quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Originally posted by Wink:

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Originally posted by Wink:
Get some of those individual Life Saver packs. They do wonders for a dry mouth, no matter how much you have or haven't had to drink. I learned this from forrestb.

More info please?
Link?

They've been around for years (about a hundred years) and don't claim to have any magical properties, but they sure worked while walking around in Burkina Faso. Here's a link:

http://www.life-savers.com/

I like the Wint o Greens

http://www.life-savers.com/pro...ts/#wint_o_green_bag

I thought you meant drinks!

I have lots of hard boiled sweets in my pockets while on safari, and pass them on every couple of hours or so to everyone in the group.

Chewing gum is also essential.

Life Savers are different.

quote:

Originally posted by Pancho:

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Originally posted by ALF:
Water pure water ! no additives / no salts / no anything just water !

Your problem is not loss of salts and minerals your problem is loss of water ! Adding salts, sugars and minerals compound the problem ! By adding these you increase the dehydration !

How do we know this: We killed young men in the old SADF by forcing them to take Salt tablets on hot days !

The Healthy body has an almost infinite reserve of salts and minerals and unless you have some hormonal or kidney disease you will not require additives to the water.

from the 40's into the 70's , the medical profession recommended too much sodium.

currently for hydration though water is the principle component-
studies do show electrolytes and carbohydrates to be superior to water alone.

many university studies demonstrate this (not just for profit-Gatorade, etc)

Villanova's Sports regimen is linked below-
Although, when we hunt in hot climates ,
we are not typically exerting to the degree a athlete in competition or training would-
the information is useful


http://www1.villanova.edu/cont...20for%20athletes.pdf

I tend to stay well-hydrated during the day anyway (I prefer water over anything - except a cold beer at the end of the day).

But I never travel without powdered electrolytes and an anti-diarrheal. Anytime you drink water from a different location that your body is not accustomed to you run the risk of diarrhea.

I don't take either the electrolytes or anti-diarrheal until I have a problem. I rarely do have a problem but keeping them as an essential part of my travel kit has saved the vacation for me and my travel companions several times.

quote:

Originally posted by Heym 450/400:
This brings up an interesting split in philosophy...we have some, like ALF who say "no way to additives" and others who recommend some type of electrolyte powder.

any one knowledgable on the subject know which is the way to go?.....any Dr's?

Alf is right...all the body needs is water. Unless you are deprived of food...you are taking in excess salt daily. A little carbohydrate does make enteral uptake a little faster but unless playing professional sports or the like...the benefit is negligible.

Anyone interested in the subject should read Tim Noakes's book: Waterlogged:
The Serious Problem of Overhydration in Endurance Sports

Dr Noakes was the medical running guru of my time in South Africa! Single handed he changed the hydration culture in the ultra marathon world in South Africa and the world as well as what the military were doing with recruits who had to do boot camp in the African summer months. He later played an important role in the Olympic movement with his knowledge.

Prof Noakes authored over 50 papers on the subject of under and later over hydration in endurance sport specifically ultra marathon running.

The issue started with dehydration during the Comrades marathon and the use of salt and sugar containing supplements combined with too few watering points and then after adding enough watering points and pushing hydration regimens the problem of over hydration and exercise induced hyponatremia ( result of to low sodium level in the blood) a condition that leads to brain oedema seizures and death !

So having to little water and pushing salts were killing athletes and military conscripts during boot camp and later we were killing them with too much water....... the problem of too much water was not just too much water ingested but the problem of the syndrome of inappropriate ADH secretion..... this is the hormone that causes the kidney to hold back water.

My experience is from hooking up frac jobs in the oilfield. We had to wear full Nomex coveralls or work uniforms. This was the case even when the well was not perforated. No way in heck the fire danger was higher than walking down the street. But rules are rules.

So 104 deg. F., you sweat, it cannot evaporate, so you sweat more. The best defense was as previously stated, TANK UP BEFORE YOU START. You must be constantly peeing at the beginning. Then drink as you go. I like water and sometimes a sugar drink for a little boost. As others have said, you must drink enough to pee all day. Maybe, some folks from hot climates have adjusted their bodies to lower water levels. The heat really knocks the crap out of me, cold is OK.

You are probably dehydrated before you even arrive in Africa. Very dry air on the planes and most people are drinking the free beer, soda, alcohol, coffee, etc.

Don't wait to hydrate. Start before you go. Buy a bottle of water in the duty-free store and drink that before you get on the plane.

