Heat Casualty

[sasha]

Skam if you dont mind me asking but what is the reason for muscle relaxant???? Wont that make it harder to walk out in rough terain??? I had never used muscle relaxant and rarely pain killers...

 

[skammer]

Skam if you dont mind me asking but what is the reason for muscle relaxant???? Wont that make it harder to walk out in rough terain??? I had never used muscle relaxant and rarely pain killers...

If you get relaxants into your system before fully cramped it will relax them long enough to get a little further and with much less pain. It doesnt weaken the muscles just tells the fibers to chill out and stop contracting "as much" that said its not a miracle just takes the edge off.

Charlie horses are very painfull and debilitating, they are entirely related to fitness, nutrition and hydration. By taking the relaxant med you hedge your bets in the fitness dept a little. Warning however. About 50% of people get drowsy on this medication so try it out before you use it in the field.
I am not one of those drowsy people. I have given it to people I would of had to carry out and in 6 hrs they were good to go.

I know many athletes who use it post workout to reduce cramping hrs later.

Skam

 

[C_Kyle]

I have been wondering if something that thins the blood might be of some use during heat injuries?

Last night, I was working on a packing list for day hikes with the possibility of an emergency overnight stay in the location where I typically would be hiking.

I'm glad this thread keeps going because a lot of good info has been added by many people who are posting.

Besides lightening my load and carrying more water, I'm really starting to think about what I would need in my emergency kit. Currently, I've been carrying a prepackaged first-aid kit that's loaded with stuff I don't need. I'll start another thread when I get the kit finalized.

 

[sasha]

Thanks Skam for explaining..
Wulf i use a 100oz bladder and found it to work great as you can drink while walking. I seen many people dont want to stop and pull the water bottle out of the bag. They keep walking untill they are very thirsty. Its much easier to just drink alittle every 15-20 min. I also carry on very hot days a water bottle where i mixed some gatoraid with water. But i do mix it 1/3 of what it says on the label. When i do make longer stops i drink from there.

Sasha

 

[KEmSAT-Survival]

You might want to check out Backpackinglite.com for some suggestion.

What clothes were you wearing?

You are moving fast at 5-6mph

Damn right, at 6 mph I'm at a long stride jog.

But then again, I don't have long legs...

Good job on keeping your wits and maintaining.

You were prepared and it saved your ass. Miracle of the Big G that you had signal on your cell-uh-mer phone.

Lesson learned: no such thing as "enough water".

Always take more than you think you'll need.

Glad you're alive, mister. Shit happens to the best of us.

:thumbup:

One question though: once you gave your lat/long on where you'd be...why did you move??

 

[batosai117]

I thought he moved because the chopper couldn't see him

He also mentioned letting the 911 dispatcher know what he was doing as well.

If it was my happy ass, I'd be laying there like a bump on a log until they carried me out

 

[C_Kyle]

Damn right, at 6 mph I'm at a long stride jog.

But then again, I don't have long legs...

Good job on keeping your wits and maintaining.

You were prepared and it saved your ass. Miracle of the Big G that you had signal on your cell-uh-mer phone.

Lesson learned: no such thing as "enough water".

Always take more than you think you'll need.

Glad you're alive, mister. Shit happens to the best of us.

:thumbup:

One question though: once you gave your lat/long on where you'd be...why did you move??

5-6mph is very fast for me. I was only able to maintain it for 1.5 hours. Actually, I probably would have made it all the way back if I wouldn't have nearly doubled my pace. I'm a short guy with short legs; the pace was killer. 3-3.5mph with a 20-30lb ruck on fairly level terrain without climbing over logs, etc is my comfort zone...if you can call it that. I can maintain that for at least 5-6 hours with a small break each hour.

I was not very coherent and couldn't speak very well when I was attempting to relay my coordinates. There was a serious communication problem between the 911 dispatcher and I. Some of it was me; but most of it was her. She did not understand lat/long. Let me restate that, I don't know if she understood lat/long or not. She kept asking me for x/y coordinates, which didn't make any sense to me. After the fact, I discovered she was referring to a set of x/y coordinates that the cell phone displays. My lat/long and UTM coordinates never made it past my Mom or me telling her.

When I decided to move south on the trail, it was because I was in the woods and the SAR guys still had no idea where I was. The cell phone was not giving them an accurate enough location, I guess. They were within a few miles, that was about it. I could faintly hear the helo, but couldn't tell where it was at.

I could walk at this point, and told the dispatcher there was a clearing that I could probably get to that would make it easier for them to find me. She said OK, I think.

 

[C_Kyle]

Here's my lab report. Doc said almost everything looks good. Creatinine is high, and hemoglobin is low. Over-hydration is probably throwing off the true levels. She said to CONTINUE to drink as much water as I want, 1.5-3 gallons/day. I have labs again in two weeks.

 

[CaptInsano]

Christ, 5-6 mph is basically a jog. 3mph is a putting pretty good hustle on for me. Do you think you would have been alright with more water?