Put Electrolytes in Medical Kit

Discussion in 'Survival Medicine' started by hedger, Sep 9, 2010.


  1. hedger

    hedger Monkey+

    Everytime I read about the horrors of dysentery and typhoid--resulting from poor sanitation and poor drinking water, it drives home the fact that many people die each year because of the terrible diarhea that afflicts them. This is highly likely in the case of a post SHTF world.

    When you lose a massive amount of fluids from your body, you lose electrolytes. Those electrolytes enable your nervous system to give orders to your muscles (heart--keep beating, please). That is why afflicted people have great general weakness and they ultimately die from this.

    I have a case (powdered tubes about the size of your finger) of Zip-Fizz. This is sold in cases of 30 and it is not expensive.

    Also, it has NO SUGAR and very little salt. But it tastes pretty good; one tube can mix with 12 ounces or with a quart--it tastes good either way. You are not fully protected if you do not have something to provide electrolytes in case they are needed.
     
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  2. hsapientia

    hsapientia Monkey++

    Nice stay awake tip

    Hello Hedger,
    Nice share about zip fizz. I’d make an exception about the caffeine though. Caffeine can cause additional fluid loss when struck by diarrhea. Better have some Imodium AD packed in that kit too. Since water filtering is the most common preventative of all those ilks, besides, hand washing, I think to share this gismo that’s really low cost and at least the parts would be easy to pack around. CAMP-352 - Ceramic Water Filtration System Monolithic Filter Ceramic Filter Filter Sock Spigot 0.5 Micron Efficiency . I think somewhere on the link is a Vid with the How to.. It filters down to .5 microns which covers all those related nasties leading to the need of extra electrolytes… But I’ll be lookin out for some Zip Fizz for my kit.. Thanxs…
     
  3. bnmb

    bnmb On Hiatus Banned

    And you could also stock up on Natrium Chlorite...it cures and disinfects...prevention is much better than curing...
     
  4. enough

    enough Monkey++

    I have cases, upon cases of a mix called Gu2O. Its kind of like a light flavored gatorade. As a former endurance athlete, I am still on a "preferred" list and they send me cases of it every year. Its fairly low in sugar, and comes in large tubs, or small envelopes. They rebranded it to "Gu Brew" this past year. They really pull out the old inventory and loaded up their athletes.

    FWIW, its also the same company that makes Gu energy gels. The gel packets are only about 100-150 calories, some contain electrolytes, and most contain caffeine too. Not exactly something that is helpful for long term survival, but the gels would be handy for a 20 mile trek back home ... especially if you are moving at a rate that puts you beyond the lowest levels of aerobic effort.
     
  5. UGRev

    UGRev Get on with it!

    for a solid, dried banana chips. They're generally high in sugar, but it's fructose sugar, which is REQUIRED for proper brain functionality.
     
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  6. SLugomist

    SLugomist Monkey++

    Salt ( NaCl) is an electrolyte. that's why it is an essential salt, no salt and you will DIE.
     
  7. wbradss

    wbradss Monkey+

  8. enough

    enough Monkey++

  9. divadmas

    divadmas Monkey+

    flavor can be important. my at the time 8 year old niece ended up in hospital for unknown reason but dehydrated. she had iv but refused to drink pedialite, i tried it and it was pretty bad. i have heard of dehydrated and delerious people refusing water until offered cold water, not the tepid warm water first available in canteens.
     
  10. chelloveck

    chelloveck Diabolus Causidicus

    It is probable that they would have avoided dehydration in the first place if they had consumed the tepid warm water that was available in their canteens in the first instance. It seems to demonstrate that people who have become so used to drinking chilled water straight from the refrigerator or office water cooler are ill adapted to circumstances when that luxury of civilisation is not available in the boondocks....failure to adapt in the wilderness will often give the individual a first class ticket on the front seat to oblivion.

