A Very Rough Day - Hydration Fail

It's been a really hot and humid week here on the coast, but we got a little break Saturday and it was really quite comfortable on the range. I didn't drink as much water as usual because it wasn't so hot. Had a wonderful dinner with my best girl, came home, had one beer and fell asleep in my recliner before 8:00. Woke up at 2:30 and moved to the sofa. Woke up again at 9:30 and tried to get some breakfast. Cramp in my left calf is really painful. So bad I have to hop out to the front door to get my cane. I didn't wake up because I had to pee. I woke up because my alarm went off. That should've been my first warning sign.

Cramp is not going away. Massage hits a painful spot in the middle rear deep in the muscle. Hot bath does no good. Just make it to work on time. Have to use the cane to walk and it's causing my right hip to burn trying to "walk it off." Around 1:30 I find a bottle Aleve, at least I hope the blue pills are Aleve. I take two. I also think maybe it's dehydration, even though it's only in the one muscle. I slam a couple Pepsi Zero's on top of the two senior coffee's I had at 12:00. By 3:00 I have to pee. At 3:30 I have to pee again. This time I make the trip to the head without my cane. By 4:00 I have to pee again, but the cramp in my leg is 100% gone.

I think the combination of the unusually hot week, followed by a cooler Saturday led to a slip in my normal fluid consumption. I'm sure I was about five beers short for a Saturday night, and that break in routine along with being just hydrated enough to survive the work week led to the terrible leg cramp. Why it was just the left calf, and didn't affect any other muscles is a mystery, but it was a very unpleasant and memorable experience and will have me monitoring my waking habits more closely. I should have the urge to pee when I wake up in the middle of the night. If I don't, it's time to have a glass of water or two. A small change in behavior like that should prevent this happening again.

 

At the end of the day take a small glass of water and pour a teaspoon of salt into it. Stir it up and chug it down. Follow up with sipping on a few more glasses of water. A banana will also help in conjunction with the salt water. It provides a lot of potassium and the sugars your brain needs to function clearly. That should help with eliminating the leg cramp. I would stay away from the beer and soda routine as that's not going to do anything but put you back into dehydration mode with more leg cramps.

 

I hear pickle juice helps. Was only 80 here in kansas yesterday, thought i would get a 2 man deer stand set before the 100 degree temps hit. Boy was i in for an ordeal. The humidity was so bad in the woods, had to stop several times and lay down beside the river, finally had to call it quits. Never have sweated that much in my life i dont think. Went home and downed a powerade, gatorade, and a bottle of water. Brother in law went back in the evening and helped me finish up.

 

I've always heard that bubbly water helps with cramps. Some of that fancy stuff,, can't remember the name of it at the moment. I've even tried putting some Alka seltzer in a cup of water to make bubbly water one night. Don't know why ,, but that alka seltzer worked,,, but then later on,, it didn't seem to work,, or not as fast .
Good luck .

 

When working outside in warm temps with a high humidity (which starts the sweat just popping off my head, face, and arms), there's an old saying about staying ahead of your hydration by not waiting until you feel thirsty. If you wait until you feel thirsty, you're already behind the power curve and need to hydrate, and take a break from the sweaty work.

Help your metabolism absorb the water and/or Gatorade / Powerade intake with a brief rest. Usually about a 50/50 combo of water and a sports drink will keep you in shape for physical work as long as you work at a steady pace. Also, don't gulp down the hydration if it's cold from refrigeration. It's less of a shock to the body if your hydration is about room temperature.

 

Sorry to be so long winded but my mind sees a minor problem today as a symptom of something that could kill you quickly if SHTF and that in the past has killed untold millions. Modern practices keep the problems to a minimum, but if they break down, the old diseases are not far behind.

Nothing to sneeze at. Dehydration kills millions with disease, really dangerous for babies. One of the things most likely to kill you if SHTF is cholera due to disease in water. Old treatment for it was hydration with salt ect added. While it was not a cure, it kept you alive until your body could fight it and increased your chances of survival. An interesting study of the Haiti 2010 outbreak was that it killed thousands in a short period and was traced back to one man . He drank from a river that had cholera that later study found to be a strain from Nepal. It is thought to have brought into the area by members of the UN peacekeepers and who practiced less than desired sanitation practices.

The “First” Case of Cholera in Haiti: Lessons for Global Health - PMC

That outbreak and the cases there after have caused about 10,000 deaths and hundreds of thousands of cases, both figures would of been much higher without massive outside intervention. Cholera still kills about 100,000 people a year and if untreated the death rate can approach 50 %. Consider that in your SHTF preps and that the "refugees" aren't going to help stop the spread of this disease. A good water filter and some pool chemicals to make chlorine for water purification and disinfection may be just as important as firearms. Kind of hard to defend the home place if you died or are ill from cholera.

The 2010 Cholera Outbreak in Haiti: How Science Solved a Controversy - PMC

If you have babies then diarrhea can be deadly. I am on chemo and take a water pill so it is rather routine to wake up with cramps. I drink a glass of water and drink a bottle of a Walmart nutritional shake, insure knockoff, and try to massage it off. Seems to work for me. The athletes used to use gateraide or the old farmers used switchel when it was hot. Of course the old use of salt tables has a draw back that it has no potassium and may upset the stomach. Don't know but the old use of salt was often sea salt that has potassium rather than most salts now that are pure sodium chloride. Should have it in your SHTF medicine kit for sure and could be a lifesaver and a great trade good. In the short term in radiation sickness the most severe effects are vomiting and diarrhea and both of those can kill in the short run if not treated and are severe.

