Thanks for additional dehydration signs

[Guest guest]

Thanks, Katrina.

 

> I wanted to add a biggie to dehydration signs ...

> headache-y.

> As someone in the military who trains in highly HOT condidtions

(think

> long sleeves, pants and 50 pounds of gear in teh full opn fields of

> Kentucky in teh middle of the summer) we see dehydration a LOT

because

> people fail to hydrate properly. General rule if you feel thirsty,

you

> are already dehydrated.

> Feeling weak, shakey, spacey (head in a bubble) are some other

common

> signs of someone who is about to get stuck with an IV (in the field

by

> a barely trained medic) to rehydrate them.

 

I want to add some comments about hydrating. If someone needs to

drink a lot of water, please be careful about also eating something,

even if it's just a cracker. Otherwise, all that water can dilute

electrolyes in the blood too much and trigger some serious problems.

It can bring on an epilepsy seizure in someone who has epilepsy. It

can create some other problems as well even in people who do not have

epilepsy. Rehydrating is not going to be a problem with IVs, because

these contain various electrolytes. But drinking large amounts of

water can if the person does not eat something.

 

I used to live in Arizona. Every so often someone would get

the " bright " idea that they were going to lose weight by taking

plenty of water but nothing to eat on a hike out into the desert or

into the Grand Canyon. And these people end up having to be air-vaced

out of the Grand Canyon, suffering from a host of serious medical

problems, including seizures and even psychosis. So eat something or

take a pinch of salt whenever large amounts of water need to be drunk.

 

Victoria