A recent article mentioned the fact that the elderly (Who, ME?) are more prone to dehydration, and all of its associated problems. As we age, (Who, ME?) our sense of thirst tends to weaken, and we tend to drink less water. And FEELING thirsty happens AFTER we actually get dehydrated. As a child-care giver, I had to have a SCHEDULE for my kids to make sure they were drinking enough. Then, too, older folks tend to be taking medications, some of which make you pee more often, or feel less thirsty. Finally, many of us intentionally drink less, in order to avoid having to go at inopportune times, such as paddling on a river with a group of friends.

BAD MOVE.

When we are dehydrated, blood moves more slowly, our brains don’t get enough oxygen, our hearts don’t get enough oxygen, and our blood gets thicker, making it difficult for our heart to pump it around. Thinking gets sluggish and woozy. Our organs start shutting down. I’m convinced that many of the reports of people going out camping or hiking and having heart attacks are primarily caused by dehydration. It isn’t just increased exercise stressing their heart that causes the heart attack, but they are forcing sludge through their heart. DEHYDRATION IS DEADLY.

As paddlers, we are surrounded by water, and, since the air directly above any water is 100% humidified, our skin feels moistened, our bodies may be sending messages that it is adequately watered, when in fact, our insides are badly dehydrated.

If you start feeling sluggish, or your thinking is confused or slower than usual (How would we tell?), remember, IT MAY JUST BE DEHYDRATION.

DRINK MORE WATER. And include electrolytes and hydration salts. When you sweat, salts and electrolytes get taken out of your body too. A paddler died several years ago while competing in the Texas Water Safari, by drinking too much plain water and suffered from hyponatremia – too much salt had leached out of his body and his organs had shut down.

The rule-of-thumb is that you should have to pee every couple of hours, and be drinking every 15 minutes or half hour, to keep yourself hydrated. And when you pee, your pee should be clear and only slightly yellow. And this is an EXTREMELY VARIABLE suggestion. If you are exercising profusely, if you are sweating a lot, if it is hot, if you are overweight, then maybe you should drink more, and pee more often.  The typical suggestion for the amount of water a person should take on a trip, is two cups of water per hour.

HORSE PUCKY.

I once went on a bike ride and carried two gallons of water, since I knew it was going to be hot. I drank the entire two gallons over the 4 hours of the bike trip, and still lost 4 pounds of water weight. I was disoriented and woozy by the time I made it home.

Plain water is good. Add some electrolytes, such as NUUNs, or LMNT, or Liquid IV or similar products.


Be Safe Out there!
See you On The Water
Harmon Everett