Surviving Stupidity

Mack

Mack

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This past week has been rough. I am a truck driver that "owns" my truck therefore I pay for everything. This week I've had to replace tires and replace a u-joint while trying to deal with banks to increase credit and possibly keep my head above water.
With all the stress, I have been going from Louisiana to Eastern Virginia and then to Texas. Lots of heat and humidity. I forgot to drink!:eek: ANYTHING! I had two gallons of water and several bottles of gatorade in my refridgerator and had ignored them being so worried about everything else.
When I got to Virginia I was feeling lousy. I had no energy and could barely walk. My joints and back were killing me and I had the worst headache ever.
The next morning I realized that I had neglected to drink and started trying to rehydrate myself. After three days and gallons of gatorade I am finally getting back to normal.
This is nothing I ever want to experience again. I survived this time but I can sure see how easy it is to die from stupidity.
 
Dehydration is one of the worst things that is easily prevented in day to day life. I remember years ago at 6th grade outdoor ED I managed to get dehydrated on Archery day. Straight water would just cause me to throw it back up. Eventually some saltines and 7Up/Sprite settled my stomach and I was feeling much better the next day.

Be careful out there driving, dehydration can be as bad or worse than being drunk, you never know when you'll pass out or loose muscle control.

Keep hydrated, it's just good for you.
 
Dehydration is one of the worst things that is easily prevented in day to day life. I remember years ago at 6th grade outdoor ED I managed to get dehydrated on Archery day. Straight water would just cause me to throw it back up. Eventually some saltines and 7Up/Sprite settled my stomach and I was feeling much better the next day.

Be careful out there driving, dehydration can be as bad or worse than being drunk, you never know when you'll pass out or loose muscle control.

Keep hydrated, it's just good for you.
 
Kinda sneaks up on ya, doesn't it? It only happened to me bad once but it was enough. It'll definitely spook you.
 
65535 said:
Dehydration is one of the worst things that is easily prevented in day to day life. I remember years ago at 6th grade outdoor ED I managed to get dehydrated on Archery day. Straight water would just cause me to throw it back up. Eventually some saltines and 7Up/Sprite settled my stomach and I was feeling much better the next day.

Be careful out there driving, dehydration can be as bad or worse than being drunk, you never know when you'll pass out or loose muscle control.

Keep hydrated, it's just good for you.
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That is what was really killing me. For the first day I couldn't drink. I could take little tiny sips but no more. My stomach wouldn't take it.
 
And it can happen FAST when its hot or on a boat.Ive had my fingers claw up while fishing and forgetting to drink. Gatorade fixs it quick. Water is good but if your sweating a lot you need more than water can give you.
 
Mack,

I had a family member who was an Owner-Operator, it really is a bitch when things start to go sour and break down, etc., etc., etc. I don't think a lot of people understand the outlay of cash that can happen with that business. It's incredible.

Good luck.
 
Don Rearic said:
Mack,

I had a family member who was an Owner-Operator, it really is a bitch when things start to go sour and break down, etc., etc., etc. I don't think a lot of people understand the outlay of cash that can happen with that business. It's incredible.

Good luck.
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Thanks. If I had it to do over again I'd choose something else. It's really a bad career move. I get to see the country but that gets old after a while and when things like this happen, who knows where I am?
Can I get help if I need it? If I had gotten any worse, could I have even called for help?
I've often heard about dehydration but never thought it could be that bad that quickly. Wow, this was an eye opener.
 
When I'm out on a hot day, I am careful to keep sipping. Pouring a lot down at once just has me pouring it back out at the other end. Also, out in the sun, pouring water over my head lowers my temperature real fast, to avoid heatstroke.

Drinking regularly is more important than eating.
 
I have read all sorts of remedies for hangovers, people will be drinking and then start taking the B.S. Powders and all that stuff, it's really not necessary. A hangover is basically dehydration. Headache, pukin' and the general feeling of hammered poop. So, when you go through something like this, it really can hammer you good.
 
