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HYPONATREMIA is occurring more often then physicians and endurance athletes/hikers think. I found a great synopsis of this sickness on RunnersWorld.Com.
What is it?
Endurance Athletes are likely to become sick with hyponatremia. It is a condition in which the body becomes deficient in salt (electrolytes).
What happens?
Through endurance events, the athlete (or hiker) loses too much salt through sweating. Consequently, the bloods/salt index begins to drop and causes sickness. At extremely low blood/salt levels, death is possible.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms can range from mild to fatal.
They include nausea and cramping at the milder end.
Moderate symptoms include headache, cramping, vomiting, bloating and dizziness.
Severe symptoms include seizures, fluid in the lungs, coma and death.
What should I do if I think I have hyponatremia in the backcountry?
Get to a cool spot, stop hiking, and rest.
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Drink sports drinks and "power bars"
high in carbohydrates (high
on the glycemic index); Food will deliver
an abundance of electrolytes and carbohydrates and then sport drinks.
Get immediate medical help if moving well into the moderate symptom category.
What should I not do…
Do not drink plain water when endurance hiking.
Do not hydrate your body the day before an endurance event with plain water to avoid flushing your body of its electrolytes.
Do not exercise when symptoms of hyponatremia begin.
Do not take salt pills because the salt content is too high for the body, and vomiting may result.
Do not take non-steroids, anti-inflammatory medications (before and during hiking) like aspirin, Naproxinsodium, and Ibuprophen. (Tylenol is OK.)
Do not drink more then you sweat; Measure your weight differential before and after one hour of heavy exercising to get an approximate measure of what you should be drinking per hour.
What should I do to prevent hyponatremia?
Hydrate your body the day before, during and after the endurance event with sports drinks high in carbohydrates and electrolytes.
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Keep your carbohydrate (high
on the glycemic index) intake high prior
to, during and after endurance events.
Add salt to your food.
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