    As a soldier I have often drank warm, tepid water from my canteen, and was glad to have it. In the Australian Army on operations, the cost to the team of someone who goes down becasause of dehydration or through malnourishment (through rationpack fatigue or because of finicky eating preferences) is resolved by disciplined eating and drinking, supervised if necessary, by squad and platoon level leadership.
     
    Last edited: Sep 8, 2014
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  11. RightHand

    RightHand Been There, Done That RIP 4/15/21 Moderator Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Quart of water, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp sea salt = easy electrolyte water
     
  12. Mechwolf

    Mechwolf Monkey+

    I have the one gallon Gatorade packs in mine.. I get them free from work
     
  13. chelloveck

    chelloveck Diabolus Causidicus

    add a few drops of green food colouring, 1/4 cup lemon / lime juice ...decant into a sterilised commercial electolyte PET bottle and hey presto...an effective electrolyte replacement at a fraction of the cost of a bought one.
     
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  14. divadmas

    divadmas Monkey+

    people that were refusing warm water from canteens of rescuers were delerious.

    does military ration water? i thought they were pushing rehydration, better to have water in stomach than canteen.
     
  15. chelloveck

    chelloveck Diabolus Causidicus

    Understood. The point I was making was that sometimes people become dehydrated, not becasue they don't have the water to hydrate themselves with, but because they find the potable water unpalatable in the first place, so are reluctant to drink it.

    does military ration water? i thought they were pushing rehydration, better to have water in stomach than canteen.

    The Aus military doctrine is to drink ad lib. Disciplined drinking is to ensure that soldiers maintain hydration: not to eke out water. It is only invoked when there is evidence that soldiers are failing to maintain adequate hydration on their own account. Water resupply is a logistical requirement up there with ammunition.
    [/QUOTE]
     
  16. pearlselby

    pearlselby Monkey++

    Thank you so much for this recipe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
     
  17. kellory

    kellory An unemployed Jester, is nobody's fool. Banned

    Same problem applied to survivors in rafts. They would not drink salt water, until it was drink or die, then the salt would shut down the kidneys and kill them anyways. Drinking sea water will not harm you, by itself. (There may be other things in it, like bacteria, but the salt is not a problem, as long as you are in decent shape to start with). Start early, and continue, do NOT get dehydrated first.
     
  18. Flight-ER-Doc

    Flight-ER-Doc Monkey+

    ahh, no. Fructose is generally a bad thing for people, especially in any excess - an orange (say) is fine, a glass of orange juice (which is the sugar from 5 or 6 oranges and none of the fiber) is not.

    The brain requires glucose, or ketones. I'd post a link backing up this common fact but this will be my fifth post - do a search on energy for brain cells if you like

    Mix it with twice as much water as the recipe calls for.

    Sea water is approximately twice as salty as blood, and is too salty to be processed by the kidneys on its own. Drinking seawater will cause fluids from the rest of the body (the cells, and the interstitial spaces between the cells) making dehydration worse. Don't drink it.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 6, 2016
  19. kellory

    kellory An unemployed Jester, is nobody's fool. Banned

    I'm not arguing with you. Doc and medical sources to back you up. I simply did not explain myself well.
    I am NOT suggesting it is a safe source of water. I'm referring to a documentary I watched a number of years ago on survival in a life raft.
    They had a guy in a raft under laboratory conditions, monitored by doctors, "at sea". They had rules to pull the plug as his condition deteriorated. They determined, that the speed of decline was much slower with drinking sea water, than going without water. This extended his survival time at sea. I am not suggesting too much salt is fine and dandy, I'm saying too little water kills faster then too much salt. (As stated on the show). Otherwise, I defer to the medical personnel.
     
  20. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Based on boot camp training, once in the life rafts (or not) start sipping sea water to supplement the water that is in the rafts or on the life jackets to get the body used to it. Increase the sea water fraction as the potable water stock reduces. Doing it that way reduces systemic shock, especially to the kidneys.

    Take that carefully, it is 50 years old advice that I would still follow if that were to happen to me.
     
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