Dehydration is bad stuff, one serious episode with it and you will never let that slip again. Mac
 
pict said:
Dehydration is bad stuff, one serious episode with it and you will never let that slip again. Mac
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That is a fact.
I'll certainly be reminding my family and friends to not let this happen to them.
 
I've been doing my best to pound into my co-workers that they need to force the kids we look after to drink, it is amazing how fast a 9 year old can go from godd, to sick with no water, and some will be thirsty, but not drink water in front of them. preferring to hope that they will get juice or soda later. then they have to get put to bed with a headache, because I'm reluctant to add drugs to a dried out child. better to get them re-hydrated than to add stress to their bodies.
 
Good to see you again, protourist.
Water is not the only thing lost from body in that kind of situation.
Please do not forget to take some salt.

My body knows myself better than me that I want to take some salty thing in those cases.
 
Given your occupation, that is pretty scary. My wife worked out in the front yard...direct sunlight, 100+ temps and soaking humidity. She was out there 6-8 hours working on the landscaping and didn't drink really anything. It put her out of commission for a couple of days and although I couldn't say "I told you so", she learned a hard lesson. We've done a lot of hiking and backpacking in Texas summers. Not only is water a must, but knowing your body and identifying the signs before heat exhaustion is critical. I've done my share of force road marches and other job-related fun in the sun. I have a pretty good handle on how much I can do and when I really need to regulate my body temp with hydration, shade and rest. I love Camelbacks, it really makes it easy for me to turn around on a hike and tell them to sip some water...It really doesn't take much to push your body to the point of no-return or even difficult to return. I'm glad you recovered...stay safe!

ROCK6
 
Glad to hear you recovered, it is indeed quite scary, I had my first run in with heat exhaustion this year, I know I won't let it happen again.
 
We have had lots of people go down from dehydration in Brazil. You can't run a camp several times a year and not have it happen on a regular basis. Malnutrition makes people especially susceptible.

The standard mix for oral re-hydration solution is...

One tsp (5 grams) of table salt
Eight tsp (40 grams) of sugar
Mixed in one Quart/Liter (1000 ml) of clean water

That sounds like a lot of sugar but keep in mind that a 12 oz soft drink has about 12 tsp of sugar in it. The sugar can be any sugar you have on hand. Artificial sweetener DOES NOT substitute for this.

You can reduce the amount of salt but should not make it more concentrated than 1 tsp/5 grams per liter. You can also add flavor to the solution but keep it light, a squeeze of lime works well and makes it taste surprisingly like Gatorade.

The water should not be ice cold. The body absorbs water best when it reaches body temp so cool is good, cold or ice water will take longer to get through. Body temp water would be fine but most people object to drinking it.

Don't allow the person to chug the entire bottle at once or you should have a mop handy. They need to drink all of it but start them out slowly. Have them take a few swallows at first and then see how they do with that. They should keep it down fine. If all is well repeat as often as they can until they have taken the entire liter. Don't allow them to eat until they have kept a full liter down for a while.

BTW - This is a good cure for a hang-over. The main ingredient in a hang-over is dehydration.

Mac

ETA - Both alcohol and caffeine are diuretics. Dehydrated people drinking beer, coffee, or Coke are really working at cross purposes.
 
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Great advice. Thanks everyone.
Thursday evening was when the symptoms hit. Friday at 11:00am was when I peed and noticed the color and smell and finally realized that I hadn't peed in a long time. Then I couldn't remember the last drink I had had. I knew then what the problem was, thank God for my study in survival that although I had screwed up, I was able to recognize the problem.
Today the symptoms have finally gone.

I do have one more question. Other than this episode I generally drink at least a gallon of water every day. I also drink a bottle of gatorade when I want something with taste. I don't drink coffee or soda. This said, I do generally seem to be right on the edge of dehydration. Any idea as to why?
 
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