When they come around with the little glasses of water, chug yours and immediately ask for another.

Drink a bottle of water when you get up every morning. If I open a bottle, I drink the entire thing down.

Pay attention to your body. If you haven't peed in a while, you are dehydrated.

Always take water with you. The longest walks are the ones where the PH says: "Now we are going to go over here and just take a quick look and come back to the truck."

I think being raised in a hot dry country on the West Texas border, where 125 F isn't at all unusual and 0 humidity, one sorta develop immunity to water!! so to speak, but definatly does not require it like those from elsewere, Ive seen this in several countries mostly in the desert of Mexico and in Africa as the locals can go long periods without water. I know that Saeed can go long days without water as can I..

I do agree with Alf, there is no substitute for water, even drinking from a trough covered with sheep grease is better than some of that bottled stuff but only if you live where the water is clean and pure as it is in far west texas..In Idaho spring water is contaminated with Beaver feaver, (Geordia sp.?) and
purifying agents may not work.Boiling for 30 minites seems to work, but bottled water is best.

I always have water in the truck but seldom carry it except in Africa where the Safari companies do this for you daily and someone else is packing the bottles, lots of weight to pack btw..Its nice to know its there, and have a big drink at the end of a trek or every time you get thirsty..Some folks can get down and out and it can be pretty serious, even deadly, if they dehydrate.

Some preventitives in an emergency can be to have chewing gum during the day, In Mexico the Mexican cowboys suck on a small round smooth rock and that works real well, just don't gulp the rock down!

on a ordinary day a person with a 70kg body mass requires about 1.5 liters of water minimum to keep to keep your shit together. This water requirement cannot be compensated for or adapted for , this is what is necessary to compensate for obligatory losses and to keep metabolic processes going

Failure to address these losses lead to death !

Now having said that a couple of years ago 3 guys ( Former Ukrainian special forces types) recreated the Christopher Columbus sea voyage in a small yacht and they did so without eating any food and for the first part of the voyage ( Spain to the Canaries) did not drink any water at all !
One of the guys went 14 days with no water ! This to an extent defied medical knowledge in that we always thought people would die quite soon after withholding water. My friend and colleague was the Doctor who accompanied them.

Now the 3 candidates did very little physical activity in the time they drank no water and the weight loss as Stunning over that first 2 weeks, they looked like old men within days !

One can find info on this under Equites Columbus Quest

I generally drink a liter of water when I get off the car to follow tracks and make sure one of the trackers has a backpack with water. I agree only water is necessary if you get enough, but I got seriously dehydrated chasing bushpigs once and the salts help in that event.

http://www.adventurealan.com/b...-drink-when-thirsty/

A pretty good read I stumbled across tonight.

Starting off and staying hydrated is best. I used a Camelbak in Cameroon and glad I had it so that I could sip a little every now and then while on the move. Long tracking hunts: LDE, elephant, buffalo could be handy.

As for hydration, and especially rehydration, to keep intravascular blood volume up (keeping water in the bloodstream instead of it going into the surrounding tissues) you need sodium. To absorb sodium from the gut you need carbohydrate. That's the basis behind Gatorade, as well as why chicken noodle soup seems to help when you're sick.

Working in the sun for 12-16 hours daily, repairing gas turbines, with other turbines running feet away from you, is one of the hottest environments I have seen. We had learned that in order to keep working at good efficiency, we had to drink before we got thirsty. In addition, some replacement electrolyte helped keep cramps and fatigue at bay. The carbs in Gatorade were a nice energy boost, in addition to the electrolytes, however, we had a firm rule - drink two-three glasses of water for every glass of electrolyte. The junior guys the crew were assigned the task every morning of cleaning the water jugs, and mixing up a five gallon igloo of gatorade from powder. The foreman ( aka sergeant in an army situation ) was responsible for making sure guys took enough water and fluids in.

We found also that once someone had heat stroke- they were much more prone to it, and needed more close supervision. Once you have it, you are not capable of treating yourself and require assistance.

I have taken the gatorade powder to Africa a couple times, for late season hunts it is a pretty easy item, a pouch makes as much as you will need in a 14 day hunt. You will find that the trackers like it too, so maybe bring some extras as well.

I did notice on a couple hunts, my PH's cook, made the best sweet tea, and put it into used water bottles. Very refreshing on the trail or in the back of the truck, the sugar seemed to give you a little extra bounce, as was noted in the articles above, it seemed that the sugar enhanced the liquid absorption rate.