Oral rehydration therapy - Wikipedia

One commercial product listed on Amazon sells for about $40 and has 100 packs that are sealed and make 1 liter of treated water. About the price of a good box of ammo. Could have in first aide kit with cheaper bulk made in trade kit. Works out to about 40 cents per liter, a little easier to store and cheaper than Gateraide.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OG8G9UM/?tag=survivalmonke-20

And I think if you use this link the Monkey might even get a couple pennies.

 

water isn't enough to replace everything your body loses >>> need something like Gatorade - you'll get muscle cramps otherwise - you can still get dehydrated drinking water ......

 

My dumba$$ didnt take anything other than a cup of ice tea. Deffinatly learned my lesson. I know i could have laid in the river to, and almost came to that point lol

 

Dammit there Mr Duane ,,, you mentioned salt ,, and I had an instant flashback to Parris Island ,, was numerous days we'd be in the chow hall ,, and the DI's would walk down the aisles in the chow hall dumping salt on our chow,,, even out in the field, they'd walk by with little packets of salt and dump it on our food or in our canteen cup.
Can't say whether it worked or not ,, but ,, it was just a long lost memory.

 

I have started weening myself off of Pepsi and just drinking water. So far, my back is better, knees are better, and I am not getting leg cramps at night. Going on week 2 with only 3 Pepsi's last week. Goal this week is one, and one per week thereafter. Feeling the results is my motivation. I also noticed last week when it was hitting 114-125 heat index that I didn't struggle so much out in the heat. Everyone is different but this is really working for me.

 

Caffeinated drinks like coffee, ice tea, Red Bull, and a gaggle of caffeinated vitamin-enriched sports drinks are good for staying alert on long drives late at night, but can have a diuretic effect in that you might need to make earlier pit stops (when driving), or find a private spot behind a tree more often when working in the hot sun and high humidity. Staying away from the caffeine and sticking to water hydration and some electrolyte-containing sports drinks (Gatorade & Powerade) would be the way to go if doing physical work in the hot outdoors.

 

I still say hot coffee keeps you cool on a hot day working outside.

 

Used to be a big soda drinker but have finally weened myself off them and drink pretty much just water. Feel so much netter

 

Sounds like the O.P. May be in fact experiencing symptoms of Gout!
Too much Uratic Acid (Sodium) in the blood, the body cannot expel it, so it stores it, almost always in the legs. It's painful as hell, and often takes more then a month to clear it out! They usually put you on meds for it to help flush you out, but in more severe cases, it requires "Bleeding" you to relieve the more major stores of effected blood! All this is cause by too much sodium in the body, foods that are high in sodium especially processed foods are the number 1 reason for Gout! Sodas can have high levels of Sodium, as can many of the "Sports Drinks" which absolutely cause this to happen!
You also need to be careful with a lot of other types of Hydration, many are diuretic, which makes you pee a bunch, which is worse for you as that's a loss of hydration. Caffeine is the worst, not only does it make you pee more, but it restricts your blood vessels and slows the bodies abilities to cool as well as to move hydration through the system, and because it's diuretic, you pee it out before the body can take advantage! Sugar in any form is the other one to avoid at all costs, sodas are the worst, but sweet tea is also bad, the sugars cause your body to burn more energy, which raises the bodies BTU's and causes you to sweat and expel more hydration, not to mention the waste of energy, and if it cannot burn that energy off, it stores it as fat, which causes your body to need even more energy to then burn off those fats you just stored!

The best Hydration out there is Good Ol' Adam's Ale, AKA WATER, and to boost the effects, add a slice of Lemon and a pinch of salt to it, and sip it, don't guzzle it! Find some shade, sit down and sip your water till you feel better, then keep a good supply of water around for the rest of the day! They say, you should drink around 2 liters of water per day, hot or cold out, more when it's hot, less when cold, but right around the 2L is the bodies normal daily need! Once you get accustomed to that, you don't pee it out very much/often, as long as you regulate Sugar and Sodium intake, and lay off the caffeine!

 

Kidney stones man, keep that dehydration crap up and Mr. kidney stone will come visit!

 

My students swear by mustard. They grab the yellow mustard packets and carry them around. One packet is about one teaspoon. They say it is like magic. Cramps go away almost immediately.

I cannot tell you from experience as I almost never get cramps. Knocking on my hard head wood.

Stretching a cramp out can relive it too. Many years ago, I would do the annual century bike rides with buddies. I always carry lots of water and refill when I get a chance. This year, I brought a couple of ziplocks of a supplement a firefighter friend recommended. Supposed to help with lactic acid build up. So one bottle of the mix and a bottle of water on my racks and a couple of pouches of the powder. Can’t remember the name.

Coming in to the stretch run, one of my buddies just went stiff and fell over still straddling his bike. After we laughed at him a little bit (we had to… guys & friends), we asked him what was wrong. Said leg cramp. Told him we should stretch it out. He is whining no it hurts. Side note, he is in the medical field. I grab his leg, stretch the cramp out. He sighs and gets up. I gave him a packet to mix in his water and told him to drink it down. Gave him a second to sip on as we finished the ride.

 

@Hanzo Mustard? Never heard of this. Have you tried it? I will have to try this in the future. I normally take a big tablet of magnesium every day and don't get leg cramps or etc. but...Mustard? It would be great if it works as those little packets would be easy to carry in a ruck or first aid kit.

 

I am a big fan of yellow mustard for cramps.

Vinegar, mustard, salt, and turmeric are all anti-inflammatory as well.

 

I once suffered Gout and Plantar Fascitis together. That was pure Hell and agony!

 

I quit drinking sodas about 6-9 months ago. Since ,, I've basically stuck to water ,, but have had a few Gatorades ,, half and half, or unsweetened tea ,,and just a few slushy type drinks . And beer.
I can't say I've noticed any difference ,, except maybe dropping a few pounds . But that seems to vary anyway,, not sure why .
Congrats and good luck on your choice .