heat in the shop... look out

butcher_block

butcher_block

Joined
Dec 6, 2004
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just a friendly reminder its hot out there and you should be drinking water till your sick of it and then drink more. a gatoraid now and then is good too but they ix that stuff 2x power so make sure you chase with more water.

warm water gets in your system faster then cold and does not give the cold cramps

if your out working and stop sweating its not cause your cooled off its cause you out of water. get some place cool and in the shade and drink lots of water


soda tea coffee and other caffeine drinks will leach what water you have in your body out so keep that stuff to a min. ( hey i like my morning coffee but now i have just one cup)

maybe all tips and tricks about avoiding heat stroke can be listed here as i can remember one big thread that had them

guys just remember be careful out there
 
Pedialyte

I was at weekend long medieval society festival selling, fencing etc. I drank 2+ gallons of water per day and it barely kept up with the sweat, I started feeling sick to the point on the return trip i was looking to see which exits listed hospitals in case I needed one (all the way from Maine to Syracuse) the next day in the air conditioned house I was still feeling sick then I realised my electrolytes were probably way off kilter, so I made MUD out of 4-5 beef bullion cubes, and choked it down. once the nausea from the boullion cubes passed (momentary) I started to feel great. I can't drink Gatoraide because of all the sugar (diabetes sucks!) so any time we are doing events in the summer, my wife packs a bottle of Pedialite for each day we are going to be out. The stuff is unpleasant but definitely better than ever feeling that sick again.

-Page
 
If your going to drink gatorade its a good idea to mix it 50/50 with water because of the sugar. Drinking excessive amounts of water can thin your blood so don't chug a gallon before starting to work and salt is important to have in your system so make sure to eat some salty food. Alcohol and caffeine will dehydrate your body. A cold beer or cup of joe is ok but try to keep it to a minimum.

Run a fan when your working if possible, it helps a LOT.

Page could you describe what you mean by "salt tablets"?
 
Well, quite literally they're just... salt tablets. They give them in the army when you're working in the sandbox, because you need a lot of salt to retain water when working in hot conditions. I'm not sure what else is in them but it's basically just plain old sodium chloride table salt in a solid tablet that you take like an asprin every morning.
 
Be careful with those salt tablets. After my first heat (almost) stroke, I got a bottle of them (can't remember where, it was long ago). Tried using them on several occasions and they never did work for me and made for an upset stomach, real easily.
I have a couple of high volume fans aimed at me in the shop when needed...that and plenty of water seem to be the best for me.
 
John R. Fraps said:
Be careful with those salt tablets.
Click to expand...

+1 My wife used to work here in AZ at the GM Desert Proving Ground, and back "in the day" they provided salt tablets that were also flavored. Flavored WELL. Guys started eating them like candy and their BP shot way up. :rolleyes:

Keep everything balanced!
 
yep i jsut add a bit of extra salt on my food and call it good that and a small sports drink
the pedolight stuff is made for easy absorption not taste and it works well for what its made
 
I did some googling because sodium, while important isn't the most important part, potassium and (i think)magnesium salts are important, and calcium is necessary for synaps function (fortunately it's a little hard to sweat calcium, otherwise we would end up with stalactites) but potassium salts especially are important. The thing with the pedialyte isn't so much the sodium as the potassium salts. It looks like there are some more balanced electrolyte supplements available from places like summithut.com and runners supply websites but I haven't tried them yet so I won't endorse any of them. I will probably be ordering some to try for this summer.

-Page
 
Try Ultima Replenisher. I use it in the hot summer months working outside and it helps a lot without the high sodium content.

ultimareplenisher.com
 
we just keep a salt shaker handy in the truck or in the shop, we get to feeling light-headed we shake little salt on the top of our fist, and lick it off and chase with water... 2-5 minutes later we're going good again.
 
I sometimes feel for you guys working in the south, especially the guys who forge. It gets hot here (105 F last summer- I had to convert in from Celsius) but I hate the heat! Luckily, I work in my basement and it stays nice and cool down there.
 
i also work in the basement, so its nice and cool down there.

I suggest also wetting a towel and laying it across the back of your neck or wrap it around your head turban style. also, keeping your feet cool can do wonders. wet socks, or keeping the floor wet, etc work. also fans are good :thumbup:
 
last summer for giggles I taped a thermometer inside the grinding mask..140 degrees !
Shop temp was hovering around 120'ish , cooled off to 95-100 at night ( Vegas summers are brutal in July - August ).

plenty of water leading up to shop time , during you want to be replenishing , stay hydrated before hand and re-hydrate as you go.

Having a shower in the shop helps , if it weren't too expensive I would run the AC. I consider it my 2 month weight loss program ;)

nice to stop and grab a cold drink and a popsicle from the shop freezer.
 
Recommendations for Peak Performance

Our bodies need a minimum of four 8 oz glasses of fluid intake a day. Requirements will vary with age and activity but athletes need 2-3 times the minimum amount or 8-12 eight oz glasses. Sports more aerobic in nature (i.e., cross-country, basketball, soccer) will require amounts on the high end. It an athlete takes less than what the body needs or lose more during activity the end result is dehydration and poor performance.

The American College of Sports Medicine position on hydration during exercise is to start drinking early and at regular intervals in an attempt to replace fluid lost at a rate sufficient enough to replace the water lost during sweating or consume the maximal amount tolerated. The possible ambiguity to that statement is that very few athletes actually weigh themselves before and after activity to determine how much water weight was lost. A good rule to follow is to drink two glasses (16oz) two hours prior to activity, one glass (8 oz) an half hour to an hour before and 4-6 oz every 15-20 minutes during activity. If an athlete is able to weigh themselves before and after activity replace 16 oz of water for every 1 percent of body weight loss due to sweating.

Cold water is better than warm water. Cold water is absorbed more quickly from the stomach into the system. Another benefit of cold water (40-50 degrees F) is cooling the core temperature of the body during hot days. Many coaches and dietitians recommend diluting sports drinks by 50% for optimal performance. For the athlete with diabetes the carbs must be taken into account when consuming sports drinks. For instance, an 8oz cup of Gatorade has 14 grams of carbs whereas, Powerade has 19 grams. Those numbers are cut in half if it is diluted by 50%. When drinking for performance the 5 gram difference may not be a major factor but when blood sugar plays into it after a couple of cups it will. A sports drink with 4%-8% carbohydrate is recommended for replacement during and after exercise, specifically when the exercise is longer than one hour.
 
my shop is a 8x12 shed with 1 in styrofoam on the walls and glued to the roof. I have a huge fan and a window mount ac. its like working in one of those igloo ice chests. those metalic space blankets are going to be put all around the out side with spray glue when I get a chance this summer.
 
:DWow - My shop was so cold today I had to turn on the heater and my shop dogs spent all day sitting in front of it.... It's terrible living on an Island in the far north. :D
 
John T Wylie Jr said:
last summer for giggles I taped a thermometer inside the grinding mask..140 degrees !
Shop temp was hovering around 120'ish , cooled off to 95-100 at night ( Vegas summers are brutal in July - August ).

plenty of water leading up to shop time , during you want to be replenishing , stay hydrated before hand and re-hydrate as you go.

Having a shower in the shop helps , if it weren't too expensive I would run the AC. I consider it my 2 month weight loss program ;)

nice to stop and grab a cold drink and a popsicle from the shop freezer.
Click to expand...

:eek:

Any thing past 100 F and I feel dead!
 
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