occasionally cramping into my palm and requiring the opposite hand to straighten it out.

Doc,

GREAT information!

Luckily I have pretty much kept up with info on hydration and have done OK after some bad experiences when younger. When I was a jock in high school (late 60's) they gave us salt pills but didn't want us to drink much water! I broke that rule quite often.

Last September I was one of a party of six hunting in the Selous Reserve in Tanzania. Daytime highs were anywhere from 95 to well over 100, and one of our party was hunting elephant. He was in good shape but 65 years old, and the ONLY liquid he drank before going out hunting each morning was coffee.

He and his PH ran into a very nice Cape buffalo late one morning when the temperature was rising, and decided to take it. Since all he had was solids, the buffalo did not die all that quickly, despite a good initial shot, and they tracked it for a while in the heat for while before it went down. All they had was straight water, no sports drinks or V8 or anything like that.

He ended up down for three days in bed, very sick, partly because there was no air conditioning. It was a traditional tent camp, and at night it only got down to 65 at the coolest.
He was lucky.

Having been through a 2-3 heat illnesses myself, I ate as much salt as I wanted (far more than at home), lots of tomatoes and bananas, and took a potassium supplement every morning. I drank a pint or more of water before each hike, and we had plenty more along during the hikes, and I never had a real problem, even at 59.

When I was riding longer distances on the road bike I would make up a concoction that used lite salt which has potassium chloride in it. It worked well.

Was in central Texas this past week...everyday was over 103. Youse guys can keep that ok? Got back home to WY and it was a blessed 73. I drank so much water this past week I thought I was a fish!

As a side note. I have never had heat illness to any dangerous degree, but Ive heard the same thing from people who have. (you never fully recover) if you get it you will be weaker, more prone to it for years to come. Truth?